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Michael Seidenberg

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New York City bookstore owner and salon host
Michael Seidenberg
Born(1954-07-22)July 22, 1954
DiedJuly 8, 2019(2019-07-08) (aged 64)
Occupationbook seller

Michael Seidenberg (July 22, 1954 – July 8, 2019) was a New York City bookstore owner and writer. His shop, BrazenHead Books, was a secret bookstore, its last incarnation a by-appointment-only space, hidden behind a door in his Manhattan apartment.

The store was described as one of the "world's most stunning bookstores" by Fodor's in 2014. Seidenberg regularly ran literary salons in the space, described as "more like a salon than a for-profit business" by the New York Times. BrazenHead became known more for its get-togethers and the literary atmosphere than as a bookstore. "Literary culture has become far too corporate — Michael and Brazenhead are reminders of how and why to love books and authors," said novelist Porochista Khakpour. Jonathan Lethem was an early bookstore employee as a teenager, and wrote Seidenberg as a character into two of his novels.

Seidenberg wrote a series of advice columns for The New Inquiry called Unsolicited Advice for Living in the End Times which were published in two collected volumes.

Personal life

Seidenberg was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and grew up in New York City. He studied drama at Queensborough Community College. His first job was as a puppeteer, and he ran his troupe from a storefront in Brooklyn in the 1970s, a space which also became the first iteration of BrazenHead. He was married to Nicky Roe who worked as a circulation manager for Rolling Stone.

References

  1. Nawotka, Ed (2019-07-09). "Michael Seidenberg, New York City Bookseller, Dies". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  2. "There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books". Etsy Blog. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. Marx, Patricia (2008-06-02). "Wanna Buy A Book?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  4. Devers, AN (2015-10-12). "Brazenhead: New York's speakeasy bookstore turns a new page". the Guardian. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  5. "To Meet: Michael Seidenberg". Warby Parker. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  6. "World's 20 Most Stunning Bookstores". Fodor's. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  7. Force, Thessaly La (2011-07-12). "The Secret Bookstore". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  8. ^ "The Good Host, but Bad Bookseller, of Brazenhead Books". The New York Times. 2015-03-22. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  9. ^ Price, J.T. (2015-07-02). "The Best Friend There Is: Keeping Time with Brazenhead Books". The Millions. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  10. Seidenberg, Michael (2014-01-01). "The Collected Unsolicited Advice for Living in the End Times Vol. 2". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  11. Seidenberg, Michael (2012-12-21). "The Collected Unsolicited Advice for Living in the End Times Vol. 1". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  12. "An Apartment Full of Books and the Man Who Started It". to be discussed. 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  13. Meissner, Ivy (2013-09-23). "Words Behind Closed Doors". The New School Free Press. Retrieved 2019-07-09.

External links

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