Politics & Prose Bookstore founder and co-owner Carla Cohen died of cancer Monday morning; she was 74 years old. Cohen founded the bookstore after her career in government and urban planning—among many achievements she orchestrated a grant to Miami Beach, which seeded the revival of South Beach’s Art Deco hotels—ended with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Cohen opened the bookstore in a small storefront on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., in 1984. Five years later Politics & Prose moved to larger quarters across the street and has continued to expand. In 1985, store manager Barbara Meade became a partner in the store, which quickly grew to be one of the country’s leading independents. In 1999, Cohen and Mead were named PW’s booksellers of the year. This fall the two were given the Legacy Award of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, which also created the Carla Cohen Free Speech Award for a children’s book that best exemplifies the ideals of the First Amendment.
Cohen's death resulted in an outpouring of tributes for one of the country's most influential booksellers, including a statement from Random House. "Random House mourns the loss of Carla Cohen. One of America's greatest booksellers, she has had a profound impact on the reading choices of the nation's capitol's movers and shakers and everyday booklovers alike. An invitation for our authors to read and sign their books at Politics and Prose was often more coveted than to be invited to a dinner at the White House. We will miss her forthrightness, her passion, and her heart," the statement said.
In addition to her husband, Cohen is survived by her son, Aaron Cohen (and Nina Del Rio) of New York; her daughter, Eve Cohen (and Richard Stanley) of San Francisco; her grandchildren; her 100 year-old mother, Edith Furstenberg of Baltimore;, and her five siblings: Mark Furstenberg of Washington, Frank Furstenberg of Philadelphia, Michael Furstenberg of Boston, Anne Furstenberg of Philadelphia, and Ellen Furstenberg of Philadelphia.
A funeral will be held at Tifereth Israel (7701 16th Street, N.W. , Washington, D.C.) at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13 and the store will be closed from noon-4 pm on that day. Otherwise all store events will proceed as scheduled. A memorial service will take place at the store in November. The date has not been set yet. The community is invited to post tributes to Cohen on the bookstore Web site.
