Kimmie is a veteran in the absolute sense of the word. This introduction boasts no exaggeration & consider this a highly suggested forewarning that she is a definite individual, never to be taken lightly. She is a collective member and co-owner of Bluestockings-- an independent feminist bookstore located square in the heart of Manhattan's Lower East Side. The environment of Bluestockings is intensely charged with heightened political awareness & is no stranger to radical political activism. The volunteers & frequent loyal supporters of the store are notably impressive academic scholars (and smart-as-hell non academic scholars!) and well-versed in subjects of law, politics, comics, sex, sociology, anthropology, resistance, feminism, history & current events. It also doesn't hurt that the volunteers & community at Bluestockings are prevalently punk rock as hell-- also, the coffee (or hot cocoa!) and eclectic conversations to be had are all undeniably delicious. Bluestockings also offers a diverse variety of organic vegan snacks & beverage options to best satisfy your hunger & guaranteed refreshment.
AVANT - How did you wind up becoming the co-owner of a renowned L.E.S. NYC staple of a bookshop like Bluestockings?
Kimmie - I started off as a volunteer, fresh into Manhattan and completely miserable about it. I'm a Queens girl at heart, and I hated living in Manhattan until I discovered Bluestockings. Through my volunteer shift, a couple of internships, more responsibility, and lots of working for free, I was invited to join the worker's collective, which is a core group of folks that keeps the space running, and legally (and more boringly) "owns" the business side of things.
AVANT - What is a typical day like at Bluestockings? How about a typical Month? Do you hold book signings, political rallies, poetry nights, et cetera?
Kimmie - There is no typical day at Bluestockings. We have events nearly every night, from readings to presentations to film screenings. In honor of Valentine's Day this year, my darling friend Laura Duncan (http://lgduncan.tumblr.com) did a presentation on sex tech and robots.
In addition to our fantastic events, I feel blessed to meet people from around the world and around the corner, day in and day out. I feel like many people are standoffish in public not because they're too-cool-for-school, but because they're really shy and not great at breaking the ice (um, but not you, Ceasar). There's something magical about the space created at Bluestockings-- it's okay to talk to strangers and make friends, and to have discussions about books, and to find people to hang out with, trade mixtapes with, volunteer with.
On the more uninteresting-yet-necessary side of things, I hold a lot of responsibility as a collective member, so you'll often find me paying bills, scheduling volunteers, ordering books, fixing computers-- all that behind-the-scenes stuff that people don't necessarily think about when they step into the space.
AVANT - You guys sell coffee & stuff right. How about pastries? Basically-- what do you serve to eat + drink?
Kimmie - I make a stellarly badass cappuccino. We have a whole collection of loose-leaf tea, espresso drinks, coffee, sodas. In the summer, we make a killer mango ceylon iced tea. We also serve vegan snacks (cookies, cakey breads) and fair-trade and organic chocolate. Yum!
AVANT - What's your favorite thing about being co-owner of an establishment built upon pillars of defiance for aspiring revolutionaries?
Kimmie - My favorite thing is that we're not aspiring revolutionaries. We *are* revolutionaries. The collective model in this society is revolutionary in itself.
AVANT - How many hot girls & guys would you say walk in daily/weekly? How many would you date/potentially fuck?
Kimmie - Haha. Too many to count! I would date/potentially fuck very many hot guys & girls, if I wasn't too busy chattering about books and secretly being shy. That said, it's not unprecedented...
AVANT - What are your favorite books & authors that you'd recommend that Bluestockings sells?
Kimmie - Oh Jesus. Here goes a long answer to a short question. Well, as far as fiction goes, we carry most of my favorite novels: "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn, a lot of Murakami, "The Almond" by Nedjma-- which is fantastic, dirty little novel. We also have an amazing Sex Work section, great Women's Studies titles, Poetry-- fuck it, just come visit. You just might be one of those hot people who walks in on a regular basis!
AVANT - Are dogs & pets allowed?
Kimmie - Um. Not by department of health standards, but...
AVANT - Now for the random questions... What's the name of your dog(s)? What kind of dog food do you feed him/her/them?
Kimmie - My dogfriend's name is Tuli Wooferberg. He's named after Tuli Kupferberg. It's a long story. Perhaps one day I'll tell you. Tuli Wooferberg eats some fancy limited-ingredient dry dog food. He's a sensitive boy. But I often let him lick my plate of spaghetti when I'm done with it.
AVANT - Do you love living in Manhattan? What's your favorite thing about living in the city?
Kimmie - I used to hate living in Manhattan. But that's when I lived in Midtown. I love my neighborhood though. The Lower East Side / East Village has a lot of things that remind me of Queens, but here everyone comes through to visit. I never have to leave because there's always a friend or future friend walking down the street, waiting to hang out or make that connection. That's probably my favorite part-- making connections with people. Manhattan can be very isolating, but you can also make friends from all over the world. I choose to smile at strangers. It helps when you are walking a cute dog.
AVANT - Do you still contribute to Suicide Girls? I think you used to do that, right? If not, I think you should.
Kimmie - I had a Suicide Girls membership for a hot second (ok, a couple of years). I've never been a "Suicide Girl." It's not my thing, really-- I'm much more interested in face-to-face interaction and performance-- I'm a student of the NY School of Burlesque (http://schoolofburlesque.com), which is absolutely amazing and humbling. The energy from being part of a room full of women-- who are just normal folks like you and me-- putting on pasties after just having met each other an hour ago is just reaffirming and inspiring!
AVANT - Do you still go to punk shows? What kind of bands do you listen to anymore?
Kimmie - I don't remember the last show I went to. It might have been Jonathan Coulton. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of 50s Honky Tonk, which is actually pretty fucking punk rock.
AVANT - Lastly, my bookmark is a cardboard cutout of Everlast's "How to put on handwraps" instructions. What do you use as book marks?
Kimmie - I have eight billion Bluestockings bookmarks, always at my disposal. So usually those. Sometimes receipts and MetroCards-- I'm always on the go, so whatever's handy in my purse sometimes just has to suffice!
For more information, visit Bluestockings' website!
if i wasn't already in love with kimmie before....
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