Sure, we’ve got SmartBikes here in D.C. (See previous post.) But can we really be a world-class city, as our fine mayor wants us to be, if we can’t sustain our independent bookstores? Chad Post over at Three Percent has got me nervous:
A few years ago, Chapters: A Literary Bookstore in Washington, D.C. decided to become an nonprofit as well, in part by making the store part of a larger 501(3) organization called Wordfest that directed an international poetry festival. For a variety of reasons I don’t even fully know, this relationship didn’t work out, and Chapters was eventually forced to close. The remarkable Terri Merz is still looking for a space to reopen, which will hopefully happen soon, since D.C. needs a great indie store, especially since Olsson’s is struggling.
I knew about Chapters, but the news about Olsson’s is, yes, news to me. Like Politics and Prose–which, as far as I know, is doing just fine–Olsson’s hosts some excellent readings, and it would be a real shame if they faded away. Get out there and shop indy, people.
