More Paeans to Cody's Books on Telegraph

From an article in UC Berkeley News, written by Wendy Edelstein:

Maxine Hong Kingston, an emeritus senior lecturer in English, recalls another tribute, one that occurred in 1966 when Anaïs Nin made a much-anticipated appearance for a publication party celebrating the first volume of her memoirs. The petite author wore a long ivory gown, and when she moved into the middle of the room to speak, Lawrence Ferlinghetti stepped behind her, raised a pail over her head, and showered her with red rose petals. "I think that was the most wonderful thing that happened at Cody's," says Kingston, who has often recalled that image. Kingston —whose books include The Woman Warrior, Tripmaster Monkey, and, most recently, The Fifth Book of Peace — says she is gratified to have read from every one of her books at Cody's.

Here’s another wonderful one:

Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim remembers trying to cram her way into the bookstore during a standing-room-only reading in the mid-'80s given by Barbara Christian, the first black woman to earn tenure at Berkeley. The capacity crowd was flowing down the stairs, she says, and kept her from getting close to the upstairs room where Christian was reading.

A former employee, Sumana Harihareswara, shares her memories, too.