Jackson Heights is a recurring residential setting in Apollo Kagwa’s life: first the site of the two-bedroom apartment where Lillian Kagwa and Brian West raised their newborn son, and later the neighborhood of Apollo’s own cramped studio. Its place in the story connects the family home of Apollo’s early childhood with the book-filled independence he pursued as an adult.

The Family Home

By April 1977, Lillian was visibly pregnant, and Brian had found the couple a two-bedroom apartment in Jackson Heights. Their son was born that September. Brian carried the newborn in the crook of one arm and called him Apollo, rather than Rocky, the name Brian thought would seem strange for a half-Black child. The apartment thus marks the start of the household Apollo’s parents made together, before Brian disappeared by Apollo’s fourth birthday.

Apollo’s Later Studio

At nineteen, Apollo moved out of Lillian’s apartment and found a studio in Jackson Heights. It was so crowded with books that he could hardly fit a twin bed. By then he had settled on rare-book dealing as his calling, and the studio’s lack of space registers the priority he gave his work: books occupied the rooms to the point of displacing ordinary comfort. From this base, he crossed the country on book hunts, usually returning his attention to the books after occasional sightseeing or dating.

Place in Apollo’s Story

The neighborhood appears at two distinct stages rather than as a single unchanged home. In 1977 it holds the young family’s new beginning; years later it houses Apollo’s self-directed life as a working book dealer. The return to Jackson Heights gives his adult independence a concrete setting while preserving a connection to the family home he left.