Reading the Streets of Greenwich Village

It’s February, so that means the 41st annual Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book and Paper Fair (GVABF) is around the corner--this year taking place February 21st through the 23rd at P.S. 3, the John Melser Charrette School. 

Ahead of last year’s show, we wrote about the rich literary history claimed by the area within the confines of 14th Street and Houston and flanked by 4th Avenue and the Hudson River, but what of its contemporary literary relevance? The cheap rents that attracted the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg are certainly a thing of the past--consider, for example, that the average rent for an approximately 400 square foot studio apartment in Greenwich Village is $2,982, according to Apartments.com--but for those who can swing it, the Village still feels like a tight-knit, bohemian community.  

Part of that artistic vibe comes from the cultural offerings in the Village, including the various independent bookstores that have managed to hang on despite soaring rents and a consumer exodus towards online shopping. Among the stalwarts is Three Lives and Company,which, since 1968 has evolved into something of a local touchstone. 

How does the bookstore remain relevant in the Amazon era? The store’s survival relies on its a relentless commitment to community, fueled in large part by its dedicated staff. In fact, when Three Lives underwent renovation in 2018, a rumor spread that the store was actually closing for good, and the neighborhood went into mourning--itself a testament to the shop that Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham dubbed “one of the greatest bookshops on the face of the Earth.”  Three Lives and Company is on West 10th and Waverly Street, hardly a quarter mile walk from the GVABF and very much worth the trek. 

Another shop worth visiting is Left Bank Books at 41 Perry Street in the West Village. Erik DuRon and artist Jess Kuronen relaunched the Greenwich Village book hub as an online shop in 2017 after the previous iteration of Left Bank Books shuttered in 2016. Then, the siren call of a physical store proved to be irresistible, and the duo reopened Left Bank Books IRL in 2019. The cozy, 300 square-foot space is filled with books that cater to the desires of Left Bank’s devoted clientele. Fret not if you can’t make it to Perry Street; DuRon and Kuronen will be operating a stall at the GVABF this month. 

But clearly, after four decades in the heart of the Village, the GVABF is very much a part of the contemporary local literary scene. The two-day fair is recognized for drawing an eclectic array of book dealers, meaning treasure hunters looking for rare prints or modern firsts are sure to find something that sparks joy. 

And the fair is evolving: this year, the GVABF welcomes the Booklyn AB/Z Fair (A)rtists’ (B)ooks to (Z)ines an exciting selection of artists sponsored by Booklyn.