Leonard Abrams
Leonard Abrams (December 19, 1954 – April 1, 2023) was an American journalist. He was the founder of the East Village Eye.
Early life and education
Abrams was born on December 19, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a furrier and later a securities trader. His mother was a bank executive.[1]
Abrams studied literature at Fordham University.[1]
Career
In 1976, he started working as a bicycle messenger and moved to the East Village.[1] In May 1979, the first edition of the East Village Eye was published, with Abrams credited as editor-in-chief.[2] The cultural magazine was in circulation from May, 1979 until January, 1987.[3] The magazine had a total of 72 issues.
In 1987, he oversaw Hotel Amazon, a regular Lower East Side hip-hop party which featured acts such as Public Enemy, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest.[1]
In 2008, he wrote and directed the documentary Quilombo Country which tells the story of villages in Brazil founded by fugitive slaves.[1][4][5]
In his later life, Abrams had a business importing Mexican religious items.[1]
In 2023, Abrams sold the archive of the East Village Eye to the New York Public Library.[6]
Personal life
Abrams died of a heart attack while at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike while returning to Queens from a business trip.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Williams, Alex (April 13, 2023). "Leonard Abrams, 68, Chronicler of 1980s East Village Art Boom, Dies" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Rombes, Nicholas (2010-06-01). A Cultural Dictionary of Punk: 1974-1982. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-4411-0505-9.
- ^ "The East Village Eye: Where Art, Hip Hop, and Punk Collided" by Tiernan Morgan at Hyperallergic November 12, 2014
- ^ Scheib, Ronnie (September 24, 2008). "Quilombo Country".
- ^ Kern, Laura (September 19, 2008). "State of the Village" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-archives-of-the-east-village-eye-go-to-the-new-york-public-library