In high school I lived a block away from Fred Braun but never wanted the shoes. I shopped in a tiny clothing store called Three Steps Down, and the 8th St Bookstore, slept with one of its clerks and when a cockroach crawled across the bed he picked it up gently and put it on the floor. I remember that and his name, which was Will Quirk. And so forth. Never knew anybody famous except Anatole Broyard. Wish I'd've bumped into Grace Paley, though. Loved reading your essay. Took me back, then dropped me back here again. A little homesick for what used to be. All your fault.
What are Fred Braun shoes and how did I miss their turn in the zeitgeist? A Google search is coming on. As for the Beat women, I savor the story of Diane Di Prima on her way out the door of someone’s smoky pad because she had to relieve the baysitter. Kerouac, egged on by Ginsberg, said she’d never be a writer if she worried about babysitters. She left.
Diane, Joyce Johnson, Hettie Jones, Bonnie Bremser, ruth weiss... there were many and of course they didn't get the attention accorded the men. But the lives they lead took a lot more courage because for a woman when they left the mainstream that was a much bigger deal. I just looked up Fred Braun shoes - they don't show the real deal. They were ugly. And they were status among wannabe-beats.
Atmospheric, colorful, writing and so interesting about Hettie! You were a precocious teen, and this story illustrates how your social consciousness was developing, forming the fiercely independent, fair minded woman/writer you became. I'm researching two of my friends from the 60's, Emmitt Grogan and Mason Hoffenberg, who are featured in my new book, and it's putting me right into that Beat scene. Your piece has enriched it, and your description of Hettie Jones introduces a vital component of that scene, i.e. the women. I'm so glad you've called attention to their courage and the important part they played. Bravo!
I lived on Charles Street in the late sixties and indeed had a pair of Fred Brauns, bought with my first paycheck. I actually interviewed for a job at the shop. Didn’t get the job. It was an interesting interview w the actual Mr. Braun.
When I lived on Bleecker Street, one of my best friends was a poet named Brigid Murnaghan. She has occasionally appeared in Beat anthologies. I knew her during her theatrical phase, directing one of her plays in a nursing home on the Upper West Side. Always DIY. She offered me my first public reading at The Back Fence. Brigid wrote me a recommendation for the Writing Seminars and addressed it 'To Whom.' I miss those days a bit.
Thank you for introducing me to Hettie Jones. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I didn't have an awareness of her before today. What a wonderful woman she was. And I appreciate the look into your younger years, and your own experience being a Villager. The Beats. What an interesting group of writers. A group/movement dominated by men, they weren't as open or free-thinking as some think. Diane diPrima, yes, but others? Hmmm. It's nice to know that she was there among them, and emerged as a creator/writer/influential source in her own right. This is a great piece of writing, Nancy. Loved every word!
I love this, Nancy! I, too, had the Fred Braun shoes, bought at the store on 8th Street, and had been going to the Village to hear music in coffee shops since my junior year in high school. I wasn't aware of the Beat women -- I was much more interested in the folk music scene that was exploding on Bleecker and Macdougal Streets. I never had the courage to move to the Village and, indeed, led a VERY conventional middle-class life into my early- & mid-40s. Still, there is so much in this piece of yours that resonates with my spirit, with the me I thought I could be "if only . . .." You chose a path that has served you well, I believe, based on how you write now and the topics about which you write now. I'm so glad to have found your Substack.
Fred Braun shoes! How I saved babysitting money to buy a pair. Never could afford the pocketbook. In a pinch dirty white canvas (I think they were the only kind) sneakers would do.
Check out page 11 of our HCHS ‘65 yearbook. Fred Braun shoes are immortalized there.
Thank you! There were many others. Joyce Johnson's Minor Characters as an example. Ann Charters has several books out on the Beat women. In a sense they were more radical and more courageous than their male counterparts.
Thanks so much Irna. I feel I've a little more conventional than I'd like, with spurts of exceptions. This was one of those spurts. I loved that apartment and that time. Funny, I can't remember ever taking a bath or a shower but I know I must have! I'm really thrilled that you've "found" me.
Right!!! It cost so much $ to look down and out.
In high school I lived a block away from Fred Braun but never wanted the shoes. I shopped in a tiny clothing store called Three Steps Down, and the 8th St Bookstore, slept with one of its clerks and when a cockroach crawled across the bed he picked it up gently and put it on the floor. I remember that and his name, which was Will Quirk. And so forth. Never knew anybody famous except Anatole Broyard. Wish I'd've bumped into Grace Paley, though. Loved reading your essay. Took me back, then dropped me back here again. A little homesick for what used to be. All your fault.
What are Fred Braun shoes and how did I miss their turn in the zeitgeist? A Google search is coming on. As for the Beat women, I savor the story of Diane Di Prima on her way out the door of someone’s smoky pad because she had to relieve the baysitter. Kerouac, egged on by Ginsberg, said she’d never be a writer if she worried about babysitters. She left.
Diane, Joyce Johnson, Hettie Jones, Bonnie Bremser, ruth weiss... there were many and of course they didn't get the attention accorded the men. But the lives they lead took a lot more courage because for a woman when they left the mainstream that was a much bigger deal. I just looked up Fred Braun shoes - they don't show the real deal. They were ugly. And they were status among wannabe-beats.
Atmospheric, colorful, writing and so interesting about Hettie! You were a precocious teen, and this story illustrates how your social consciousness was developing, forming the fiercely independent, fair minded woman/writer you became. I'm researching two of my friends from the 60's, Emmitt Grogan and Mason Hoffenberg, who are featured in my new book, and it's putting me right into that Beat scene. Your piece has enriched it, and your description of Hettie Jones introduces a vital component of that scene, i.e. the women. I'm so glad you've called attention to their courage and the important part they played. Bravo!
Thanks!
Always enjoy these essays. More!
I lived on Charles Street in the late sixties and indeed had a pair of Fred Brauns, bought with my first paycheck. I actually interviewed for a job at the shop. Didn’t get the job. It was an interesting interview w the actual Mr. Braun.
When I lived on Bleecker Street, one of my best friends was a poet named Brigid Murnaghan. She has occasionally appeared in Beat anthologies. I knew her during her theatrical phase, directing one of her plays in a nursing home on the Upper West Side. Always DIY. She offered me my first public reading at The Back Fence. Brigid wrote me a recommendation for the Writing Seminars and addressed it 'To Whom.' I miss those days a bit.
Thank you for introducing me to Hettie Jones. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I didn't have an awareness of her before today. What a wonderful woman she was. And I appreciate the look into your younger years, and your own experience being a Villager. The Beats. What an interesting group of writers. A group/movement dominated by men, they weren't as open or free-thinking as some think. Diane diPrima, yes, but others? Hmmm. It's nice to know that she was there among them, and emerged as a creator/writer/influential source in her own right. This is a great piece of writing, Nancy. Loved every word!
I love this, Nancy! I, too, had the Fred Braun shoes, bought at the store on 8th Street, and had been going to the Village to hear music in coffee shops since my junior year in high school. I wasn't aware of the Beat women -- I was much more interested in the folk music scene that was exploding on Bleecker and Macdougal Streets. I never had the courage to move to the Village and, indeed, led a VERY conventional middle-class life into my early- & mid-40s. Still, there is so much in this piece of yours that resonates with my spirit, with the me I thought I could be "if only . . .." You chose a path that has served you well, I believe, based on how you write now and the topics about which you write now. I'm so glad to have found your Substack.
Fred Braun shoes! How I saved babysitting money to buy a pair. Never could afford the pocketbook. In a pinch dirty white canvas (I think they were the only kind) sneakers would do.
Check out page 11 of our HCHS ‘65 yearbook. Fred Braun shoes are immortalized there.
Thank you...
Those were the days...
I miss them too.
Thank you! There were many others. Joyce Johnson's Minor Characters as an example. Ann Charters has several books out on the Beat women. In a sense they were more radical and more courageous than their male counterparts.
I accept the blame.
Thanks so much Irna. I feel I've a little more conventional than I'd like, with spurts of exceptions. This was one of those spurts. I loved that apartment and that time. Funny, I can't remember ever taking a bath or a shower but I know I must have! I'm really thrilled that you've "found" me.