Courtesy Warby Parker The Warby Parker Readery at The Standard.

Some blocks north of William S. Burroughs’s “bunker” on the Bowery, The Standard, East Village is paying tribute to the neighborhood’s literary past by opening a throwback lobby newsstand stocked with the likes of Kesey, Kerouac, and Corso.

The Readery, as the book nook will be called, won’t just feature rare and vintage books by 60s authors, it’ll also sell 60s-inspired Warby Parker glasses and shades.

Neil Blumenthal, a co-founder of the hip eyewear company, said his company’s mission – of donating to international non-profits that train low-income women to give eye-exams and sell low-cost glasses – is very much in step with the Beat generation. “Much like those writers that were reimagining what it means to be an individual and to be an American, we’re trying to transform the optical industry. And we’re trying to remake what it means to be a for-profit company,” he said.

Courtesy Warby Parker

Mr. Blumenthal said the home of the Readery had a counterculture connection as well: “This era really challenged the establishment. The Standard did the same for hotels.” The location, he said, was a no-brainer. “When you think about where was the center of this movement of writers and artists it was primarily Greenwich Village and the East Village so it made perfect sense.”

On Thursday, the “curated kiosk” will launch with a party on the roof deck of the hotel, just across the street from the headquarters of the alternative weekly that Norman Mailer co-founded (some of Mailer’s books will be on offer, along with early copies of the Village Voice). In one of the rooms, a nude model will provide inspiration to guests interested in honing their sketch-work – further evoking the 60s era of exploration, discovery and art, said Mr. Blumenthal. Adam Green, a singer-songwriter with a strong 60s retro sound will serenade partygoers as well.

In case you’re curious, here’s a list of some of the books that will be on offer from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

1965-1967 Village Voice
KULCHUR MAGAZINE #12
KULCHUR MAGAZINE #5
KULCHUR MAGAZINE Spring 1960
REVOLUTION FOR THE HELL OF IT, Abbie Hoffman
REVOLUTION FOR THE HELL OF IT (tenth printing), Abbie Hoffman
THE GRADUATE by Charles Webb
SELECTED POEMS 1956-1976 by Diane Di Prima
MEDITATIONS IN AN EMERGENCY by Frank O’Hara
MYTHS AND TEXTS by Gary Snyder
GASOLINE by Gregory Corso
THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF DEATH by Gregory Corso
HELL’S ANGELS by Hunter S Thompson
HEAVEN & OTHER POEMS by Jack Kerouac
LONESOME TRAVELER by Jack Kerouac
ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
THE DHARMA BUMS by Jack Kerouac
THE SUBTERRANEANS by Jack Kerouac
TRISTESSA by Jack Kerouac
FRANNY AND ZOOEY (HC) by JD Salinger
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST by Ken Kesey
HURRAH FOR ANYTHING 1958 by Kenneth Patchen
BUT EVEN SO by Kenneth Patchen
BECAUSE IT IS by Kenneth Patchen
A CONEY ISLAND OF THE MIND/WHO ARE WE NOW by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
HER by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer
AN AMERICAN DREAM (1ST EDITION) 1965 by Norman Mailer
BARBARY SHORE by Norman Mailer
TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA (SC) by Richard Brautigan
NOVA EXPRESS by William S Burroughs
NOVA EXPRESS (SC) by William S Burroughs
THE SOFT MACHINE by William S Burroughs
THE TICKET THAT EXPLODED by William S Burroughs
NAKED LUNCH by William S Burroughs
THE WILD BOYS by William S Burroughs