At Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books in Greenwich Village, "conversations among staff and visitors tend to be literary. Or political," the New York Times noted in its "Neighborhood Joint" series profile of a bookshop that has been in the same building, at 34 Carmine Street, for 25 years. Specializing in bargain books, "the store's selection varies according to the personal taste" of owner Jim Drougas and the "entire place is maybe 25 feet across, and rows of bookshelves divide the space into two long, narrow aisles," the Times wrote. A few years ago, rising rents prompted Drougas to lease one of the aisles to Carmine Street Comics.
"Looming" over the bookshelves and dividing the sections are posters of Bob Dylan ("holding a sign that says, 'Over 35 Different Bob Dylan Books in Stock!' ") and a formal portrait of William Blake. "It's as if the two poets are the guardian angels of the store," the Times noted. Drougas observed: "If I can't sell Blake, what's the point?"