Category Archives: East Village Archives

Figure on East 12th Street: Gregory Corso and Buddha

… A foreboding figure, like a waiting troll who might ask for a toll, was staring at me from a trash receptacle near Avenue B on East 12th Street. It was there and then one day (thankfully perhaps) it wasn’t. … Continue reading →

Three NYC Postcards by Patricia Kelly, 1980

16 Sep ’17

… Patricia Kelly and I moved from Philadelphia to Manhattan in August 1979. We stayed with our friend Marcia in a huge space she shared with several others near Houston and the Bowery. Marcia, at the time a lunchtime waitress, … Continue reading →

Tompkins Square late 80s: Bandshell and Totems

10 Sep ’17

… I am going to post a series of photos taken during the 1980s by my friend and fellow East Village resident, Don Trammel. This is the first of the series. Don put the Vimeo together and all of the … Continue reading →

A George Schneeman Postcard

26 Feb ’17

This postcard was a gift from Bill Kushner to me. George Schneeman, who had painted it, sent it to Bill in 2002 from Siena, Italy where he and his wife, Katie, were living. George thanked Bill for giving his son, … Continue reading →

Rocky Ledge # 5

23 Jun ’16

… Going through boxes and uncovering stuff. Here is Rocky Ledge #5 edited by Reed Bye and Anne Waldman in Boulder, Colorado summer of 1980. I am wary of scanning too much of this magazine because the scanning might damage … Continue reading →

HARD PRESS – SERIES 21: 12 POSTCARDS

22 Jun ’16

… Rochelle Kraut designed these postcards with the poems of poets roaming the East Village in the early 80s. There were plenty of them. Shelley will always have a special place in my heart because she gave me my first … Continue reading →

from Fucking in Barney, Number 4, 1984

15 Mar ’15

… … If it weren’t for Stephen Spera, I doubt I’d have gotten into Barney. I was very lax, and still am, about getting myself into things. Stephen, on the other hand, was always looking for and aware of opportunities. … Continue reading →

Gregory Corso’s A Star

30 Sep ’14

… Just got this gift this weekend. Years ago I brought the poet Gregory Corso to my friend Patricia Kelly who was always looking for ideas for art. For ten dollars Gregory wrote and signed a poem for Patricia that … Continue reading →

The Monkey at 9th and C

4 Nov ’13

… I’m not exactly sure when the monkey appeared on my apartment building’s wall. I look at him every day coming and going. No one has desecrated him yet. People walk by but they don’t destroy him. Art often appears … Continue reading →

In my words, May 13 – 19

19 May ’13

… I was looking through photographs, all in a mess, not looking for anything in particular, and found the one above taken, I think, around 1987. At first I thought it was Life Cafe, but the closer I looked I … Continue reading →

A Short Walk From My Door

8 Dec ’12

What follows are a dozen short films, most around a minute or two, the record of a year, November 2011 to November 2012, travelogues I made during walks in the neighborhood and further out into the city. Sometimes I saw … Continue reading →

The Snake on the Sidewalk (and other snakes as well)

15 Dec ’11

… Chico, a graffiti artist, recently graced the sidewalk with a rattlesnake. It’s such a friendly looking snake I don’t feel dread or danger walking over it. “Will it bite me?” is a question someone with a guilty conscience might … Continue reading →