Outposts: Literary Landmarks & Events

Abstract

outposts LiteraryLandmarks& Events New York City is fullofbeautifulneighborhoods steeped in history, and Greenwich Village (www.nycgv.com) is perhaps one of themost charming towander into. The Village has been called home by many great American authors?Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Henry James, Willa Cather, e. e. cummings, and Dylan Thomas, just toname a few. While walking through theVillage inApril of lastyear?while in town forthePEN World Voices Festival?I found theBonnie Slotnick Cookbooks store (www.bonnieslotnickcookbooks. com) on West Tenth Street, amid restaurants, storefront shops, and wonderful brownstones. Bonnie's shop befitsher location, smack in themiddle of the rich cultural and culinary stew that is Greenwich Village. Surrounded by restaurants serving every imaginable cuisine, as well as bakeries, wine shops, bars, and greenmarkets, theshop is also within blocks of at least fifteen other independent book shops. Bonnie is the foundingmember of the Independent Booksellers ofNew York City (www.ibnyc. org), a new organization dedicated to promoting the city's diverse indie bookstores. Bonnie opened her cookbook store in 1997, after careers as a freelance artist and cookbook editor. Her shop carries many vintage cookbooks, and very rare and out-of-print books are tucked into some shelves. "I knew Ihad made it when General Mills and Pillsbury startedgiving outmy name as a source fortheir cookbooks/' Bonnie told me. Bonnie loves her cozy store and theneighborhood thatembraces her. There is a barbershop right across thehall, a restaurantbelow, and people and theirpets drop by forvisits. I received a special treat when composer Murray Weinstock (www.dogtunes.com) and his cover-girl dachshund, Lucia Lagrima, visited the store. Lucia, a rescue dog, models for Bergdorf Goodman's catalogs inNew York. Murray com poses music froma dog's point of view and donates a portion of theproceeds tohelp homeless animals. All who visit Bonnie's bookshop talk about how comfortable and homey it is,with books stacked to the ceiling, a 1920sHome Pride enamel stove, and wonderful neighborhood friends thatdrop by for coffee and conversation. For cookbook lovers, the store is a browser's delight, embracing visitors like a patchwork quilt. - JerriStubblefield 80 1 World Literature Today ...