'Ragtime' at 50: Caroline Doctorow Remembers Her Father's Legacy

In 1975, novelist E.L. Doctorow published his fourth book, “Ragtime.” Set at the dawn of the 20th century, the novel explores the concept of the American dream from the point of view of three diverse New York families from very different socio-economic backgrounds with very different views of the world and hopes for the future.

First, a wealthy family from New Rochelle has made its fortune from the manufacturing of flags and fireworks. Referred to, not by their names, but by their roles, are Father, Mother, Mother’s Younger Brother, Grandfather and “the little boy.” When father is invited to travel with Robert Peary on an expedition to the North Pole, Mother is left as the head of the household, and soon is inspired by the changing times of the outside world. She joins the efforts of activist Emma Goldman, a radical immigrant fighting for women’s rights.

Further downtown, in Harlem, African American pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr., is working hard on new ragtime compositions as well as his troubled relationship with his lover, Sarah, with whom he shares a young son. Things are looking up for the couple until his entanglement with a racist fire crew complicates his life, leading him to fight back in dramatic fashion, risking his family’s security and lives.

Finally, in a tenement on the lower East Side lives Tateh, a talented artist and recently arrived Eastern Europe Jewish immigrant who struggles to support himself and his young daughter in a country he doesn’t fully understand.

Through these three families, the novel takes a deep dive into the complicated (and these days, increasingly controversial) issues of immigration, racial tension and the evolving role of women in society, before coming to rest poignantly on the foundation of acceptance and the ability for successive generations to pursue a better life in this country.

But these once universally accepted democratic notions of freedom and equality have been in short supply lately in the U.S. — under attack from political forces that are bent on rolling back rights across the board.

Which is why Caroline Doctorow, E.L. Doctorow’s daughter, has decided to present “Ragtime at 50,” a multimedia presentation about her father and his book which marks its half century anniversary this year, followed by a screening of the 1981 film version of “Ragtime” directed by Miloš Forman. The presentation takes place this Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. at the Meeting House of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork in Bridgehampton.

One of the first things worth noting is the fact that when E.L. Doctorow published “Ragtime” in 1975, this country was in a very different place. A decade earlier, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin and ended segregation in public places, and in the years that followed, it was expanded to include voting, education and employment protections and outlawed discrimination based on age and sex. The 1970s also saw the introduction of the first federal civil rights bill for LGBTQ people. Just two years earlier, in 1973, with Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court had ruled that women had the right to control their own reproduction decisions. And in terms of immigration, The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 allowed refugees from Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam to enter the United States.

But today, this country is on a very different trajectory. Virtually all the ground gained on those big social issues of the 1970s have evaporated and we are now living in a dystopian era that more closely resembles the 1950s — and not in a good way.

Given the messaging put forth in her father’s novel, that’s something that Caroline Doctorow couldn’t help but notice when she saw a recent production of the 1998 Broadway musical version of “Ragtime,” which had a two-week run in Manhattan.

“The inspiration for putting this show together was seeing the musical version of it at City Center in New York City,” Doctorow explained. “It was insanely moving and so emotional and literally right after Election Day. People were weeping when it came to the Emma Goldman part of the play about human rights. It was hugely moving. It struck me that it’s more relevant than ever.

“That inspired the whole thing,” she added. “We really wanted to mark the 50th year anniversary. The novel came out in ’75 and it really reflects America’s promise and flaws. The characters in the book are immigrants and descendants of slaves and they are living up to the promise of the country.”

Doctorow shared a bit of what audiences can expect at her talk, including some of the behind-the-scenes stories of what she recalls from the period in the Doctorow household as “Ragtime” was being written.

“I’m doing this with photographs and my reading of the text, explaining the photographs,” she said. “It’s audio and interviews. I explain as best I can how he arrived to begin the novel, the very first sentence and how he wanted people to commit to living humanly through this novel.

“I’ve also been told that I need to add his love of folk music into the talk,” said Doctorow, who is, herself, a singer and songwriter. “He was a Pete Seeger fan and in a small folk group with my family. His mother could play anything on the piano, so music was a big piece in his life and he carried it to our family. He said it informed his life.”

Doctorow notes that both her father’s parents were very liberal — and generous — which helped to define his sensibility of right and wrong.

“His father had a music store in the city and would literally give things away to those who couldn’t afford them,” she said. “My father was so devoted to our country and the opportunities it provided. He lived in a time when, for the most part, the country kept getting better and better.”

When asked what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a well-known author and what she remembers about the time when her father was writing “Ragtime,” Doctorow said, “I remember my father typing. I would think it was thunder, but his study was above my bedroom, so I heard him writing his book.

“He somehow managed, as hard as he worked, to always be available to us. You’d think of interrupting someone in his study writing a book getting upset. But he never did,” said Doctorow, who was 20 years old when “Ragtime” came out. “But I was 16 or 17 when he was writing it. I’ll remember him always being available as a dad.”

This Sunday, Doctorow will also talk about her father’s three earlier novels — “Welcome to Hard Times,” “Big As life” and “The Book of Daniel” and reflect on how they led up to the writing of “Ragtime.”

Though “Ragtime” was written primarily at the family’s home in New Rochelle and in New York City, in the mid-1970s, the Doctorows purchased a summer home on John Street in Sag Harbor to be near their literary friends, including John Steinbeck’s widow, Elaine, who lived nearby on Bluff Point Road.

“Kurt Vonnegut was coming to our parties and invited us to his,” Doctorow recalled. “Joe Pintauro lived right up the street, Peter Matthiessen was in Sagaponack and Avery Corman, who wrote ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ was there too.

“I don’t think they would’ve bought a house out here if it wasn’t feeding them creatively,” added Doctorow, who lives in Bridgehampton. “My father always liked to be in a different location for writing each book. The first was written in a Queens apartment, the second in an apartment in New Rochelle, the third book in our house in New Rochelle and California, where we lived for a year, and the fourth book in New Rochelle and New York City.

“In later years, my mother was his best editor in a way, and read everything first,” she added. “He couldn’t have the career he did without my mother. He sometimes asked me for suggestions that ended up in his books.”

Because music is her passion and profession and was an important part of her family growing up, Doctorow will also be singing a folk song or two at Sunday’s presentation to tie it all together — and evoke the power of music and literature to hold political figures to account.

“I think it’s important we remember our history and not repeat it, though I don’t think that’s happening right now,” she cautioned.

“Ragtime at 50” will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork, Sag Harbor, 977 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 with tickets available at door only, and will to benefit the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork. For reservations, call 631-902-6173.