Bookstore

photo November 1979

Frank Scioscia moved his Dobbs Ferry Bookstore to Hastings on Hudson in 1978. He named his new store riverrun.

riverrun is an inviting store. On the day of this picture though, two of Frank's grandchildren preferred to read outside the store in the bright sunshine.

Mary, almost 6 in this photo, grew up and spent several years cataloguing books and organizing shows for riverrun. Michael, just turned 9 in the photo, is now the manager of riverrun. Like his grandfather and his father, Michael loves the store.

Back then riverrun was a hobby, not really a business, for Frank. He put considerably more money into the store than he took out. But it was worth it. riverrun was a hobby he truly loved. Everyone did.

Not a business and, after all, not a hobby either. riverrun was Frank Scioscia's calling.

Fin at riverrun

So often houses with lots of interesting books have lots of interesting other things as well. Chris and Michael visited such a house recently. They brought cartons of good books back to riverrun. They also brought back a splendid ostrich-feather hat.

This elegant little hat, made during a time when it was still considered okay to combine animal bits with high fashion, evokes the innocent grandeur of that period.

Fin Stephens models this hat for us here at riverrun, enhancing the store with a sheen of glamour heretofore missing.

Fin is the latest addition to the Stephens clan; to the riverrun family. She's great. Usually working without special headgear, Fin catalogues books, fills orders, hefts boxes, organizes shelves, arranges merchandise, and fields customer queries.

Fin and Michael Stephens moved here recently from California. They've been working hard at riverrun. They are revamping the store on the north side of the street.

We plan to have a Revamp Party soon. We want to celebrate Michael’s and Fin’s new visions for riverrun northside. Late spring maybe or early summer. Come join us. I'll post the date when we know it. We'll have wine and pretzels.

Fin might wear the ostrich-feather hat.

A Conversation With Steve, Michael and Fin

Stefan Kanfer came in to help identify some of the characters in old riverrun photos.

Michael and Fin were in the store. Steve was enthused to see the young people taking a hand in bringing riverrun more fully back into the community. Michael and Fin will have reorganized 7 Washington before summer. Maybe well before. They want to begin having riverrun readings again in the late spring.

"riverrun is a welcoming place," said Steve. "People will come. You can get people to help you with readings and music like this." Steve waved the photos of musicians at riverrun. He gave advice on how to make more room and how to get authors to come into the store.

"And there are so many local authors," said Fin.

She's not kidding. So many in this area. Steve told how the library held an event for local authors. "Eight four authors came." Steve talked about authors and artists and publishers and cartoonists and agents and editors. He knows people in all fields of publishing. Maybe he knows everyone. He had interesting things to say about lots of people, but my favorite comment was about Ed Young.

"You know that you have a world class artist living right here in Hastings. Ed Young can illustrate anything. He can paint Persian miniatures. He can paste up bright collages. He can draw. He can..." Steve stopped his list. "Ed Young might actually have too much talent."

Steve advised Michael and Fin. "You have to get the word out about riverrun. It's the best used bookstore - in the world. You can say that. In the world."

Kanfer has been a friend and advocate for riverrun bookshop since the beginning. He gave help and support to Frank Scioscia, the original proprietor, and to Chris Stephens, the present proprietor. He's happy to be encouraging Frank's grandson, Michael Stephens, and Michael's wife, Fin.

reading at riverrun

November 1988

Michael and Isabel Stephens at riverrun

Dobbs Ferry Bookstore

Gregory, Michael and Mary Stephens  Dobbs Ferry Bookstore
December 1974

Frank Scioscia's first bookstore was called Dobbs Ferry Bookstore. Scioscia didn't know if he should open a store but his son, Charles, encouraged him. Charles found the storefront for rent.

"$110 per month," Charles says. We signed the lease in spring of 1974." Charles helped Frank build bookshelves. I painted the sign. "Dobbs Ferry Bookstore" Dark blue on white. The letters were a little lopsided even though I was theoretically plenty mature enough to make proper sign letters.

Frank had lots of fun with the store. In no time though, he needed more space. He moved to Washington Avenue in Hastings in 1978. His new store was named riverrun.

riverrun is a very good name for the store in a number of ways. FAS loved the majestic Hudson River that lay just on the other side of the railroad tracks from the new store. He liked the literary connection in this name too.

Frank Scioscia and Chris Stephens thought of the name together. Their ideas got so intermingled in the animated and hilarious naming discussions that each thought he'd come up with the name for the store.

riverrun. It's the first word, also uncapitalized, in Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. Scioscia and Stephens were both Joyce enthusiasts. So was Frank's brother, John Socia of Old York Bookstore in New Brunswick NJ. The word fit perfectly. riverrun

A Tribute to Six Important Fathers on Fathers' Day

July 1988

FRANK SCIOSCIA - Father of riverrun bookstore

FAS is shown here with his 2 oldest grandchildren - themselves now the fathers of my very fine grandchildren.

GEORGE WASHINGTON - father of our country

CHRISTOPHER P. STEPHENS - Current proprietor of riverrun as well as the remarkable father of my remarkable children.

JOHANNES GUTENBERG - Father of Modern Printing

Collage Books

Michael Orick designs one-of-a-kind collage pop-up books. They are masterpieces. Orick wields an exacto blade with precision and inspiration. The art-work books are filled with unexpected juxtapositions, surprise flaps, and wheels that turn images.

Michael Orick hosts a weekly collage night at his home in Santa Cruz. Like minded artists gather Wednesday nights for creative evenings of a high-tech, high-art version of cut and paste. The Dead Cow Gallery in Santa Cruz hosted an exhibition of the collage night artists during April. It was grand fun but not as much fun as Wednesday nights.

see more from collage artists around the world at collagenight.com

July 1979

     This is Frank Scioscia's office at Harper & Row Publishers.  He spent the day showing his grandson around Harper's.  At the moment of this photo Michael is trying out Frank Scioscia's chair.     The chair feels just right.  So do the piles of books all around.   

Michael Stephens aka Michael Orick at riverrun 1988

In 1988 Mike was still Stephens. He had just graduated from high school. He was already a writer. In fact his aka name, Orick, was taken from a fictional charcater he'd created.
Michael had some Bookman characteristics like his grandfather and father. He considered setting up a bookstore, riverrun west, in California but other fascinating interests took up that time and creative energy: playwriting, acting, fatherhood, learning things.
Michael gets a big kick out of Collage Night. Every Wednesday night collage enthusiasts gather at his place and cut and paste. They can hear and smell the surf nearby but they scarcely notice. Each is completely engaged in his or her work. They're meticulous. The collages are art. In fact, the Collage Night gang has been invited to exhibit their work at the Dead Cow Art Gallery in Santa Cruz next month.
Michael has branched out from flat collages to collage pop-up books. They are splendid creations, but see? Books keep leaking into every aspect of his life. He moved 3000 miles away but he didn't get away from riverrun.

See collages by Michael (Blunktious) and other collage artists at: http://collagenight.com/index.php