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Carla Cohen, 74, a community activist who co-owned a Washington bookstore that became a city institution and a key stop for writers as varied as Bill Clinton and J.K. Rowling, died Monday of cancer of the bile ducts, the Politics & Prose bookstore announced on its website.
A former city planner, congressional aide and federal housing official, Cohen founded the store in 1984 and had run it with co-owner Barbara Meade. During an era when superstore chains, the Internet and the economy led to the closing of thousands of independent stores, Politics and Prose expanded from a crowded storefront with less than 2,000 square feet to a two- story haven with more than 10,000 square feet, including a downstairs cafe.
The Associated Press
