AFTER COLLEGE I MOVED to New York and was a messenger at The New Yorker magazine. I spent most of my time on the subway carrying manuscripts around the city. I brought along a sketchbook and drew things I saw—like a couple making out in Central Park—then came back to the office late. In the evenings I went to Yankees games, an Alvin Ailey performance, a pick-up basketball game. In the mornings I went to galleries in Soho or a fishmarket on Chinatown. I didn't realize until halfway through the year that I was making a book.

I think everyone who comes to New York believes they're the first to discover it. In a way, that's true. Everyone is discovering it for the first time, for themselves. And New York, big and foreboding, becomes small and personal and full of stories. This book is my journal of that year.

REVIEWS

Time Out New York 12.6.99
"As much as New Yorkers love their hometown, sometimes a newcomer, flush with fresh ardor, can create a better Valentine to the city. A Year in New York, illustrated and written by Elisha Cooper, is just such a love letter."

Published by:
City & Company 1995
ISBN 1-885492-24-3 $20