Thanks to Brian Slattery and the New Haven Independent for profiling the collective and our work!
On Friday evening, Elena Augusewicz, Peter Cunningham, Jared Emerling, Jessica Larkin-Wells, Conor Perreault, and Charli Taylor — a.k.a. six of the Never Ending Books Collective — met in the storefront at 810 State St. They talked about how the beloved bookstore, music spot, and community space, which announced it was ending its decades-long run in December, may turn out not to be ending after all.
“There’s so much history, love, and community in here, and we wanted to carry on in that spirit,” Augusewicz said.
“There was a lady outside just now dancing” when she saw the lights on inside Never Ending Books, Perreault said. “There’s all this goodwill and history in this place, a flow of books and ideas.” There is also a flow of cash; since the collective officially announced it was planning to keep the space running, a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to cover the first months of rent has raised over $10,000.
For decades, under the ownership and guidance of Roger Uihlein, Never Ending Books served as a free bookstore, a stage for New Haven’s experimental music scene, and place for several different communities to gather, from drum circles to poetry groups to film aficionados. Uihlein had mentioned the possibility of closing the space for years, and finally made it official late last fall. It triggered an outpouring of fond remembrances from the New Haven arts community, as well as grief at losing the space.
