KGB is a

Soviet-era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

themed ("

Communist chic Communist chic are elements of popular culture such as fashion and commodities based on communist symbols and other things associated with Communism. Typical examples are T-shirts and other memorabilia with Alberto Korda's iconic photo of Che Gue ...

" ) 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 A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

controlled by

Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumenta ...

. From 1948 to 1988 it was a private social club for Ukrainian Socialists who met behind its double-locked doors to hide their political affiliations from the rampant

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

of the era. 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 became one of the most popular book-reading venues in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Popular authors read here ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' on Sunday evenings (fiction), Monday evenings (poetry), and most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. KGB has been named best literary venue in New York City by ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine, ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', and others.Woychuk, Denis, Founder & Presiden
"KGB Bar: A Brief and Distorted History"
Retrieved on March 30, 2008.

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

Jonathan Kravetz Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

* Fantastic Fiction – A monthly

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

reading series at the KGB Bar, held on the third Wednesday of every month, currently hosted by

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and

Matthew Kressel Matthew Kressel is a multiple Nebula, World Fantasy Award, and Eugie Award nominated author and coder. His short stories have been published in Tor.com, io9.com, Lightspeed Magazine, Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Interzone, Apex Magazi ...

* 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

External links

*
Fantastic Fiction at KGB

Trumpet Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:KGB (Bar) East Village, Manhattan Bars (establishments) Speakeasies Drinking establishments in New York City Communist chic Ukrainian-American culture in New York City