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An audience of literary lovers attended the June 17 grand opening of Word Up community bookstore at 4157 Broadway. See p20 for a calendar of upcoming events at the temporary bookstore. PHOTO: Gloria Pazmiño
I arrived at the grand opening of Word Up, located on Broadway near W. 175th Street in Washington Heights, on Fri., June 17. This wasn’t like any other business opening I’ve been to before, where shelves glitter with products, and smiling uniformed staff attends to your every need. There were no balloons, or streamers attracting passersby, or a big sign reading ‘grand opening’ to grab the distracted eyes of the residents on the block.
Instead, there was the smooth tune of a saxophone coming from within the store, and the curious faces of people who, as they passed by, decided to walk in and see what the buzz was all about.
A big sign-in book sat by the door.
Sharpie markers in hands, Word Up supporters emblazoned messages of welcome and support.
It was a collective cheer book that told a lot: “Welcome to the neighborhood. I hope you stay forever,” read one.
“We needed you! Been waiting for a long time,” read another.
The buzz in the air spoke, loudly, of art, literature, and progress. It spoke of community. Among all the familiar faces, the artists, the photographers, the filmmakers, the painters, and the poets, I was home, home in my new neighborhood bookstore.
The store, formerly a pharmacy, lacks the new shiny walls of a new business but it is abundant with character.
Among the “I Love my Hood” graffiti-decorated walls, the paintings, and wall hangings are bookshelves with hundreds of books.
The literature ranges from comic book reads to novels, self-improvement books, cultural heritage pieces, New York City-specific literature, poetry, biographies, and short stories.
Some are in English, others in Spanish – some are in both. There are also selections in Russian and Armenian, a literary melting pot all well organized by the hands of local volunteers.
More are to come out of still unpacked boxes in the coming weeks.
And perhaps that’s the most telling part about the Word Up bookstore and the collective effort it spawned.
The Word Up bookstore was at first only an idea in the heads of Veronica Liu, a resident of Washington Heights and editor at Fractious Press and Seven Stories Institute, and Diana Caba, program director of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA).
Describing it as a “book of connect the dots,” Liu said that she and Caba came together to finally solidify the pop-up bookstore idea after many conversations about the possibility of having a book festival join the Uptown Arts Stroll. It was then that they reached out to Vantage Properties, which owns and manages commercial real estate in Northern Manhattan. Vantage then partnered with NoMAA to donate the Broadway space for a month, just when Liu and Caba had hoped: during June, for the Stroll.
The rest is history in the making.
Volunteers have come rushing to help, and even those who planned to just drop off books on consignment have been enlisted in a pseudo book army that has been working day and night to unpack and organize the hundreds of books that have arrived at the store thanks to electronic word of mouth: some have even come from places as far away as Puerto Rico.
Local poet and author Lola Koundakjian attended the opening and said that she was thrilled to have a neighborhood bookstore.
“This is wonderful; it’s a great space where we can all come together. It’s places like this where [we] can exchange information and art,” she said.
Koundakjian’s book, a collection of poems written in Armenian, English, and Spanish, is available at Word Up.
A happy Liu said it best on opening night, as she pointed to the future:
“I’m thanking you, the community for what you’re about to do,” she said. “Support this place, show up, and make it yours. Community participation in a community space is what this is about.”
Word Up, a community bookstore, is at 4157 Broadway @ W. 175th Street. It is open weekdays from 4 to 9pm and weekends from noon-4pm. Learn more at wordupbooks.com or see p. 20 for a calendar of upcoming events.
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