Parisian Phoenix Publishing

I don’t know how I discovered Possible Futures, a bookstore and “community bookspace,” but visiting there was an experience, a special treat for the side of my publisher and academic self interested in critical theory and marginalized voices.

I am linking to the about page on their website here, because the landing page looks like a landing page should– but on the about page they talk about their mission, about belonging, about the structure of traditional publishing and how that impacts the representation of marginalized voices.

Their whole website is an enjoying read, packed full of information and personality. If you’re ever in New Haven, Connecticut, or if you live reasonably close, I encourage you to visit, to participate, to read.

Within seconds of entering, I found myself surrounded by the familiar works of Frantz Fanon and Aimé Cesaire and a lovely display of Octavia Butler’s works. The representation of so many voices– Muslim, Palestinian, Feminist, Queer among them– coexisted in a small but energized and happy space.

[By the way, I offered an outline of our entire travel day to Massachusetts in my personal blog here. That entry is mostly a list, because the day was so full my fingers and brain could not do it justice.]

A bookstore to do what bookstores should do: offer a safe community space and grow people’s minds.

A mile away from Possible Futures, tucked away amid the Yale University campus, is a used bookstore, one of two in a chain, Grey Matters. The vibe in the used bookstore was one of dust and silence and a gorgeous antique floor. Light was low and despite some rather lively jazz piped through the store the atmosphere was stoic.

The prices were reasonable and the selection wide, but I wondered…

Here I stood amid these tomes, organized loosely by genres, textbook-style anthologies from this century next to “reports” and materials from fifty-plus years ago, all here because they were no longer wanted… shopping at a used bookstore is a similar vibe to adopting a puppy from an animal shelter. You browse aimlessly until something catches your eye.

Staff interaction at the used bookstore was minimal (but polite and friendly) and the design in the used bookstore encouraged browsing but not lingering or connecting.

So let me post this reflection:

In my opinion, the culture and atmosphere of Possible Futures welcomed me and encouraged me to invest in the space and myself. Grey Matter seemed to represent everything about standard European-style academia, where technically all are welcome but we are surrounded by both knowledge and silence. (Let me reiterate that this was a wonderful used bookstore with a broad collection at reasonable prices, and that I am using it as an example of used bookstores in general, as a representation of the “establishment.”)

The used bookstore required me to go in and find what I was looking for (which reinforces my existing beliefs and preferences) while the other bookstore exposed me to books and materials that I may not even know existed (with the displays organized thematically to pull me into the topics beyond my normal sphere).

What do your favorite books and your favorite bookstores say about you?