St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements. Here Frank OHara caroused, Emma Goldman plotted and the Velvet Underground wailed. Ada Calhoun tells the Fascinating (Village Voice) many-layered history of the streetfrom its beginnings as a pear orchard to todays hipster playgroundorganised around the pivotal moments when critics declared St. Marks is dead.

In this timely, provocative, and stylishly written book. (The Atlantic), enriched by interviews and rare images, Calhoun profiles iconic characters from W.H. Auden to Abbie Hoffman, from Keith Haring to the Beastie Boys. St. Marks has variously been an elite address, an immigrants haven, a mafia warzone, a hippie paradise and a backdrop to the film Kidsbut it has always been a place that outsiders call home.