On Being A Poor Black Punk And Working At The Strand Bookstore

In 1987, I sewage a occupation astatine nan celebrated Strand bookstore successful Union Square. My ska band, nan Boilers, rehearsed down nan artifact astatine a spot called Giant Studios, and I stopped successful nan Strand 1 time pinch each volition to bargain a book but alternatively decided to inquire if immoderate positions were open.

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Every NYU student, downtown artist, and aspiring writer wanted to activity astatine nan Strand. It was a position job. It was hep to beryllium seen wearing nan iconic reddish Strand bookstore T-shirt only labor got.

A young female who was arsenic acheronian arsenic nan nighttime and arsenic beautiful arsenic a sunrise handed maine an application. I filled it retired and was fortunate capable to beryllium sent straight to meet Fred, nan store’s owner, successful a cramped small abstraction he called his office. The question and reply lasted little than a minute. Fred looked maine up and down and asked, “What’s nan past book you read?”

“I don’t retrieve nan title,” I said, “but it was thing by Vonnegut.”

Fred told maine to travel backmost nan adjacent day. I was assigned to nan shop warehouse, and erstwhile I stepped wrong it, I realized why Fred wanted to beryllium successful complaint of who was hired. I was reasonably judge he was conducting a societal experiment.

We had 2 level managers. John and Paul, for illustration nan Beatles and nan popes. John was an aged throwback to a Haight- Ashbury hippie. All agelong hair, tie-dyed shirts, and bell-bottom jeans. He was ever noticeably stoned. He moved and said slowly, started and ended each condemnation pinch “Maaaaan,” and took predominant naps astatine his desk. He was fundamentally Chong from nan Cheech & Chong movies.

Paul was wholly different. He was successful his early thirties and ace energetic, for illustration methamphetamine-energetic. A full leather queen, complete pinch nan heavy mustache and nan supertight achromatic leather outfits. He buzzed astir nan storage giving retired orders and shade. If he could person gotten distant pinch it, I guessed he would person virtually “cracked nan whip.”

The concealed joke we storage workers shared astir Paul was that 1 of nan guys had recovered a image successful a Robert Mapplethorpe photography book of a skinny White dude pinch a heavy mustache wearing leather chaps. He had nan grip of a large achromatic leather whip shoved measurement up his ass. It was Paul.

There were astir 10 of america who worked nan storage floor, including nan managers. Our occupation was to support nan shop stocked, capable message orders, and person shipments of books. It was a batch of clip connected our feet, stepping up and down aisles, climbing pallets of books, and lugging dense boxes. Our unit was arsenic motley and improbable arsenic could beryllium imagined.

We had Chelsea, who looked for illustration nan emotion kid of Howard Stern and Joey Ramone. Years later, erstwhile I saw Marilyn Manson for nan first time, I swore it was Chelsea. I’m still not convinced it wasn’t.

Every day, Chelsea came to activity successful that dusty, soiled storage dressed successful a pinkish aliases yellowish ballerina’s tutu and combat boots. Long earlier group were talking astir gender nonconformity aliases gender fluidity, location was Chelsea.

This tall, gaunt, pale, skinny being was successful a superior romanticist narration pinch a stud lesbian called Bobbi, who besides worked successful nan store. Bobbi was short, round, and fat, and each trucker hats and flannel shirts. The 2 of them making retired successful nan stairway was so a show to behold.

We had 2 different Black guys connected nan crew. One was Nathaniel, who suffered from nan worst lawsuit of eczema I’d ever seen. Every visible inch of Nathaniel looked for illustration alligator skin. It flaked, peeled, and cracked, and he was perpetually scratching. When he sat down astatine our break array to eat lunch, he near flakes of himself each complete nan chair and nan table. You knew erstwhile he’d utilized nan toilet because his dried, flaked tegument sat successful a ringing astir nan seat.

Eugene was a spot older, but he ever looked arsenic if his mommy had dressed him. Creased, high-water corduroy pants and too-tight sweater vests and off-brand sneakers. He had nan astir unkempt afro I’d seen since mediate school. I had to conflict nan impulse to show him to prime his crap out.

Eugene wore heavy glasses and had a gentle, scholarly aerial astir him. He was soft-spoken and well-read and ever eager to talk accuracy aliases nan Bible. Eugene was a devout, churchgoing, born-again Christian pinch a secret.

Sometimes, erstwhile I was filling an bid successful nan quiet warehouse, I’d abruptly perceive a large “Suck my motherfucking dick, you faggot bitch!” aliases “Lick my shitty asshole!”

Eugene had Tourette’s. He had a verbal tic he couldn’t control. Once I sewage utilized to it, I teased him astir it. One day, aft a peculiarly vile outburst, he said, “They really emotion maine successful church. They deliberation I’ve been possessed by a demon.”

Boo-Boo Fuff was nan dirtiest kid I’d ever met. He was mediocre White trash from nan Rockaways and looked for illustration a operation betwixt a young Bob Dylan and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. He was a really saccharine kid.

Our hippie manager, John, really gave him nan nickname. Joey (soon to beryllium christened Boo-Boo Fuff) messed up an bid severely 1 day. He sewage really upset and started to tear up. John put a consoling limb astir his shoulders and said, “Maaaaan, you’ve gotta toughen up, dude! You can’t spell done life being Boo- Boo Fuff, maaaaan!”

Fuff utilized to bathe successful nan storage bathroom. I saw him scrub his look pinch soap and water, and still it looked for illustration he’d conscionable pulled it retired of a autobus exhaust pipe. He was genetically dirty. Dirt was successful his DNA.

Lastly, location was Natz. Natz was my boy. We deed it disconnected correct away. I didn’t cognize it astatine first, but he was somewhat of a section fable successful nan Lower East Side and East Village punk scene. He was a bass subordinate who played pinch everyone but was champion known for his clip pinch 2 iconic bands connected that scene, nan Undead and Cop Shoot Cop.

Cop Shoot Cop was astatine nan tallness of its fame arsenic a sound business post-punk band. When Natz first told maine astir nan band, I thought nan title was literal; arsenic successful cops shooting different cops. He explained it really meant nan rhythm of a junkie’s life, arsenic successful “cop dope, shoot dope, cop dope” and repeat.

Natz and I had a catchphrase: “You deliberation it’s easy?” It’s really we greeted and said goodbye to each other.

I hung retired pinch him aft activity successful Tompkins Square Park and astir Alphabet City, wherever he was hailed arsenic a insignificant personage by nan section punks and junkies. He was beautiful recognizable: six ft 3 and bone-skinny pinch crazy, unkempt hairsbreadth and a wont of wearing agelong achromatic trench coats and dense technologist boots—even successful nan dormant of summer.

I went to a mates of his shows, and I was nan only Black feline for miles. But Natz ever made maine consciousness welcome. At 1 matinee show, a bunch of Nazi punks showed up and started harassing nan band. Natz calmly unstrapped his bass and smacked 1 of those Nazis crossed nan look pinch it, and conscionable arsenic calmly picked up playing wherever he’d near off. Punk rock!

Natz lived successful a large flat disconnected of Avenue C pinch his girlfriend, who was besides somewhat celebrated successful nan dark, post-punk-art Lydia Lunch world. We had hung retired successful Tompkins Square each night, and I had to beryllium backmost astatine activity successful a fewer hours, truthful he invited maine to clang astatine their spot.

I slept connected nan level successful nan smelly, nasty, roach- and rat-infested space. They had cats but nary feline box. They had a refrigerator but nary electricity. Everything was rotten and foul. The toilet didn’t flush. Things crawled connected maine and things nibbled astatine me. Natz and his woman thought it was cool to unrecorded for illustration that. They really bragged astir it.

A mates times a week, Fred came up to nan storage to cheque connected his societal experiment. I deliberation he really sewage a footwear retired of playing God arsenic he chose 1 of america to activity nan shop level for a fewer hours. It was a reprieve to beryllium retired of nan dusty storage and among nan public, and immoderate of nan cashiers were benignant of cute.

One day, Fred selected maine to activity nan floor, and I struck up a speech pinch 1 of nan tiny cashiers. She was a punk chick, caller to nan city. She was a large instrumentality of Cop Shoot Cop, and she knew Natz and I were friends. She suggested we bent retired aft work.

We ended up getting drunk together till beautiful late, and recovered ourselves connected a secluded chair successful Tompkins Square. We made retired a bit. She unzipped my pants.

I was surviving successful a squat that had nary bath aliases shower. The champion I could do was return a cowboy bath successful nan room sink, and I hadn’t moreover done that successful a week. I was cheesy and nasty. I grabbed her manus and said, “Baby, you don’t want to do that. I stink for illustration a bum bum. Let’s hold till I tin get washed up.”

She was persistent but yet stopped trying. She’ll ne'er cognize nan favour I did her that day.

I discontinue nan Strand by simply not showing up anymore. One day, I was connected my measurement successful and a sound came to maine arsenic if God herself whispered it successful my ear. “It’s done,” nan sound said.

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Excerpted from Concrete Dreamland by Patrick Dougher. Copyright © 2025 by Patrick Dougher. Used pinch support of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All authorities reserved.