KGB (bar)

KGB
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap
Location	85 E. 4th Street, East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Type	Bar
Opened	1993
Website
	Official website

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.

History[]

Before its present incarnation, the building had been the Palm Casino, a speakeasy controlled by Lucky Luciano. From 1948 to 1988 it was a private social club for Ukrainian Socialists^[2] who met behind its double-locked doors to hide their political affiliations from the rampant McCarthyism of the era.^[3]^[4] The Ukrainian-American League which operated the club continued to function in the building's basement in 1998. Inspired by the Soviet-era memorabilia stored in the building, KGB Bar opened in 1993, and become one of the most popular book-reading venues in New York City.^[2] 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.^[3]

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
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)
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Collins, Glenn (September 25, 1998). "A Cold War Relic Is a Literary Hot Spot; New Authors Hope Someone Important Is Listening to Them at Bar's Readings". The New York Times.
^ Jump up to: ^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 / 40.726580; -73.989923

[1] "Hoisting a few to the ghost of Stalin" (retrieved January 5, 2019)

[Collins-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Collins, Glenn (September 25, 1998). "A Cold War Relic Is a Literary Hot Spot; New Authors Hope Someone Important Is Listening to Them at Bar's Readings". The New York Times.

[Woychuk-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Woychuk, Denis, Founder & President "KGB Bar: A Brief and Distorted History", Retrieved on March 30, 2008.

[4] David Kortava (20 Mar 2017). "Russia and Revolution at KGB Bar". The New Yorker.

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