Book vendors take M’side literary scene to the streets

As the intellectual hub for Columbia students, Morningside Heights exudes a more academic vibe than other Manhattan neighborhoods.

Beyond the Columbia bookstore and its independent counterparts, reading material abounds along the stretch of Broadway from 113th to 110th streets, where vendors have set up tables reminiscent of the Left Bank bookstands in Paris.

Columbians and Morningside residents alike can stop by the table in front of Milano Market between 113th and 112th streets to peruse a picturesque table of books and CDs while chatting about politics and the death of print media with the owner, Steve, who prefers not to give his last name. He has been selling books for five years and can be spotted in a hunting hat reminiscent of Holden Caulfield. Although he prefers science fiction, Steve sells a little bit of everything, getting his books at sales and auctions as well as through donations.

As Steve explains, he loves selling books because it gives him the chance to do something he enjoys while preserving time to write. However, he has definitely noticed some disturbing trends in the last few years. “You can see how American literacy has gone downhill by looking at how the Times’ best-seller list has changed in the last 10 to 15 years,” Steve said. Fortunately for Morningside residents, authors from Sophocles and Strindberg to Lorca and Golding still await at reasonable prices on Steve’s table.

Only a few feet away from Steve’s collection of current fiction and classics is the book table in front of Cardomat. Although the owner was not available for an interview, the table boasted an interesting juxtaposition of Mapplethorpe art books and D.H. Lawrence texts. There is usually a chess match at the sidewalk table a few feet away as well, increasing the intellectual atmosphere along this stretch of Broadway.

Larry Kaplan is another book vendor who mans a table on the sidewalk near Duane Reade. Kaplan, who sports a mustache and a black beret, has been selling books for over 20 years and possesses a wealth of knowledge about everything from specific publishing houses to general literary trends. Kaplan started out working in flea markets, but when a library came up for sale, he decided to buy it. Kaplan said, “I didn’t know what I had, didn’t know literature as well as I do now.” Nevertheless, he filled up the back of his truck and switched to the book business.

Now, anyone in the market for an Italian copy of Marquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera” can find it at Kaplan’s table, along with an assortment of out-of-print books, light reading, texts from Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization, and even three or four collections of Harold Pinter plays.

Kaplan offers vintage prints for $5—these generally sell better than the books do. “I’ve never seen a bad book, but I’ve seen many that don’t sell,” Kaplan said. He explained that usually the book vendors hope for immediate turnover and rely on a book’s publication date to gauge whether or not it is current enough to appeal to buyers.

Finally, just off Broadway on 111th St., Raul sells everything from children’s books and dictionaries to gloves and winter hats. Raul has been in the book industry for over 30 years and used to own a bookstore on 114th, where Book Culture just opened a new location. He enjoys managing a table, but is also thinking about opening a children’s bookstore. Even now, Raul noted that many of his older customers are most excited to pick up a copy of a Dr. Seuss favorite.

In regard to the past few decades of neighborhood changes, Raul joked, “We’re still around. They haven’t kicked us out yet.” And, for the sake of the neighborhood’s literary culture, hopefully “they” never will.