jeblog

rhythm and rhyme

I spent the weekend at a rhythm and poetry retreat in a used book store and warehouse in New Market, Virginia. So not only was I able to do rhythm support for a great group of spoken-word poetry/rappers, but I was also able to wander around in the warehouse looking through stacks of books.

The bookstore/warehouse is called Paper Treasures.

It was a bibliophile's dream, even though there was no heat (except for a few space heaters) and the books in the warehouse, though many, were not really organized in any fashion (did I mention that the bookstore owners were un-reconstructed hippies?). Like most bibliophiles, I suppose, there are times when I want my books in some kind of order, and other times when I just want to get lost in a wilderness of books. On this occasion, I had no choice but to wander in the wilderness

The bookstore, proper, was quite organized--perhaps over-organized (they had a whole section of books on dolphins). Besides the usual sections (fiction, drama, etc.), there was also a section of decorated books (books with tooled covers, frontispieces, decorated paratext, etc.), a section of illustrated books, with sub-sections by artist, and quite a few racks of vintage pages and magazine advertisements (harvested from old books and magazines) for sale individually.

So it was more an antique book shop, if that is what you're jonesing for bibliographically. They would probably be good at tracking down books or being on the look-out for antique books, if asked. I spent a little bit of time looking for early-19th century books but didn't find any; the best I could find were mid-century. I bet they have some first-edition Romantics squirred away somewhere, if I would have only asked.

Paper Treasures is at 9595 Congress St. (Rt. 11), New Market, Virginia, not far from the exit off Interstate 81, about a two-hour drive from DC.

Posted by jeb at February 22, 2005 11:00 PM | TrackBack