Jess Puglisi

This interview with Jess Puglisi was recorded on June 19, 2014 in Hudson, New York. Jess was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Her father is a retired Union worker, her mother is a stay-at-home mom, and she has three younger sisters. Books and music were instrumental in Jess’s development as a child and young adult. She left New Haven when she was 19 and attended a satellite campus of University of Connecticut for one semester, moving to Hudson soon after. She enjoys living and working in Hudson, especially because of the size of the city, and understands her position within the community as both insider and outsider. She has worked in Hudson as a waitress at a diner, a bartender at Swoon, and a graphic designer. Jess worked at The Spotty Dog Books & Ale and was responsible for transforming it into a bustling social spot by curating the book selection and inviting musicians to play in the space. Currently, Jess books music for The Spotty Dog, works as the Outreach Coordinator at WGXC, and works for Fence, a literary journal. Jess named Tom DePietro, Ken Hollenbeck, Kelley Drahushuk, and Linda Drahushuk as potential narrators for the Hudson Area Archive.

Subjects discussed: literature, philosophy, and music as sources of influence, relationship to the internet in adolescence, writing, pressure to attend college, past relationships, The Spotty Dog Books & Ale, service industry, restaurant work, bartending, Warren Street, locals and transplants in Hudson, New Haven, CT, WGXC public radio station, and Fence literary journal.

This interview may be of interest to those interested in the retail development of Warren Street and Hudson in general, independent bookstores (specifically the history of The Spotty Dog Books & Ale), the music scene in Hudson, and non-native Hudson residents.