Josiah Wolfson of Aeon Bookstore
What is your passion?
“I make music and visual art as everyday practices - without those I'm lost. But bookselling is also a passion, one that allows my interest in individual creativity to bind with a sense of community and collaborative knowledge.”
Name: Josiah Wolfson
Business: Owner, Aeon Bookstore
Where are you from? Mostly Teaneck, NJ but with deeper roots in NY
When did you move to NY? Officially in 2007
When did you move to the LES? Aeon got the keys to 151 East Broadway on April 1st 2018 - I lived at 171 East Broadway in 2013
What is your first memory of the LES? Vague memories of walking around as a kid in the late 90s extrapolating bohemian fantasies that I had no actual context for while being aware of and relishing the diversity, trying to sneak into shows that I was too young to go to
What is your history with the LES? My dad lived in NYU housing on Bleecker and as a kid I used to walk around the LES thinking I was pretty cool just to be there. When I was older I used to go to shows and eventually play shows around there and when I moved there it felt sort of like I was finally where I was meant to be. My father and his parents (Eastern European Jewish Immigrants) had a lot of business and cultural ties to the neighborhood.
Outside of your business what is your favorite part of the LES? Even though its obviously diminished I still love the diversity of it and a feeling of history there, especially a working class and immigrant history that typifies New York. No matter how much time I spend there I always love the feeling of walking south on Essex and arriving at Seward Park and feeling like I'm somehow at the end and beginning of Manhattan.
What is your passion? I make music and visual art as everyday practices - without those I'm lost. But bookselling is also a passion, one that allows my interest in individual creativity to bind with a sense of community and collaborative knowledge.
What is your motto? Don't allow yourself to be overtaken by fear, anger, or concern about things beyond your control and focus on whatever it is you can actually do to either change your circumstances or to adjust your attitude towards your slice of reality
You can find our more about Aeon Bookstore here.