Tuesday, September 27, 2011

St. Mark's Vestibule

As we celebrate St. Mark's Books and strive to save it from vanishing, let's not forget, in addition to the books, the value of its vestibule.



It's a "curated" collection of flyers, carefully selected for a particular audience, for people that are vanishing, too.

Where else would we discover simultaneously a seminar on Lacan and a concert by the Isle of Klezbos? It's "Psychoanalysis and Sexuation" one day, a klezmer brunch the next. (There's also a flyer for the talk "Psychoanalysis and Our Time" where you can find out "How might analysis act as a refuge against consumerism for both the individual and culture?")

There are no ads here for Two Broke Girls (on every to-go coffee cup, brought to you by the producers of Sex & the City). Instead you'll find notices for a tribute to squat pioneer Michael Shenker, a Banned Book Party at Housing Works, a Public Books roundtable with author Amy Waldman, the ongoing Occupation of Wall Street, the New York Gypsy Festival, a memorial reading for "Carma Bum" Scott Wannberg at the Bowery Poetry Club, and something called DEFY for "Skaters, punks, skins, goths, and metal heads" to "train your mind to achieve the impossible."



It's nothing less than a microcosm of the old East Village ("old" meaning prior to 2000-ish). And if you need to remind yourself about what's still good about living here, in the neighborhood and in the city, just step into St. Mark's vestibule. There's plenty there to keep you sane.


Also read:
Buy A Book Weekend at St. Mark's
Xmas in September

And sign that petition

6 comments:

EV Grieve said...

Very nice.

Mykola ( Mick) Dementiuk said...

And of course visit the letter D and find my "100 Whores" in the St Marks Bookshop stacks just waiting to get picked up and taken home. Got a 100 thrills just for you ;)))

http://www.100Whores.com

Anonymous said...

Off topic, but have you seen the Chase commercial where they turn St Mark's Church into a bank branch.

It stunned me. I mean, what kind of permission did they get?

Jeremiah Moss said...

no, i have not. where can i see that?

Anonymous said...

Sorry I can't find the video I was just flipping through the channels and it is Capital One not Chase. It has Jerry Stiller in the spot and I saw them a couple of weeks back blocking off 10th St. and making it look old timey.

Still stunning to see the church digitally covered with bank propaganda.

Anonymous said...

I am thankful that we have independent bookstores in the city. However, I find the staff attitude reprehensible: a combination of sulking rudeness and too-cool-for-school attitude. I feel like I am bothering them to say hello or (God forbid) ask a question. This reminds me of the staff attitude at the old Mondo Kim's, another place that I had similar mixed feelings about.

- East Villager