--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a young comic in New York and…" description: "\"When I was a young comic in New York and I wasn't getting any work, I was wandering around the Lower East Side with my notebook. I would stop at the gu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-maron-2459_bookstores_when-i-was-a-young-comic-in-new-york-and_882815.jpg" --- # When I was a young comic in New York and I wasn't getting… ![“When I was a young comic in New York and I wasn't getting any work, I was wandering around the Lower East Side with my notebook. I would stop at the guitar place on St. Mark's and talk to that dude for a while, then I'd go to the bookstore and talk to that dude for a little while. I had a guy over…” quote by Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-maron-2459_bookstores_when-i-was-a-young-comic-in-new-york-and_882815.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-maron-2459_bookstores_when-i-was-a-young-comic-in-new-york-and_882815.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/191/marc-maron-2459_bookstores_when-i-was-a-young-comic-in-new-york-and_882815.jpg) > “When I was a young comic in New York and I wasn't getting any work, I was wandering around the Lower East Side with my notebook. I would stop at the guitar place on St. Mark's and talk to that dude for a while, then I'd go to the bookstore and talk to that dude for a little while. I had a guy over at the record store, and I'd talk to him for a while. It kept me connected to life.” [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes how informal conversations with strangers kept him inspired and connected during early career struggles **In simple terms:** Talking to random people helped him stay creative and motivated Key Takeaway Seek diverse perspectives to stay inspired Themes creativity career connection Mood reflective inspirational Type personal career When to use this quote - early comedy gigs - writing sessions - personal growth Key Concepts Networking inspiration storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can introverts adapt this method? - What other ways foster creative connection? A Different Perspective Some may find this approach impractical for introverts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bookstore Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstore-talk-1069704/) [Bookstores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstores/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connected/) [Dude Bookstore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dude-bookstore-1069703/) [East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) [East side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-side/) [Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Kept Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-connected-1069702/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Record store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-store/) [Record stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-stores/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stores/) [Talk Dude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-dude-1069705/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) [Wandering around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wandering-around/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [It's incomprehensible for me to hear another dude talk about another's dude's pockets and have that matter and argue about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-dash/it-s-incomprehensible-for-me-to-hear-another-dude-talk-about-another/) [Damon Dash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-dash/) > [By the time I was in my early-twenties and was living there on the Lower East Side, I was so surrounded by tragedy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-drooker/by-the-time-i-was-in-my-early-twenties-and-was-living-there-on-the/) [Eric Drooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-drooker/) > [I cycled when I was at high school, then reconnected with bikes in New York in the late '70s. It was a good way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-cycled-when-i-was-at-high-school-then-reconnected-with-bikes-in-new/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [My earliest recollections are of the teeming East Side where I was born. This Hester Street and its surrounding streets were the most densely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/my-earliest-recollections-are-of-the-teeming-east-side-where-i-was/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [I moved up over Lower East Side and I was adopted by eight foster parents; I lived all over New York City with these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/i-moved-up-over-lower-east-side-and-i-was-adopted-by-eight-foster/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [I grew up in Harlem, but I moved to the Lower East Side when I was a teenager and it was ... I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-leonard/i-grew-up-in-harlem-but-i-moved-to-the-lower-east-side-when-i-was-a/) [Zoe Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-leonard/) > [We feel like we are using the East Side to kind of spoof what everybody thinks is cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-elfont/we-feel-like-we-are-using-the-east-side-to-kind-of-spoof-what/) [Harry Elfont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-elfont/) > [Vicksburg lies on top of a bluff on the east side of a large tongue of land jutting out into the Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knute-nelson/vicksburg-lies-on-top-of-a-bluff-on-the-east-side-of-a-large-tongue/) [Knute Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knute-nelson/) > ['The Good Guy' is a totally differently-looking New York than 'How To Make It' portrays. 'The Good Guy' is all about Wall Street and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-greenberg/the-good-guy-is-a-totally-differently-looking-new-york-than-how-to/) [Bryan Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-greenberg/) > [My background did not start with the East Side; it started with Greenwich Village, which is West Side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/my-background-did-not-start-with-the-east-side-it-started-with/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [I grew up in Manhattan on the Upper East Side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/i-grew-up-in-manhattan-on-the-upper-east-side/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [In my mid-twenties, I said to myself: 'I can't perform anymore!' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't perform for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-kayden/in-my-mid-twenties-i-said-to-myself-i-can-t-perform-anymore-i-didn-t/) [Spencer Kayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-kayden/) > [I remember how often some of us walked out of the darkness of the Lower East Side and into the brilliant sunlight of Washington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-golden/i-remember-how-often-some-of-us-walked-out-of-the-darkness-of-the/) [Harry Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-golden/) > [Everybody ought to have a lower East Side in their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/everybody-ought-to-have-a-lower-east-side-in-their-life/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [I remember my own life as a small boy, son of Jewish immigrants, in a janitor's flat on Orchard and Stanton streets on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-k-javits/i-remember-my-own-life-as-a-small-boy-son-of-jewish-immigrants-in-a/) [Jacob K. Javits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-k-javits/) ## More by Marc Maron > [The development of the comedy club industry destroyed the uniqueness and intimacy of the profession but it also created jobs for comics and bred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/the-development-of-the-comedy-club-industry-destroyed-the-uniqueness/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [We’re built to deal with death, disease, failure, struggle, heartbreak, problems. It’s what separates us from the animals and why we envy and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/we-re-built-to-deal-with-death-disease-failure-struggle-heartbreak/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [We need the children of Indonesia and the Philippines to manufacture our freedom of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/we-need-the-children-of-indonesia-and-the-philippines-to-manufacture/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [There's this whole post-modern, nuevo beatnik, retro-bohemian thing going on, you know what I mean? You walk into some coffee shops, and it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/there-s-this-whole-post-modern-nuevo-beatnik-retro-bohemian-thing/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I'm not completely sure we aren't all living in a hallucination now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-m-not-completely-sure-we-aren-t-all-living-in-a-hallucination-now/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [My favorite part is being engaged with somebody's story and life, and getting a laugh with people I have a tremendous amount of respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/my-favorite-part-is-being-engaged-with-somebody-s-story-and-life-and/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [The medium of podcasting and the personal nature of it, the relationship you build with your listeners and the relationship they have with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/the-medium-of-podcasting-and-the-personal-nature-of-it-the/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [“There's something to be said that if everyone likes something there's gotta be something fucking wrong with it on some level. Unless it's ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/there-s-something-to-be-said-that-if-everyone-likes-something-there-s/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [It amazes me that we are all on Twitter and Facebook. By "we" I mean adults. We're adults, right? But emotionally we're a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/it-amazes-me-that-we-are-all-on-twitter-and-facebook-by-we-i-mean/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I'm not against people just being funny or telling stories. I don't need to delve into the soft, dark core all the time. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-m-not-against-people-just-being-funny-or-telling-stories-i-don-t/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [“He doesn't have anything like wisdom of age or hindsight. He's a biased historian of self, an emotional revisionist. We all are, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/he-doesn-t-have-anything-like-wisdom-of-age-or-hindsight-he-s-a/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I live in Los Angeles, I know it exists. I know you're not supposed to taste air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-live-in-los-angeles-i-know-it-exists-i-know-you-re-not-supposed-to/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I knew most of my radio listeners were lefty political people, and I decided definitively not to be that guy - not to address…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-knew-most-of-my-radio-listeners-were-lefty-political-people-and-i/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [There are also always those burnt, hard kernels at the bottom that don't pop. You know why they don't pop? They don't pop because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/there-are-also-always-those-burnt-hard-kernels-at-the-bottom-that-don/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I think most other comics are like, 'I'm going to do my fkin' act and that'll be that.' With me, it's like, 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-think-most-other-comics-are-like-i-m-going-to-do-my-fkin-act-and/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) [Explore all 165 Marc Maron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) ## More Bookstores quotes > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/) [Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/) > [Evangelical Christians and I can sit down and talk one on one about how much we love Jesus, and yet I'm not carried in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/evangelical-christians-and-i-can-sit-down-and-talk-one-on-one-about/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We should all miss bookstores. They let you discover things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-hefner/we-should-all-miss-bookstores-they-let-you-discover-things/) [Christie Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-hefner/) > [My main interest was finding boyfriends. I'd park myself in the bookstore and read with one eye on everyone coming in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/my-main-interest-was-finding-boyfriends-i-d-park-myself-in-the/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [At one time in my career, Barnes and Noble bookstores categorized my books as religious fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/at-one-time-in-my-career-barnes-and-noble-bookstores-categorized-my/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [...bookstores, libraries... they're the closest thing I have to a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-c-hines/bookstores-libraries-they-re-the-closest-thing-i-have-to-a-church/) [Jim C. Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-c-hines/) > [Here, you can walk into a bookstore and pick up a Bible or Christian literature and learn. Over there, they are lucky if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/here-you-can-walk-into-a-bookstore-and-pick-up-a-bible-or-christian/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [In turbulent times, in times of great change, people head for the two extremes: fundamentalism and personal, spiritual experience...With no membership lists or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naisbitt/in-turbulent-times-in-times-of-great-change-people-head-for-the-two/) [John Naisbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naisbitt/) > [“Judge not the value of a friend by the number of boy- or girlfriends they helped you get. But by the number of books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/judge-not-the-value-of-a-friend-by-the-number-of-boy-or-girlfriends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Your reciept is your library card." -- On what killed the brick and mortar bookstores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-naughton/your-reciept-is-your-library-card-on-what-killed-the-brick-and-mortar/) [Michael P. Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-p-naughton/) > [“Readership is highly dependent upon format and distribution as much as it is on content.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/readership-is-highly-dependent-upon-format-and-distribution-as-much/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If Im in the bookstore, and I see a 700-page novel, my first thought is, Ooh, how could you cut this down to size…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/if-im-in-the-bookstore-and-i-see-a-700-page-novel-my-first-thought-is/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [Out of the closets and into the museums, libraries, architectural monuments, concert halls, bookstores, recording studios and film studios of the world. Everything belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-the-closets-and-into-the-museums-libraries-architectural/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Printed books usually outlive bookstores and the publishers who brought them out. They sit around, demanding nothing, for decades. That's one of their nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/printed-books-usually-outlive-bookstores-and-the-publishers-who/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Browse all 307 Bookstores quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstores/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a young comic in New York and I wasn't getting any work, I was wandering around the Lower East Side with my notebook. I would stop at the guitar place on St. Mark's and talk to that dude for a while, then I'd go to the bookstore and talk to that dude for a little while. 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