An Interview with Alex Krieger

Alex Krieger is Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he taught since 1977. An architect, planner, and author, he has directed design and planning projects in American and international cities, including the reconstruction of the Bund in Shanghai. Former chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, and director of the NEA Mayor’s Institute on City Design, he remains an advisor to public and educational institutions, including two terms on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. His latest publication is City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present.

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Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The word “greenhorn” was once a common way to identify and define immigrants as newcomers, people who were different, inexperienced, ignorant of local manners and customs, inferior, too, but not then thought of as murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. The term was also used in a self-deprecating manner by some immigrants. My parents referred to themselves as such, as did some of their immigrant friends in Chicago. The word dates to Middle English, where it referred to young farm animals. During the nineteenth century, the word became popular in the American West, a way to describe young horned animals, say, a young ox or bull whose horns were still short, soft, and somewhat green. Immigrants of all ages and backgrounds can relate to the image of being “young” and “green” in their new worlds. Cultural horns growing slowly, greenhorns work hard to make a go of it as they strive to understand and contribute to their new communities, even as the label of “greenhorn” seemed to fit as I set out on these chapters.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

I thought Atmosphere’s designers did a great job in creating the book cover. It jumps out at you and makes you want to flip through some pages. I have published several books before (see on Amazon), so the first experience of seeing it was not as dramatic as it was for the very first publication. But to reiterate, I am very pleased with the design and have already received several compliments.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

The instinct began in response to the horrid national conversation regarding immigration and immigrants. It was also personally rewarding to reflect on my parents’ backgrounds and how this sense of remaining an immigrant has helped throughout my life to both value America and its cultures and remain cognizant of its paradoxes.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

A year from now, I would be pleased if two somewhat different audiences were reached:

1. Those who would most benefit from such a story and better appreciate the value of immigrants and immigrants’ lives for America.

2. My many professional colleagues and clients, and the many more former students who I’m sure have no idea about my background and could perhaps also gain more insight about an immigrant’s life and immigrants’ contributions to American culture.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I continue to teach, but now on a more limited basis. Following more than four decades on the Harvard faculty, I have enjoyed teaching a course at several other Boston-based architecture and planning schools, including Northeastern University and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

It was quite rewarding; virtually everyone on the staff that I encountered during the process was very responsive and helpful. I would recommend Atmosphere to anyone.

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