Created byAleksandra Hogendorf
Literary NYC
For the word crazy, the lit obsessed, the poets, scribes, and bookworms, there is no other city quite like New York. The literary scene, past and present, is legendary, the streets glitter with monuments to the written word, and ghosts of many of the world's greatest writers still haunt certain corners and park benches. As a word obsessed writer, reader, and book hoarder, I am lucky to live in a city teeming with literary influence and culture, libraries that verge on magical, and bookshops that inspire. Here are some indispensable stops for anyone of the book-loving persuasion.
Strand Book Store
828 Broadway, New York, NY
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
The Strand is an epic love story that takes the form of bookshelves, wooden floors, and miles and miles of new and used tomes. A NYC institution since 1927 and a Disneyland of sorts for word lovers, this East Village bookstore is one to get lost in for hours. Boasting three floors and a cumulative 18 miles of used ...more
New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
From the white marble lions guarding the majestic stepped entrance, to the sprawling size of this National Historic Landmark, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building and main branch of the New York Public Library is a sight to behold. The Beaux-Arts building is a temple of books in the heart of Manhattan, a slice of qu ... more
White Horse Tavern
567 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
Legend states that Dylan Thomas drank his last whiskey (or a record-breaking 18 shots) here at the White Horse Tavern, collapsed outside, fell into a coma back at the Chelsea Hotel, and died the next day. The bar remains a bit of a shrine to the poet, with his portraits covering the walls and a plaque commemoratin ... more
Aleksandra Hogendorf's photos:
Hotel Chelsea -- CLOSED
222 West 23rd Street, New York City, NY 10011
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
The wealth of artistic material that the Chelsea Hotel has inspired through the years is boundless. Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning,” Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel #2,” Andy Warhol’s “Chelsea Girls.” Jack Kerouc penned his classic “On the Road” here; Sir Arthur C. Clarke wrote “2001: A Space Oddyssey;” William B ... more
Aleksandra Hogendorf's photos:
Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
This Greenwich Village tavern was once hangout for such literary luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, e.e. cummings, Joe Gould, the Beats, and Dylan Thomas. The place has gone though many transformations through the years and its current reincarnation under Keith McNally’s ownership has preserved much of th ... more
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street, New York, NY, United States
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
A cozy sanctuary along a cobblestone street in Soho, this bookstore and café offers bargain priced used books, Intelligentsia coffee, and plenty of tables to read and write at for hours. Think mahogany, spiral staircases, high ceilings, gentle whirring of the espresso machine and sweet smells of cappuccinos….a lit ... more
KGB Bar
85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003, United States
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
On an East Village street, up a staircase and on the second floor of a nondescript building lies a red hued bar where your IPA is served with a heavy side of lit. KGB Bar is all about books and booze (with a dose of Soviet paraphernalia) and the literary events hosted by the bar are some of the city’s greatest. Re ... more
The Center For Book Arts
28 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001, United States
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
For anyone of the word-loving persuasion, obsessed with things like paper grain and fonts, the Center for Book Arts is worthy of a visit. This Chelsea studio devoted to the art of bookmaking features regular exhibitions and a calendar full of special events, including lectures, readings, artists’ talks, and round ...more
Library Hotel
299 Madison Ave., at 41st St., New York City, NY 10017
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
Only steps away from the majestic main branch of the New York Public Library and located on “Library Way,” the Library Hotel is a great choice of accommodation for the bookworm and word obsessed. Home to 6000 books, the hotel conveniently features several cozy fireplaces to curl up in front of and delve into the p ... more
Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, United States
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
Magnificent painted ceilings, wrap around bookcases, and priceless tapestries are just the stunning backdrops to the main event at the Morgan Library and Museum: books, thousands of them, rare and precious tomes and artifacts of some of the greatest writers, artists, and composers. The impressive home of financier ... more
Algonquin Hotel
59 W 44th St, Between Fifth & Sixth Ave, New York City, NY 10036
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
Another New York Historic Landmark, the Algonquin is best known for its illustrious literary history in the form of daily meetings of the Algonquin Round Table. The group of wisecracking writers, journalists, and critics who regularly met for lunch and discussions at the Rose Room included Dorothy Parker, Robert B ... more
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce Street, New York City, New York State
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
At the end of a charming West Village street stands legendary Cherry Lane Theatre. Founded by poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and friends, the theater has played a vital part in the literary and artistic scene of the Village through the years. Some notable names whose works were introduced to the world on the stage o ...more
Patchin Place
Off 10th Street & Avenues of the Americas, New York, NY 10011
Aleksandra Hogendorf's rating:xxxxx
Blink and you’ll miss it. This picturesque cul-de-sac off 10th street in Greenwich Village across from the Jefferson Market Library is an enchanting little stretch of ten brick row houses. It has been home to many notable writers, including Theodore Dreiser, Djuna Barnes, and e.e. cummings, who wrote of his home h ... more
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