Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849 Writer and Poet

American Bohemianism is said to have started with Edgar Allan Poe. In search for cheap lodgings, he often found himself living in Greenwich Village. He is credited with inventing the detective story and psychological thrillers. His home in the Village has been designated a historic landmark.

Edward Albee 1928 - Playwright

Albee moved to the Village at the age of 20. He is a leading American playwright, known for starting American absurdist drama and for his many drama awards, including three Pulitzer Prizes. He is best known for The Zoo Story, the widely acclaimed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

Jack Kerouac 1922-1969 Poet and Novelist

Romantic hero and leader, with Allen Ginsberg, of the original Beat Generation. Kerouac was active in the 40s and 50s, frequenting Village bars and coffee shops. He wrote Dr. Sax, Maggie Cassady, The Town and the City, and the famous On the Road, all autobiographical novels.

Edna St.Vincent Millay 1892-1950 Poet and Dramatist

After graduating Vassar in 1917, Millay joined the thriving artistic community of Greenwich Village in the 20s. Feminist, political activist, bohemian, and icon of restless youth in the Jazz Age, she is noted for her books, radio broadcasts, and sellout personal appearances.

William S. Burroughs 1914-1997 Writer

Burroughs arrived in NY in the 1940s. He was closely associated with the Beat's, Kerouac and Ginsberg, encouraging their writing fiction and poetry. He is known for his books Junky and Naked Lunch. He deliberately sought a drug-addicted nomadic life, returning to NY in 1974 to begin organizing and publishing his works.

James Baldwin 1924-1987 Author, Playwright, Civil Rights Activist

Baldwin moved to the Village after high school in Harlem. He lived alternatively in France and the U.S. and was a friend of core Beat writers, especially Kerouac and Ginsberg. He was a vital literary voice during the civil rights activism in the 50s and 60s, most noted for Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name, The Fire Next Time and Another Country.

Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997 Poet, Author, Activist

Ginsberg moved to the Village in 1951. Along with Jack Kerouac, he created the infamous group of writers later to be known as the Beat Generation. He lived in a cheap apartment on 10th St. His work emphasized his political views on contemporary culture; notably, Howl and Other Poems and Kaddish, among others.

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) 1835-1910 Writer, Humorist, Lecturer

Twain lived in Greenwich Village prior to WW1. He resided around Washington Square and drew crowds that followed him on 5th Avenue as he walked uptown. He bacame immensely popular with his books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1882), and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).