I am up in New York City for the Book Fair. There was a shadow show on West 18th Street (where I picked up a run of Chicago - scans to come in the next week or so). A few blocks away is Pete's Tavern. O. Henry wrote The Gift of the Magi in booth number 3. It is a wonderful old bar that makes a pretty mean hamburger although from what I hear the burger at J.G. Melon's is the best in the city. I stopped by J.G. Melon's as well, which was a short walk away from the main book fair at the Park Avenue Armory. The screenplay for Arthur was written at J.G. Melon's.
I have talked about the importance of bookstores in the literary community, but they pale in comparsion to the importance of bars. The Cedar Tavern, The White Horse, The Kettle of Fish. These are just a few of the literary bars of lower Manhattan. The editorial board of Fuck You, a magazine of the art, convened at "evil" Stanley's Bar either before or after a collating session. Probably before which may account for the fact that several of my issues of Fuck You are missing poems, have duplicate pages, or are out of order.
JB
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