Attended Both

I had the chance to attend both book fairs mentioned in my last post. I went the Anarchist Book Fair first. There's much radical literature here, some of it very good. I believe that, if all these folks can find some common ground and work together, can implement change in the country. I am impressed with the number of publishers and presses which cater to the radical and counterculture side.

After hanging out in Washington Square Park for awhile, I rode the subway to the upper west side to attend the Rainbow Book Fair. Publishers, authors, and presses in the TGLBQ  communities are featured here. Being gender variant I wasn't going to miss this event. I chatted with a few of the authors and vendors and discovered some very creative and intelligent people who are proud of who they are. I saw a couple of books I wanted to purchase but was short o funds. I'll order them from their publishers in a couple of weeks.  

Bluestockings Bookstore

I first visited Bluestockings ten or twelve years ago. It was a hole-in-the-wall bookstore located on Allen Street on the Lower East Side. It was small with a decent selection of books and magazines on the counterculture. There were books about war and exploitation, anarchy, racism, feminism, and global warming. I have always read radical rag sheets and articles outside the norm.

Bluestockings reminded me of my days as a young Bluestockings is larger with a coffee bar, tables and chairs, and a larger selection of books. Now there are books on issues important to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. There are book and poetry readings practically every day. Local authors, slam artists, and connoisseurs of the spoken word share their works with a diverse audience. Bluestockings has film series from time to time about such hot topics as global warming and the displacement of indigenous people in South America.

If you enjoy reading books on the counterculture, Bluestockings Bookstore is the place to go. I tend to read books that are not on the best sellers lists but they do educate me just the same. Come down, have a cup of coffee and hang out at this Lower East Side establishment.

Bluestockings Bookstore

172 Allen Street near Stanton Street

New York, New York