Poetry Friday

June’s Books and Bookstore Roundup

 
 

24 Bookstores in 2024

 
 
 
As I mentioned in last week’s post about my trip to see Suffs on Broadway, I spent about 30 hours in NYC and visited three bookstores while I was there.
 

22. Shakespeare and Company, New York, NY 

Visited on June 19, 2024

 

23. McNally Jackson, New York, NY 

Visited on June 19, 2024
I don’t know how a writer could walk past this window and not go in!
They had a GREAT poetry selection. It was hard to choose just one.
 

24. Books are Magic, Brooklyn, NY 

Visited on June 20, 2024
 
I couldn’t have picked a better bookstore to be #24 in my 24 Bookstores in 2024 challenge. 
 
 
They had a poetry gumball machine. Put in a quarter and get a poem!
They had so many recommendations for poetry, that the papers were layers deep. I had trouble deciding what book to get based on all of these bookseller recommendations.

25. Highlights Foundation, Milanville, PA

Visited on June 26, 2024
 
 
 
I’m proud to say that I completed this challenge by the summer solstice—halfway through the year. How fun and unexpected. I still have a bunch of indies to visit on my list, so I’ll keep going and see how far I can get in 2024.
 
I’ve been trying to buy stickers with the bookstores’ names on them at each stop. Surprisingly, quite a few bookstores I’ve visited don’t have stickers with their bookstore name on them. But if they had them, I bought them and I’m still hoping to find a vintage suitcase to display them all.
 

Books Read in June

 
 
by David F. Walker, Damon Smyth, Marissa Louise
 
by Angie Kim
 
edited by Huw Lewis-Jones
 
by Jeanne-Marie Osterman
 
by Camille T. Dungy
 
As part of my “Summer of Naomi Shihab Nye,” I read these books:
 
by Naomi Shihab Nye
 
by Naomi Shihab Nye
 

Haiku

 
fist of peony
tissue-papered petals
on the cusp of … ahhhhhhh
 
Photo & Haiku © 2024 Marcie Flinchum Atkins
 
Photo Taken: April 27, 2024 Green Spring Gardens
Haiku Written: June 5, 2024
 

Grow

I just got back from Highlights on Wednesday evening. I went to the poetry workshop with Charles Waters, Irene Latham, and Lacresha Berry. I’m still processing all of my notes and my thoughts. My heart is FULL. There’s nothing quite like being in a group of fellow poets. I’ve grown in my confidence. I’ve grown in clarity. I’ll talk more about it in next week’s post.

21 Comments

  • Mary Lee Hahn

    “fist of peony” is just so perfect.

    I’m thrilled to have a Marcie Flinchum Atkins (you DO know your initials make Master of Fine Arts?) original in my poetry postcard collection now! Thank you for your swap poem!

  • Susan T.

    You got to a show AND lots of bookstores in your 30 hours in NYC. Very impressive! I need to read Smith Blue; I like Camille Dungy’s work a lot.

  • Linda Baie

    Wishing you could visit the bookstore where I work, Marcie, but I adore seeing the pictures of the stores you visited this time & earlier, too! Highlights is so special, glad to read that you had a great time, no surprise! And, peonies, the early summer gift. Your haiku is wonderful, that ‘cusp’! Have a great weekend!

  • Denise Krebs

    Marcie, the bookstores have been such a treat. I love the big “Books are Magic” mural. And those poetry pods! What a wonderful idea! I’m now going to be on the lookout for a bubble gum machine. I think it looks like a fun Friends of the Library bookshop addition. Oh, and that haiku about the peony bud “on the cusp of….ahhhh” is amazing. You have captured it so well. Did you get a chance to read Rose’s beautiful peony poem? It’s on Margaret’s blog today.

    • Marcie Flinchum Atkins

      It WOULD be an amazing Friends of the Library bookshop addition. It was so cool! I loved it. Such a cool idea! Yes, I got to read Rose’s poem early (she shared it in our Nevermores group). I loved it!

  • PATRICIA J FRANZ

    Marcie, MY heart is full just READING about all your bookshop stops! What a joyous way to spend your hours! Love the wall mural and its two-fold meaning: “NEED TO READ? OPEN EVERYDAY!” And … the poetry bubble gum machine?? This was surely 30+ hours of DELIGHT!

    • Marcie Flinchum Atkins

      It was 100% delight until I got stuck on a train without power (and no AC) at Penn Station for 3.5 hours. The beauty of it was I had nowhere I had to be on a time schedule, so I just hung out, read, and waited.

  • Margaret Simon

    How amazing that you made it to 24 bookstores! I love seeing what you choose to purchase at each one. Love that sticker from Books are Magic. Your sweet fist of peony is perfect with that photo.

  • Rose Cappelli

    Love your peony haiku! And your travels to the bookstores is so inspiring. Love that you included The Highlights Bookstore, too. Have you been to the bookstore in Honesdale? It’s mostly used books, but you can find some gems.

  • Carol Varsalona

    Marcia, I am sorry for the late visit but am happy that I finally stepped by. Your trip to NYC reminds me of a city I left behind. I must admit that in all my years of living on Long Island, I never went to a city bookstore except those in museums. I love books and still have not poured through my turn of the 20th century home library and contemporary books. Thanks for sharing this and the magnificent peony haiku. Being ill this summer did not afford me the chance to fully appreciate my new plants while they bloomed. The ahh in your poem is one of wonder and delight.

  • Carol Varsalona

    Marcie, excuse my late response. Thanks for the tour of the NYC bookstores. In all my years of living on Long Island I never entered one except the museum bookstores. Right now I am trying to sort through my turn of the 20th Century books I cherish and the huge array of contemporary books in my library.
    Thanks also for the peony showcase of gorgeous photography and the ahh of your haiku.

  • Michelle Kogan

    Peonies are beautiful right before they open, and your poem captures this anticipated moment, “on the cusp of … ahhhhhhh”
    Congrats on all your bookstore visits and treasures you’ve found. And lucky you to be part of the Highlight workshop–thanks for sharing all!