Saturday, January 03, 2015

GREATEST BOOKSHOP EVER!



















Eighth Street Bookshop

Here's who I remember on staff:

Paul Barnes
Joseph Bitowf
Mark Brasz
Chuck Campbell
Steve Clark
Andre Codrescu
Charles Dudley
Tom Farley
Paul Glushanok
Ron Horning
Joe Johnson
LeRoi Jones (R.I.P.)
Don Kasha
Richard Kolmar
Martin Last (R.I.P.)
Bruce Marcus
David Mitchell
Ron Najman
Peter Orlovsky (R.I.P.)
Sylvester Pollett
Rod Rademacher (R.I.P.)
David Sable
Roger Sammis
Jonathan Schwartz (?)
Jose Soltero
A.B. Spellman
M.G. Stevens
Roy Tedoff
Ken Weaver (BFF)
Eileen Wilentz
Eli Wilentz (R.I.P)
Philip Wilentz
Sean Wilentz
Ted Wilentz (R.I.P)
Lewis _______

There were many more who've fallen through the cracks of my mind.

Never dawned on me in the 1960, but seems to've been a somewhat  sexist hiring policy.

Stage a reunion of those remaining, turn on a microphone and end up with volumes of a living history of the Greenwich Village art, literature and music scene circa '47 - '80

5 comments:

Michael Leddy said...

If it’s Arthur’s son Jonathan, he’s on WNYC and (I think) Sirius.

Bill Reed said...

I know TWO x Jonathan Schwartz. One is the radio personality, son of songwriter Arthur Schwartz. Trust me . . . he never clerked ANYWHERE. And the OTHER Jonathan, who was head of a Jewish cultural library in Northern Cal. Now retired. HE is the 8th Street guy . . . I think. I knew Jonathan way back when AND now, but I can't quite recall whether he worked at 8th Street in addition to (across the way) at the great Discophile. Thus, the "?" after his name.

David Federman said...

Eight Street Bookstore in the Village and Gotham Book Mart in midtown--the greatest jewel of the Diamond District. I still have many of the books--mostly poetry--I bought at those two stores. Glad to see one of them was as much an oasis for you as it was for me.

Bill Reed said...

Strand at 12th and Broadway also was---and still is---a literary oasis!

Anonymous said...

The Strand is more like an ocean than an oasis. However, I enjoyed it more when it was not all spruced up like a Barnes and Noble.