What a beautiful story. Both peaceful and very real.
We used to hunt for those bookstore in our walks through nyc before the kids came, later we took them to every one of them we found. I miss those magical caves. So few (here, none now) any more.
This is the type of poetry that makes you think and feel. That’s what poetry is for... I have yet to put any of my own writing on my stack. I’m afraid of rejection but I’m also not scared about dying but maybe afraid of living... that’s a good start for a song ohhh yeah that’s the beginning of the Sam Cooke song “A Change is Going to Come “... and now I remember that song is the best form of poetry or is it just that songs are poetry set to music?
Absolutely spot on. Its really awkward meeting your heroes. They mean so much to you and you mean nothing to them. I still talk about the time I failed to have a conversation with Iggy Pop in a university corridor about forty years ago. He would have forgotten all about it in seconds.
Your poem is alive with great details-- I love it! I was just in such a shop last week in Yellow Springs, Ohio on the way home from my father's funeral. There, I bought an old, used book of nature writing done in an almanac style. And-- I kid you not-- the smiling proprietor tucked a complimentary bookmark into a random page along with my receipt before handing me the book with a kind, "Thank you." As I walked out of the shop, I noticed that he'd randomly inserted the bookmark into the page for my birthday!!! Those odds 365:1 prove what I've always known: bookshops are magical portals to a place called Happiness containing exactly the words and the people one is destined to know!😊✨
I love G-rated celebrity fantasies. This is lovely! (Also, in my upcoming novel, I named a fictional '90s cover band Meloncollie. You will obviously get that reference.)
These are the best kinds of bookshops. I’m lucky to have one just like it in my town! I love everything about your poem. Also, I may have to listen to Mellon Collie tonight, hmm...
It's always awkward meeting someone famous ... or at least someone who has deepened your life experience. But if they can't stand to hear thank you, then at least you can say you said it and that's all that matters.
Terrific piece. I've always loved that song. At sixteen in 1967, I found myself in an auditorium at the State University of Buffalo about 10 feet from the stage where Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company were about the play. She suddenly appeared like some whirling dervish holding a bottle of Southern Comfort in one hand. She motioned me over to the stage and then kissed me on the cheek before the band broke into "Combination of the Two." I was too young and high to think much about it until much later but I intuitively knew something memorable had just happened.
But all my contacts with writers haven't been as cool. In fact, they have often been memorable for the wrong reasons. I remember when a famous novelist came to my college. I was in the middle of writing a long essay on his career and had two more books to deal with, so I was looking forward to meeting him, so imagine my disappointment when a man-child showed up who just wanted to pick up girls and act like a fool. Afterwards, as hard as it was, I had to separate the man from the work in order to finish the piece. In short, it's sometimes dangerous meeting your heroes, and in the literary world, from my experience, and I've had a lot of it, the men are mostly disappointing, while the women tend to be more authentic.
Thanks for reading! That Janis Joplin story is incredible! There's definitely something toxic in our culture when it comes to male "celebrities". In law school a well-known former senator and diplomat came to lecture and meet with students. I was interested in international law at the time and looking forward to the small group sessions one of our professors had organized, but the visitor was more interested in flirting with female students who did not enjoy his attention.
The BEST kind of bookshop!
I love walking into a musty bookshop!
What a beautiful story. Both peaceful and very real.
We used to hunt for those bookstore in our walks through nyc before the kids came, later we took them to every one of them we found. I miss those magical caves. So few (here, none now) any more.
Thank you. There really aren't enough bookstores in the world.
Maybe they’ll come back some day. I hope so.
(Though I’ve enjoyed coffee at some of the new ones not gonna lie.)
I agree with you. There's nothing wrong with fancy coffee and big bookstores so long as we find a way to also have a few small, smelly bookshops!
This is the type of poetry that makes you think and feel. That’s what poetry is for... I have yet to put any of my own writing on my stack. I’m afraid of rejection but I’m also not scared about dying but maybe afraid of living... that’s a good start for a song ohhh yeah that’s the beginning of the Sam Cooke song “A Change is Going to Come “... and now I remember that song is the best form of poetry or is it just that songs are poetry set to music?
Share it! This is a great place to put it out there 🌿
Absolutely spot on. Its really awkward meeting your heroes. They mean so much to you and you mean nothing to them. I still talk about the time I failed to have a conversation with Iggy Pop in a university corridor about forty years ago. He would have forgotten all about it in seconds.
👆👆👆What everyone just said!
Your poem is alive with great details-- I love it! I was just in such a shop last week in Yellow Springs, Ohio on the way home from my father's funeral. There, I bought an old, used book of nature writing done in an almanac style. And-- I kid you not-- the smiling proprietor tucked a complimentary bookmark into a random page along with my receipt before handing me the book with a kind, "Thank you." As I walked out of the shop, I noticed that he'd randomly inserted the bookmark into the page for my birthday!!! Those odds 365:1 prove what I've always known: bookshops are magical portals to a place called Happiness containing exactly the words and the people one is destined to know!😊✨
Hurrah for bookstore magic! Better hold onto that bookmark!
Love the haiku and The Smashing Pumpkins too!
Thanks! They were a great band!
I love G-rated celebrity fantasies. This is lovely! (Also, in my upcoming novel, I named a fictional '90s cover band Meloncollie. You will obviously get that reference.)
That's awesome! I had "Lave Red Feather Blue" on my mind when I wrote about fae food fueled fever dream.
Aw, I'm honored! That fae food is a widespread problem. :D
These are the best kinds of bookshops. I’m lucky to have one just like it in my town! I love everything about your poem. Also, I may have to listen to Mellon Collie tonight, hmm...
Thanks! These kinds of bookshops are the real treasures of our society.
That's wonderful!!!!! 💚💚💚
Thank you!
What a great poem! I’m going to read it again with Smashing Pumpkins playing in the background!
Thanks! Yes, a little Smashing Pumpkins would make for some great ambiance
I loved your longest poem! Sounds like some scenario my brain would invent, incredibly detailed haha 😆
Thanks!
It's always awkward meeting someone famous ... or at least someone who has deepened your life experience. But if they can't stand to hear thank you, then at least you can say you said it and that's all that matters.
True. No matter what it will be a story worth telling!
Terrific piece. I've always loved that song. At sixteen in 1967, I found myself in an auditorium at the State University of Buffalo about 10 feet from the stage where Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company were about the play. She suddenly appeared like some whirling dervish holding a bottle of Southern Comfort in one hand. She motioned me over to the stage and then kissed me on the cheek before the band broke into "Combination of the Two." I was too young and high to think much about it until much later but I intuitively knew something memorable had just happened.
But all my contacts with writers haven't been as cool. In fact, they have often been memorable for the wrong reasons. I remember when a famous novelist came to my college. I was in the middle of writing a long essay on his career and had two more books to deal with, so I was looking forward to meeting him, so imagine my disappointment when a man-child showed up who just wanted to pick up girls and act like a fool. Afterwards, as hard as it was, I had to separate the man from the work in order to finish the piece. In short, it's sometimes dangerous meeting your heroes, and in the literary world, from my experience, and I've had a lot of it, the men are mostly disappointing, while the women tend to be more authentic.
Thanks for reading! That Janis Joplin story is incredible! There's definitely something toxic in our culture when it comes to male "celebrities". In law school a well-known former senator and diplomat came to lecture and meet with students. I was interested in international law at the time and looking forward to the small group sessions one of our professors had organized, but the visitor was more interested in flirting with female students who did not enjoy his attention.
The amusing thing is they never see that the women often find them silly, at best.