8.15.14

I don't know how most people generally find their poetry or new authors to enjoy, but for me it tends to be in traditional book form from a traditional book shop. There is a wealth of forms to choose from and settings in which to experience it, but for some reason I prefer standing in a book shop, leafing through something chosen (possibly at random, possibly by author, possibly because something about it caught my attention) and waiting for a phrase to snatch my eyes and snap them back like in a cartoon. The last time I did this was at the legendary Powell's books of Portland, a place I make sure to visit each time we go down there. I ended up with a Plath chapbook and Ashes by Philip Levine.

While I usually go to my local Half Price book store, there are plenty of other poetry resources available. I thought I would point out some poetry-centric stores. I haven't been to any of these, but would certainly love to. Open Books is local-ish to me (Wallingford neighborhood), and I'm not sure how I've missed it. From their website:

Founded in 1995, Open Books: A Poem Emporium is a poetry-only bookstore in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. The aesthetically diverse stock contains over 10,000 new and used volumes published by presses from large to tiny. The calendar of events runs September to June with readings by visiting and local poets as well as the bookstore discussion group, Poetry in Conversation. 

Another poetry-centric shop is the Grolier Book shop of Cambridge, MA. It boasts the title of oldest continually-run poetry book shop in the States, dating to 1927. I know I passed this shop on a recent trip out East and I can't believe I didn't go in! The proximity to Harvard yard means that many big names were regular customers during their years as students. An interesting note (from Wiki):

The Grolier Poetry Book Shop was founded in September 1927 by Adrian Gambet and Gordon Cairnie; the subsequent owner, Louisa Solano, a 1966 graduate of Boston University, took over operation of the store in 1974 after Cairnie's death. The original owners were independently wealthy and were able to run the business at a loss, giving away books to favoured customers without charge, falling behind with bills and turning a blind eye to theft. Much of the activity at Grolier's under Cairnie's management was of the social kind: visitors lounged on a red couch while sharing drinks with the owners.

Solano was unable to support the store with her own money and turned it into a self-sustaining business. She found innovative ways to promote poetry in the Cambridge community; for many years the Grolier has sponsored an annual, national poetry contest as well as a reading series in nearby Adams House, a dormitory at Harvard. Solano's knowledge of poetry was well known in the Cambridge and Harvard community, and in the era before internet bookselling, she was considered a valuable source for people seeking rare and unusual poetry titles. Under Solano's management, for example, the store was the first to stockLanguage Magazine, the periodical that launched the avant-garde L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry movement.
In 2002, a 75th anniversary celebration^[1] by the Poetry Society of America drew a crowd of over 800 people, and Grolier's is listed as a "poetry landmark" by the Academy of American Poets.^[2]

 Innisfree Poetry Book shop and Cafe is in Boulder, CO. It's only been around for four years, but this article from around the time of it's opening names it as one of only three in the country as of time of writing. (The other two are the ones mentioned above) The husband-and-wife team that run Innisfree want to do more than just promote poetry: "Together they want Innisfree to be more than merely a poetry bookstore and café, but also a meeting place for local poets and writers, people who are interested in discussing poetry and literature, or possibly simply finding a calm reprieve from the storm of daily life outside of Innisfree's 460 square feet". The shop is even named for a poem, Yeat's The Lake Isle of Innisfree: 

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping
    slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket
     sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

What a wonderful namesake for a shop; I would love to have a place like that to relax in. These are just a few of the first hits I came upon in my perfunctory googling, I'm sure there are many more poetry-friendly book shops worth mentioning. This list has quite a few, check it out for more ideas. Do you have a favorite shop or locale for enjoying poetry?