KGB is a Soviet-era themed ("Communist chic"[1] ) bar located in the East Village of New York City at 85 E. 4th Street, New York, New York 10003.
Location | 85 E. 4th Street, East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
---|---|
Type | Bar |
Opened | 1993 |
Website | |
Official website |
History
Before its present incarnation, the second-floor venue was a speakeasy for Ukrainian Socialists who met behind its double-locked doors to hide their political affiliations from the rampant McCarthyism of the era.[2][3] Since opening in 1993, the KGB Bar has become something of a New York City literary institution.[citation needed] Popular authors read here pro bono on Sunday evenings (fiction), Monday evenings (poetry), and most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.[citation needed] KGB has been named best literary venue in New York City by New York magazine[citation needed], The Village Voice[citation needed], and others.[2]
Reading series
The bar hosts several regular reading series which include:
- Trumpet Fiction – Literary fiction and arts, held on the second Saturday of every month, hosted by Jonathan Kravetz
- Fantastic Fiction – A monthly speculative fiction reading series at the KGB Bar, held on the third Wednesday of every month, currently hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel
- Monday Night Poetry Series – Founded by David Lehman and Star Black, this legendary series has lasted more than a decade and features an impressive slate of major contemporary poets in its fall and spring seasons. The series spawned a book, The KGB Bar Book of Poems, in 2000. Currently hosted by Matthew Yeager and John Deming.
References
- ^ "Hoisting a few to the ghost of Stalin" (retrieved January 5, 2019)
- ^ a b Woychuk, Denis, Founder & President "KGB Bar: A Brief and Distorted History", Retrieved on March 30, 2008.
- ^ David Kortava (20 Mar 2017). "Russia and Revolution at KGB Bar". The New Yorker.
External links
Coordinates: 40°43′36″N 73°59′24″W / 40.726580°N 73.989923°W