Open Books, Wallingford

I met Tennyson when I was in the third grade. Anne Shirley introduced us and ignited what has become my quiet affair with poetry. Upon hearing Anne recite Tennyson, I took myself straightaway to the library and told the librarian, "I'm looking for the poem from Anne of Green Gables." She knew immediately: "The Lady of Shallot."

I spent the next week memorizing the poem's twenty stanzas. At age 8 I had never experienced the type of heartbreak described in the poem, but that did not matter. I recited those words over and over. I felt the Lady of Shallot's loneliness. I knew her longing.

After Tennyson, I memorized Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwoky." For years mimsy and Bandersnatch were my favorite words, although I never spoke them aloud for fear that my friends would think me weird for using made-up language.

I memorize poetry the way the devoutly religious memorize scripture. Emily Dickinson, Robert Herrick, Kenneth Rexroth, Sandra Cisneros, e.e. cummings, Rumi, Dorothy Parker, Shell Silverstein, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye...and these are just the ones coming to mind at this moment. There are so many whose words have sunk into my bones. The lines of these poets resurface from my subconscious like old friends: Unexpectedly and when I need them the most.

You can imagine, then, my delight upon discovering Open Books, a sweet store dedicated entirely to poetry. Tucked into the first floor of an old house on 45th, the store's slim shelves are filled with poetry from the known to the obscure. The white walls are decorated with quotes like this one from Wallace Stevens, "One reads poetry with one's nerves." Oh yes! Glorious!

I bought two slim volumes on my recent visit. The first is entitled War by Klaus Rifbjerg, because it is the subject on all of our minds lately. The second is a small selection Tennyson's poems. It has been nearly twenty years since I spent time with the Lady of Shallot, and I figured it's about time we catch up.

Open Books
2414 N 45th ST
(206) 633-0811