We Are All in the Gutter — Holly Catford by John Paul Dowling

Holly Catford

WE ARE ALL IN THE GUTTER

Introduction

This is an exploration into second hand bookshops. Concentrating on them as bizarre spaces, their future, their past and the community that surrounds them. Every single second hand bookshop has a life of its own. They are like people, each one has itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own personality, appearance and is completely different to the next. This book will try to capture each of these little quirks for some of my favourite bookshops.

We are all in the Gutter

Bookshops E-Books the end of the world?.......................... 14 The PBFA...............................................................20 How to survive.......................................................24 Charity vs Secondhand........................................28

Bloom & Curll The Shop................................................................30 Interview with Jason.............................................38 Working...................................................................42 Knickknacks............................................................46 Toy Soldiers............................................................54 Jaffa Cakes...............................................................60 Customer Realities................................................64 Inventory..................................................................70 Information ...........................................................72

Beware of the Leopard The Shop..................................................................74 The Petition.............................................................84 Interview..................................................................88 What a strange name...........................................92 Inventory...............................................................102 Information..........................................................104

Monkton Nature Reserve The Shop...............................................................106 Natural History....................................................114 The Library............................................................132 Second Room......................................................138 Volunteers.............................................................150 The Reserve..........................................................156 Schools...................................................................170 Problems................................................................174 Inventory...............................................................178 Information..........................................................180

Poetry Poetry.....................................................................182

5 5

Chapter One

BOOKSHOPS articles & interviews

Bookshops

Independent bookshops are a rarity these days, secondhand or not. In the last

few years the economy and the rise of Amazon.com has taken its toll on them.

Even big chain bookshops like Borders, which has gone into liquidation and book giant Waterstones has taken a hit. In this chapter there are a few selected news

stories relating to the problems that independent and secondhand bookshops are facing, looking into them in a bit more detail. Also included is an interview with the chairman of The Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA). He is an owner of a book shop himself, and had some really interesting insights.

Article

E-BOOKS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT?

E-Books

Taken from the article by John Walsh for The Independent online

British publishing is in a parlous state. Year-on-year sales of books are down. Guaranteed bestseller celebrity memoirs are no longer bestselling. Discounts to booksellers are unhealthily bulky, margins are narrowing, profits are down, cash advances are a fraction of their former munificence and acquisitions of exciting new books have dropped to a rumoured one per day. But worse is the turmoil into which these sensitive men and women have been thrown by the advent of the electronic book (or e-book). “Technology has made virtually anything possible. If you look at it conceptually – there’s a five-link chain between the person who writes and the person who reads. You’ve got Author-Agent- Publisher-RetailerReader. Theoretically, the three middle bits could all now vanish and the author could write online directly to the reader.” Neill Denny, editor-inchief of the publishing industry magazine The Bookseller. “A more likely possibility is that just one of the three central links will vanish on-line. It could be that Amazon, the retailer, becomes the publisher. Or that the agent becomes the publisher, or the publisher becomes the retailer, and you go to a publisher’s site to buy the book. One of those links will certainly disappear on-line. We just don’t know which.” The paperback-sized e-books haven’t been responsible for all the trouble, but they certainly started it. Literary types took one look at the Amazon Kindle’s sleek metallic lines and rejected it on the grounds that it looked nothing like a Penguin copy of David Copperfield with dogeared pages and a bookmark stuck inside, and was therefore Not A Book. Newspaper bibliophiles harrumphed about its lack of page numbers. Clubmen pretended to be terrified that an electronic device that could hold hundreds and access thousands of books would spell the end of the personal library. Less anxious commentators thought the Kindle might be handy to take on holiday, because it was lighter than carrying six books in your luggage. Few noticed its incendiary power to torch the publishing world. In Time magazine, Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chef of the Slate group, called it “a machine that marks a cultural revolution. Printed books,

E-Books

the most important artefacts of human civilisation, are going to join newspapers and magazines on the roads to obsolescence.” Apocalyptic stuff. But you may think: “Where’s the evidence? I don’t see so many people reading books on screens.” And the new phenomenon might indeed have remained a passing fad, had it not been for the involvement of four major companies: Amazon, Sony, Apple and Google. It’s their quadrilateral Battle of the e-books that is sending gouts of blood all over the arena.

The Net Book

Agreement (NBA)

started on January 10th 1900, it meant retailers

selling books at an agreed minimum price set by the

publishers. Any retailer

who sold it for less than the RRP would no longer be

supplied by that particular

publisher. In March 1997

the NBA was abolished. Over 500 independent

retailers not being able to

keep up with chains and

supermarkets, resulting in

them shutting down.

Two years ago, Amazon ran the show. It had the Kindle, and had millions of books in its warehouses that could be scanned electronically into it. In January this year, Steve Jobs of Apple announced the iPad, a laptop computer which can run e-books while allowing its owner also to play films and games and send emails. Apple owns the iBooks store. Suddenly the electronic publishing world was a battle for “intellectual property”, the digital rights to books new and old. Then in April, Google entered the fray. It announced that it had scanned 12 million books. It was a battle between corporate titans to buy and sell more e-books to the world’s readers. Denny goes onto say, “There are no official figures yet for e-book sales. There are only estimates – and they estimate that e-books now constitute between 2 and 5 per cent of total UK book sales. But it’s growing. I think they’ll count for 10 per cent of all book sales in the next four or five years. It depends who you are. If you’re a publisher, and e-book prices are kept reasonably firm, it won’t matter that the electronic books are cannibalising your print sales. You’ll still be making a decent margin, because you haven’t got to print or distribute virtual books. The losers could be independent bookshops. They risk being cut out of the loop, because people will buy e-books direct from the publisher or, more likely, from a third-party retailer like Amazon or Apple, rather than from a local bookshop.” But who should set the basic price for an e-book? The chaps who brought it into the world? Or those who put it online? This is uncharted territory. Publishers once set a book’s “recommended retail price”, and it was protected by the Net Book Agreement. When the Agreement was abolished, there was a discounting free-for-all; bestsellers went on sale at

E-Books

half-price in supermarkets; small bookshops, which rely on top sellers for their basic income, saw their profits slashed. Retailers went head-to-head with each other, while publishers watched their profit margins decline. How can booksellers survive? “It’s hard for them to work in the digital arena,” Denny acknowledges. “But I don’t think they’re finished. Their main hope is to make the local angle work. And, of course, there’s browsing, which is much better done in a shop than online. Finding a book you didn’t know you wanted – it’s much harder to do that on Apple or Amazon.” His voice becames dreamy. “Physically bumping into a book, in a shop, in real life. Having a bookseller put it into your hand...” David Godwin, former MD of Jonathan Cape, now a well-respected agent is a keen evangelist for the e-book. “Here’s an amazing fact. I sat yesterday with Jonathan Galassi, the man who published Jonathan Frantzen’s Freedom in America. There are about a million copies in print, he’s sold a huge amount – and 35 per cent are e-books. That’s phenomenal. That’s a jump forward that’s happened in America in just a year. But when there’s a terrific buzz about a book, as with Frantzen, that’s exactly when people want the book immediately... The bigger the book, now, the bigger the e-book sale will be.” There remains the thorny question of who decides the price of an e-book. Since the Kindle was born, most publishers resignedly assumed that Amazon would call the shots. A gripping standoff took place in January this year, when the head of Macmillan, John Sargent, told Amazon that publishers should set the price of their books in any format and, furthermore, that if Amazon didn’t like the idea, Macmillan wouldn’t sell them any more books. Within days, Amazon removed all Macmillan e-books from its shelves. A seismic shudder went through the industry. Other British publishers threatened to copy Macmillan – and Amazon finally gave in. On this side of the pond, Hachette, Britain’s largest publishing conglomerate, has signed a deal with Apple, to try to impose a flat price for e-books – namely £6.50, less than half the price of a new hardback, and cheap for a paperback. However, warns Neill Denny, “some of the other retailers aren’t agreeing to it, or they’re not implementing it,

E-Books

even though they’ve agreed in principle. Or they disagree in principle because they think they know better than the publishers what the price should be.” In the US – the price of the e-book is now controlled at $12.95. Bookshops will continue to stock thousands of print copies of old classics and modern bestsellers, the lovely mixum-gatherum of cookery and fitness and travel books alongside sober works of reference, biographies and misery memoirs. But out there in cyberspace, starting in the US and gathering strength, the digital revolution is under way. The rise of online selling had for years threatened to put bookshops out of business. Now the e-book scramble threatens to do the same for publishers. And the agents, who own the destinies of the writers whose works we long to read, may also become redundant.

Interview with George Newlands, Chairman

PBFA Provincial Booksellers Fair Association

PBFA

So what does the PBFA do exactly? It organises over 100 book fairs around the country big ones, to small village hall affairs. We have about 550 members, so it’s quite a big organisation. We have big members and small shops that are members too. Basically we’re a trade association, making sure everyone sticks to the same code of practice. I saw on your email that you own a shop, can you tell me about it? Yes, I own McClaren books, it specialises in maritime, naval and yachting books. Anything to do with the sea really. So why second hand books? As opposed to what? New books, I guess. It would be boring! They are totally different businesses to run. I’ve been running my shop for about 30 years, but before that I worked for a big dealer/shop in Glasgow. I was working with new books at first, but I got transferred to the rare and collectable section, it’s just more of a challenge. With new books all you do for stock is ring up a publishers or a distributer, but with second hand you have to hunt, it’s more of an effort to find the books, but so much more worthwhile, it’s a challenge. The new book industry works in parallel to the second hand industry, they are just totally different. Most of the issues are very similar for both trades. The big thing I have noticed is the availability of print on demand. It means that people would have had to pay £30-£40 for a specialist book, but now they can get that same information via a print on demand type service for £10-£15 so they choose the cheaper option, for the same information.

PBFA

There are a lot of issues at the moment in publishing and bookselling in general, how do you think these have affected second hand book dealing? The Internet has also had a dramatic effect on the industry, both in good and bad ways. Its opened up your customer base, people that wouldn’t know about you, because of the internet now they do. Books that you thought were very rare and you didn’t see many of, it turns out there are quite a few of them, in that way the internet has made things a bit easier, when it comes to sourcing books. It has also levelled out prices, because everyone can see everyone else’s prices. I saw on your website that you have an online shop, do you do a lot of business that way then? Yes, lots. We also sell on bigger sites such as abebooks.com so we send books all over the world. That hasn’t changed too much really; we used to use a catalogue type system to send out to people. Do you have a favourite second hand bookshop? Oh I couldn’t possibly choose, my own? No that’s not true. Okay, I’ll re phrase it, what is your favourite part of second hand bookshops? The ambience, I’m not sure what that means, sounds nice though doesn’t it? Yes the nice atmosphere they all have. I always have customers coming in and saying how much they love the smell of old books. That’s a huge part of it the smell, buying books I mean, actually holding them. They are tactile objects after all.

PBFA

More information

Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bookshop Abe Books

www.pbfa.org

www.mclarenbooks.co.uk www.abebooks.com

Article

How to survive as an independent bookshop

How to survive as an indie bookshop

There are currently around 1,200 independent bookshops in the UK, but trading conditions have been difficult as stores struggle with competition from Amazon, supermarkets and an increasingly cut-throat high street: last year 102 shops closed. Statistics from Nielsen BookScan, which showed that although last year consumer spending on books fell 1% in volume overall, the independent sector saw a 1% increase in volume over the same period. Here are some ways indie booksellers stay on top of their game. Vanessa Lewis The Book Nook in Hove

“We opened in March 2009. I used to be a teacher, and Julie [Ward] my partner worked in marketing and publishing. We’re both really passionate about books. There wasn’t a specialist children’s bookshop in Brighton and Hove, and the reception has been wonderful. We’re events driven – three Saturdays out of four we have an event with an author or illustrator, and we have story time every day at four. We’re quite lucky because we found a place with a little cafe area, and we’ve put a pirate ship in the shop, trying to make it child-friendly, and a place where parents can relax with coffee. “And yes, we’re making money – takings are up. We opened in the middle of a recession and everyone was saying ‘what are you doing? Are you sure?’ But we felt so passionate we did it. The demise of Borders at Christmas – well, it wasn’t good for the book business, but in some ways it was OK because people came to us as an alternative. We offer the range. We’re not just going to stock 30 copies of Twilight – I’m fed up of vampires to be honest.”

Michael Morpurgo

“When I’m in an independent bookshop I

know I’m with soulmates. That’s a great feeling, and good business too.”

How to survive as an indie bookshop

Meryl Halls “It’s a difficult high street, but the independents that are running their Head of membership businesses professionally and well are certainly holding their own,” said services at the Halls. “The upside of being an independent bookshop is that booksellers Booksellers Association can make their own decisions quickly – if something isn’t working, they can change it. They can put themselves out there to find new authors, and they no longer think they have to compete on price. Instead, they compete in different ways.”

Vivian Archer “We launched 37 years ago. I’m happy – I’d retire if I wasn’t. Sometimes Newham Bookshop in I could be working all day, every evening, all weekend, but I wouldn’t do London, E13: it if I didn’t enjoy it. We have strong local support, partly because we do so many really high-powered events. Recently we’ve had Jackie Kay and Michael Rosen appearing together, which was out of this world, and Morris Gleitzman; because we do them well, and we’ve been doing them for many years, we actually get offers from publishers. “We’re a part of our community and I think that is key. Any independent has got to have good relations with every sector of the community. What you have to do all the time is find new areas to keep bringing people in. Counselling and childcare is huge for us at the moment – health and social care, vocational training. In a community like this, which is quite a poor community, people are going back to get some sort of training and work, and these areas are strong for us. It’s about reacting to what people need in the moment. In such a diverse area, with so many different languages, we’re changing the dictionaries we sell from one week to the next. The big languages at the moment are all Eastern European – Polish, Albanian, Russian, but we do lots of Portuguese for the Angolans. It’s tough, but everyone will tell you that. We have to keep looking for new ways of expanding the business, and getting the word out.”

How to survive as an indie bookshop

Matthew Clarke “We opened the shop in 1993 so we’re 17 years old – and we were The Torbay Bookshop in independent bookseller of the year in 2006. Things at the moment are Paignton fine. I can’t say they’re brilliant, but they certainly could be a lot worse. For the quarter, we’re up. We had a good March, but April and May have been a bit sluggish. It’s been an interesting challenge. “Our secret is being in with the community. It sounds a bit hackneyed, but it really is. We’re a comfortable environment for people to come in and talk – often by the nature of the books people buy you can end up being like a doctor’s surgery. The chains can become a warehouse for books because of their size. At an independent, because of our size we do get to know our customers personally and often they’ll become friends. When a new railway book comes out, for example, I know I’ll get it because I’ve got six customers interested in railways. Chains take a different approach. “We did 43 events last year, from Jacqueline Wilson to Alan Titchmarsh. Our biggest signing session was Francesco da Mosto, who does a BBC2 series. One signing session – the people in the queue were ladies of a certain age – generated £10,000 extra business for us, which shows how important signing sessions are.”

Extracts taken from an article written by John Walsh for The Independent

Article

Charity VS Secondhand

Written by Victoria Gallagher for thebookseller.com

Independent booksellers in Herne Hill, south London, have expressed their concern over an Oxfam bookshop which opened today (10th February 2010). According to one local source “there’s a lot of bad feeling in Herne Hill” about the shop, though criticism has been muted “because it’s a charity”. Alastair Kenward, owner of Herne Hill Books which opened in November last year, said he had already visited the shop: “They’ve got some very competitive books in there - current and still selling.” He said the shop’s stock could be influenced by its location in an affluent part of south London. “It is a very bookish area and so the books that are going to be donated around here will be good.” George Hanratty, manager of the children’s bookshop Tales On Moon Lane, said she was worried it would effect her shop, and also planned to visit the outlet once it opened. Oxfam is now the third biggest bookseller in the UK, selling 12 million books a year and making around £20m in profit. Since opening its first dedicated bookshop in 1987, it now has more than 130 specialist second-hand bookshops. Last year book sales at the charity grew 7%. According to a feature to be published in The Bookseller this week, the chain has been likened to the “Tesco of the second-hand book business”. The charity has previously been criticised by the Provincial Booksellers Fair Association (PBFA), which represents 600 second-hand booksellers. But criticism from front-line booksellers has been less vociferous. Director of trading David McCullough told The Bookseller that he had never encountered any opposition from the publishing industry. Oxfam said it planned to open more specialist bookshops, and has also been building its online books site, which brought in sales of £1m in 2009. In a statement the charity added: “A competitive book market is good for the entire book industry: we have never had and will never have a policy that aims to damage other booksellers. We usually open a new Oxfam bookshop in towns in which an existing Oxfam shop already has a good relationship with the local community, which allows us to raise as much as possible through their generous donations to fight poverty around the world. In addition, the main competition in terms of market share to booksellers comes from grocers and online outlets, not from Oxfam.”

Chapter Two

Bloom & Curll Run by Jason Beech 31

Introduction

photo

Bloom & Curll

Bloom and Curll is a small shop at the top of Christmas steps. It has one of those doors that doesn’t feel very solid, you open it by the handle and a bell chimes. The first thing that hits you is the colour, every colour of the rainbow is set out in front of you in a mish mash of books, trinkets and pictures. It always seems bright and airy even if it’s not very big; the huge shop window lets the light pour in, even on the greyest day. The path on the other side of the window is always busy, people walking past feel as if they are already in the shop, just slipping through the glass, their voices as loud as if they were in your ear. Just to the left of the door, there is a cluster of three desks pushed together. One of these is the main area for whoever is looking after the shop to sit in the window, another holds mugs, milk, teabags, honey, piles of paper, and a random assortment of books. The table nearest the door has a small bookcase centralising all three table, and a typewriter surrounded by toy soldiers. On the typewriter there is a hand cut sign reading ‘if you need any help, just ask’.

The rest of the shop is covered in shelves; you can hardly tell that the walls are blue. The shelves are a mad assortment of colours, heights and widths. On top and around the shelves, there are more books, holding up other shelves with more books holding up more shelves. Looking up, where the books finally finish there are photos, paintings, prints and strangely themed animal clocks. The signs for navigation are dotted around the shop; they are mostly hand cut out of coloured and printed paper. Others are fridge magnets neatly bluetacked to shelves in mixed fluorescent colours. On every surface there are especially beautiful books, propped up, laid flat or piled where there has just been too many to show off. Under the main wall of shelves there are small, framed photos of various different famous writers, only obvious if you are 3 foot tall, or sitting on the floor. The whole shop just feels like an Aladdin’s cave of carefully chosen treasure, everything has been lovingly placed or fitted into its space, everything slotting together perfectly.

Introduction

photo

The shop

Outside of the door, right on the path there is a bench, a suitcase and a couple of crates full of books. There is a sign above them, until recently it read Books 20p now the 20p is crossed out and has been replaced by 10p. When Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sitting in the window I am very aware of people walking past, almost everyone lingers at these piles of books. It is very rare that anyone really buys them though, Jason lovingly refers to them as the steal me books. These books are the ones he just wants to get rid of. Working at Bloom I have only ever sold about 10 of

these books. They make me sad; 10p isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even worth the paper they are printed on. Each of these books somebody has created, spent hours writing, managed to get them published and is probably very proud of their lasting achievement, but they are being given away. To me this says something about the shear number of books being published each year. According to statistics compiled by Bowker, publisher of Books in Print, an average of 336,814 books were published worldwide each year from 2002 to 2008.

The Shop

Interview with Jason Beech, Owner

“That’s how I want to die. Squashed under that bookcase with an arm sticking out holding a glass of red wine”

The shop

Is there a story behind how you started the shop? I knew it would take me approximately 3 years to raise the money to open a shop so I used that time to take an English degree, in order to improve my book knowledge, and worked in the evenings to raise the cash. What were your reasons for opening it? I’d just spent ten years in Scotland being a happy drunk and then 3 years in Aberystwyth being an unhappy drunk, it got to the point that I had a choice, kill myself or construct a world in which I could exist… So i built the shop. Is there a reason for the name Bloom and Curll? Harold Bloom is a conservative, but brilliant American literary critic. Edmund Curll was an 18th century bookseller, publisher, plagiarist, slanderer, rapscallion, sometimes poet; my hero. Also the idea was that the shop would be a place to both hide from the world (to curl) but from that place produce beautiful things (to bloom) – its a bad pun I know, but hey. What’s your favourite bit about the shop? The selection/quality of books, when they’re of a good quality/ selection. When the shop does what it should. How long have you been there? Four years. Have you got any stories about the shop? or history behind it? Not really. We’ve had some good times, a few memorable evenings, some wonderful customers, new friends, three fights.

By Jason Beech 29th April 2011

riots and royalty, throwing stones at the minions whilst humbly cow towing, and it was a lovely dress, to my new over lords lovely day

The shop

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Would you like to sit, drink tea, listen to music and read for a few hours?â&#x20AC;?

The shop

Working at Bloom & Curll

I have been helping out at Bloom & Curll every now and then. There’s not really much to it, I sit and drink tea, eat jaffa cakes, read and listen to Radio 4. For me it’s a couple of hours to sit and let the world go by. The people that come in are all bookshop people, as Jason

describes them. Some lovely, some charming and some just plain weird. It’s just a really nice way to spend an afternoon.

All of the signage around Bloom & Curll is handmade. Nestled in between and around the books.

The shop

Introduction

Knickknacks

One of the best parts of Bloom & Curll is the sheer amount of knickknacks that are lying around, on the wall, shelves and hiding in the corners. Each one just feels special, like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there for a reason. From bird clocks to a metre high metal Buddha, it is an eclectic jumble.

Introduction Soldiers

Soldiers

Toy Soldiers

The longer you spend in Bloom and Curll, the more tiny details you notice. One of my favourite things, which I only really noticed after a couple of times working there, are the toy soldiers. At first I only notice one, then another, next thing I knew they were surrounding me. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how many there are; every time I count them, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different number.

Introduction

Soldiers

Introduction

yes please

Jaffa Cakes

On the desk in Bloom and Curll there is always a fully stocked cake stand full of jaffa cakes. These jaffa cakes are my clearest memory of my first visit to the shop when I first lived in Bristol. I stepped through the door and Jason jumped up, demanding I try one with a cup of tea.

Customers

Constructed customer realities

Working in a shop, you never really get to meet people. They come in, buy something and leave again. When customers come in, I remember little comments they say to me or someone else. I pair these with the books they buy, all of these people seem to stick in my head, they have bookjackets as faces.

Customers

TOO MUCH FACEBOOK, NOT ENOUGH READING

Customers

WHEN YOU SAY SORRY TO SOMEONE LOOK THEM IN THE EYE 68

Customers

Map

rr Pe

d oa yR

Low

R ark er P

Bloom & Curll Colston Street

Christm

as Steps

Info

Bloom & Curll Bookshop

74 Colston Street Bristol

BS1 5BB

0117 3763303 bloomandcurll.co.uk bloomandcurll@hotmail.co.uk

Tuesday - Saturday 11.00-18.30

Chapter Three

Beware of the Leopard Run by David Jackson 75

Introduction

photo

Introduction

photo

Beware of the Leopard

Turning a corner to see the shop, the first thing you notice is the pile of boxes and shelves outside full of a jumble of different titles. They seem to be unorganised, but suggest there is a system in there somewhere. The hand painted sign; above the smaller of the two shops reads ‘Beware of the Leopard ’. A mysterious title which, would only mean something to the most avid ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ fan. The smaller of the two shops houses mainly fiction; it is about five metres by seven. The shelves, an assortment of heights, colours and size, take up almost every inch of the four walls, as if the pillars of books hold up the roof itself. You get the feeling that if you take the wrong one from a stack the whole place could tumble. The shelves sag slightly under the weight of thousands of heavy volumes. In the middle of the room there is another cluster of smaller shelves, backs facing each other to create a strange six-sided bundle of science fiction. The shelves are all packed, but still on top of every one there is another pile waiting for space to be included with the lucky ones on the shelf. This never ended cycle makes

the room feel like it’s moving, like the minute hand on a clock, you can almost see it turning, but just not quite. The other half of the shop is filled with nonfiction; old magazines, newspapers, maps, travel, art, religion, geography, history, computing - the list is never ending. On the door it has the warning, Beware of The Leopard. It’s a tall and thin space, with a line of bookshelves dividing the room into two. Just like the other side, the roof feels like it is balanced precariously on unstable stacks of books. The further you move down the rows, the more you feel as if time has slowed down, and forget what you were looking for. Pulling books out at random, never really knowing what you might find. Right by the door the owner sits, behind more stacks of books, so you can hardly tell he’s there. He is normally chatting to someone, but sounds in here are muffled, as if they are bubbling from the walls and books.

Introduction

photo

Introduction

photo

Introduction

photo

Introduction

photo

Introduction

Petition

The Petition

On 24th February 2010 the Saint Nicholas Markets Management sent a letter to the shop owners trading in the covered market asking that all items outside of the shops to be removed. This had to be done by 8th March. Their reasons for this request were to make the market â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;as welcoming and attractive as possibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This proposal would have a negative impact on the shops financials, but also damage the character of the market, making it look more sterile and the shops closed. The beauty of the market is that it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look like the high street, and it honors the market tradition of selling, but in a permanent venue. If customers

want to go to Cabot Circus, they go there. The traditional and quirky environment that St. Nicks is something that is really important to preserve old Bristol. There was a petition against the request by St. Nicks management, which gathered 91 signatures. The request was luckily withdrawn, and the traders of St Nicholas are still allowed to display their goods outside their shops.

Petition

These are the names from the petition, they appear exactly as they were found, assuming that is how they were entered into the petition. Roger Baynton Frances Robertson Dr C. Skelton Mariateresa Bucciante Ruth Burger Tim Weekes Oliver Newport paul shepherd Andrew Ventham elaine ashley Michael Corbett Darren Doderer A Linford Carla Denyer Pru Comben Veronica Mills Rebecca Gunson louise davis fran barron angela smith Paul Braithwaite jennifer slowley-berry Name Missing Kathryn Edwards Name Missing Stewart Freeguard Jenny Redman John Rippon Tess Green

Petition

Gary Jones tracey burrows Anne Jeffery Tim Nobes Gary Newman Adam Knight Chris Moxey Liz Read David Alcock Sarah Haswell Andy McCarthy Matt Redmond Drusilla Marland Mark Stone Paul Green Chris Watts Alex Craven Mar Dixon Paul Newport roy tallis Charlie Bolton Cecilia Weightman Darren Eurwyn Lewis Liliana Castano Rios Jane Easton David Jackson

William Heaney Catherine Barclay Keith Ramsey Aleth Michel Peter Vincent M & D Lambert Suzanna Maas pauline stacey james stacey robin cormack M.King Alex Woodman Ben Sansum Helen Gregory John Roberts Kate Gardner Federay Holmes Martin Reed Dan Pope suzzy mackenzie Nick Pope John Terry Caroline Russelle Andy Burras David Colston Serle David Rea R Philip Watson Fernando Montealegre Colin Baker Matt Gibson Charles Butler Alex Hosking Mick Phillips Alan Davies Thomas Brereton Vicky Crumpton

Interview

Interview with David Jackson, owner

Interview

Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you set up the shop? I left University in June 1988 having spent the last ten years buying and selling secondhand books bought in charity shopes to secondhand bookshops and liked it enough to think about being a secondhand bookdealer. I thought it would be better to try it young rather than old and after a Graduate Enterprise course I signed on to a Youth Opportunities scheme as a secondhand bookdealer operating out of an old tobacco bond warehouse in Redcliffe and selling books in the Student’s Union, at two theological colleges various JCRs and in the Bristol Central Library. The physical side of shifting books got to me and I found a stall in the market and almost exactly 20 years to the day opened up in what is now my little shop. Th big advantage of the market was I did not need a lease but was on a license which could be terminated at a week’s notice by mutual consent so if things went wrong I could just walk away. As business bloomed I started to specialise in academic books generally and did well enogh to take on the big shop about 13? years ago and have run the two side by side ever since. I realised at uni that money was not a consideration for me as long as I was not bankrupt or starving so as long as I had the basics I was prepared to see if bookdealing would help me continue my education and help me meet interesting people. Fortunately this proved to be the case. As time has gone on the academic side has deteriorated and with the onset of the internet, charity shops and supermarkets selling books, I have had to move into more expensive and collectable books with some success whilst getting rid of all but the bestsellers in the fiction shop which I do not enjoy really selling but it pays the mortgage.

Interview

I am hoping to move on soon from bookselling fulltime as I want to pursue my more creative and artistic side and yet would not dream of moving on completely from books or leaving the market unless external circumstances dictated I should. Also there are not the interesting people coming in like there used to be and I need a job that provides more intellectual stimulation, good conversation and sociability. Why secondhand over new books? Selling new books was never an option as to do so requires a lot of money which I never had any chance of having. What’s your favourite aspect of your shop? The doorway and desk area is where most of the interesting conversations take place and where you observe people’s ability to integrate into a new setting that can be both personal/social and also business/practical. This is the area where my friends are entertained and it is interesting to see members of the public trying to see if they can join in or work out what the relationship is between myself and whichever friend I am talking to. Halfway along the back wall there are the economics, art and collecting and politics and history sections all of which are big interests of mine and if I ever want to play bookshops in my own bookshop then this is where I head for. Also just sitting at a computer screen, be it on Photoshop or browsing the internet, eating, talking or reading a book can all be done at the same time as just looking after a shop and it is a great feeling to know that not only are you your own boss but that also you can do non work things in work and enjoy yourself in a way denied to the employed.

Interview

photo of his desk area

Introduction

The Leopard

What a strange name for a shop?

What a strange name for a shop, Beware of the Leopard. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly roll off the tongue, but it definitely sticks in your head. One of the first times I went into Beware of the Leopard to do research for this book, I asked about the name. The owner, David immediately perked up. He explained enthusiastically that it was a quote from The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

He explained the quote to me; the essence of it is that if you look hard enough, you will find anything. Naming his shop Beware of the Leopard meant that if you look hard enough in his shop, you would find anything. He went on to say that it also caused lots of amusement for him, strangely a large number of people come in the shop nervously assuming that there is actually a leopard to beware of.

The Leopard

...You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them had you? I mean like actually telling anyone or anything.’

But the plans were on display...

On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.

That’s the display department.

With a torch.

Ah, well the lights had probably gone.

So had the stairs.

But look you found the notice didn’t you?

Yes, yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying...

The Leopard

“BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD”

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe By Douglas Adams

Introduction

Signage

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Signage

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Map

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St Nicholas Market

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Glass Arcade

All Saints Lane

Covered Market

Glass Arcade

South Arcade

Exchange Hall

Corn Street

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Beware of the Leopard

Info

Beware of the Leopard bookshop

66-69 & 77

St Nicholas Market Bristol

0117 925 7277

Monday - Saturday 9.30 - 17.00

BS1 1LJ

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Introduction

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Chapter Three

Monkton Nature Reserve Run by Volunteers 107

Introduction

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Monkton

Monkton Nature Reserve bookshop is probably the strangest out of all of my favourite shops. You can only really get there by car and you only see it if you know it’s there. One of those places that only exist at a certain time of the day, on a certain day of the year. The entrance is on a permanently busy A road, immediately after turning in you are nose down a steep, overgrown track, which leads to an equally mysterious, grassy car park. Still out of sight the bookshop doesn’t seem to want to exist. Walking down the track, the trees block the sun and muffle the noise of the cars roaring behind. At the bottom of the slope the bookshop finally comes into view. It’s a strange building, brown and white. It looks more like an overgrown shed than a shop. You step through the overhanging doorway into a wide corridor, it immediately gets quieter and colder, but not in a bad way, more a sense of quiet. On one side there is a big glass tank full of twigs, branches, dead leaves and some stuffed mice. This is a gentle hint at what kind of place this is. If you keep on walking a little further you get to the first room. Facing you is the desk, not always manned, but when it is you will always be welcomed softly, and have the reserve explained to you.

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To the left of the desk, there are books, stacked up to the ceiling. Science fiction is on a central bookcase. The windows running along the wall on the right, even though they are big, do not let in very much light. The bushes and undergrowth are restricting the sun. Under the windows are cases of cookbooks, their stylised 70s spines shouting about the wonders of microwave cooking. On the opposite wall there are books on sports, golf to badminton, cricket to fencing. These bookcases are creeping and multiplying around the corner into the entrance corridor.

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Introduction

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Introduction

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Introduction

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Natural History

brown mice. All intertwined with each other to create a five-headed super mouse creature. There is something, sinister about this one. All of the animals are fixed with odd expressions; the weasels face is up against the jar, its top lip caught in a sneer on the glass. The fox is snarling at anyone who comes close.

To the right of the main desk there is an archway, leading to a larger room. The windows running along the wall let in much more light, the bushes not allowed to grow too close. The light reflects on the bright white walls, bouncing off them making it much brighter. Along all the walls are display cabinets all at about waist height. At first they all seem quite normal, nothing too unusual. Coming closer you realise they are all full of bugs. Row after row of bees, wasps, beetles and butterflies. It’s quite a collection. More unnerving are the glass boxes and jars on top of these displays. These house the marginally more impressive collection of stuffed and pickled animals.

This is the natural history part of the shop, it’s there to inform not scare. It does both. Once you get past the first startling impression, you notice all the information that is dotted around the collection. It’s fascinating really, who needs to go to a big museum? A strange, but endearing part of the shop.

The main display is a carefully laid out oddball family. A badger, weasel, snake and a fox just to name a few. By far the strangest is a tiny jar; about 3 inches high containing at least five tiny,

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Natural history

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Introduction The shop

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Natural History

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Natural History

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The Shrew

This is the Shrew. One of a huge collection of preserved animals, which the shop owns. From human skulls, reportedly found in the reserve, to a huge collection of birds wings. This shrew however is my favourite; I took this photo years ago, the first time I went to Monkton. He hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t changed a bit.

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The Tiger

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The Tiger

The tiger cub

Another interesting animal they have is a little stuffed tiger cub. Given to the reserve by a zoo after a still birth, it has been in its glass box ever since.

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The Others

The Grey Squirrel

The Common Adder

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The Others

The Weasel

The Stoat

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The Birds

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The Birds

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The Library

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The Library

The bookshop originally started as a library, with the books donated by the public. It started with a selection of Natural History books. Very soon the donations were too large and varied to be used for a natural history reference library and so the shop was created. Now the library holds a great number of specialist natural

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history books. So far they have created an online catalogue for the Botanical, Zoological and Geological sections. They have students come from far and wide to use their uniquely broad collection.

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The Second room

The second book room

Really they are old hand painted posters, left behind from when the books didn’t need this big room, before they took over. Every now and then you get a glimpse of the type from these posters can be seen, Lazy dinosaur takes a rest, original artwork. Cobwebs cover the books on the highest and lowest shelves, left untouched for what you could imagine could be years. The floor is grey and worn, like school toilets. In one corner large black dinosaur tracks disappear off into a bookcase, never to be seen again.

Walking through the narrow corridor after the animal display, you follow signs to the main bookshop, along the wall is a large dinosaur skeleton painted black, mouth open. Left of this, through a door, there is a room much darker than the others. Straight away you are faced with a maze of musty smelly volumes, shelves buckling by the weight. The bookcases are piled around all four walls, creating many central pillars, cutting through the middle of the long, narrow space. This room contains, fiction, fantasy, languages, religion, reference, education, biographies, autobiographies, books about animals, fishing, cricket, midwifery, psychology and many more. In the small spaces, where bookcases don’t quite meet you can see dinosaur body parts poking out. They look like they have been squashed behind the cases, trapped with only a few flattened limbs sliding into sight.

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Unlike the other shops, Monkton is a charitybased model; it exists to help fund the reserve rather than a commercial shop. Because of this the books are not curated in the same way that David and Jason do in their shops. They have a smaller space to fill, so they have to be more critical when it comes to editing their stock. Whist volunteering at Monkton I found a few crackers that couldn’t be forgotten or bought.

Introduction

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Introduction

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USEless FINDS

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USEFUL FINDS

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Introduction

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Introduction

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Volunteers

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Volunteers

The bookshop and nature reserve rely, almost entirely on the support of volunteers. Three thousand volunteer hours are worked every year to just to keep it going. The main duties are helping in the bookshop, tree and hedgerow maintenance, alien plant removal, grassland management, felt roof repair and training to be guides. You even get a free cup of tea for helping out.

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Volunteers

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Volunteers

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Introduction

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The Reserve

The Nature Reserve Text taken from the welcome guide

The Reserve is situated in an abandoned chalk quarry. Chalk has been quarried here for various purposes for over 200 years but quarrying ended in 1958 and the land began the process of reverting to nature. The Thanet Countryside Trust became interested about 30 years ago and eventually purchased the site. The main aim of our activities is to aid and enhance the process of recolonization and reversion to its wild state, and to provide the most diverse wildlife habitats possible given the relatively small size of the area we control. A young woodland occupies the upper North section of the Reserve. This has been planted by our volunteers over a periods beginning in 1975. It has taken more than 25 years for this to change from ‘trees in a field’ to proper ‘closed canopy’ woodland. It is now beginning a further change as woodland flower species are beginning to appear in the dappled shade. A carpet of bluebells will take a rare yet - watch this space. The woodland and hedgerows of

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the Reserve consist of over 5,000 trees and contains just about every native species that can be grown in this district. We have more Yew trees on-site than any wood in East Kent. We also have a small but diverse collection of rare evergreens from an arboretum in New Zealand. Many of the trees were funded by members of the public. Several are planted in memory of Loved ones or friends. This scheme is ongoing and participation is encouraged. Far from being the usual hawthorn based hedgerow, our hedgerows are crammed with a multitude of native shrub and tree species. These include Guelder Rose, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Yew, Gean, Beech, Wayfaring Tree, Elder etc. The result of this is that it will support a vast number of invertebrates, mammals and birds, as well as numerous fungi and lichen species. It is interesting to note that the presence of more elaborate lichen species show that the air is relatively pure and free from SiO2 pollutants. The immense weight

The Reserve

of berries produced annually by our hedgerow provides food all through the winter for the bird population. Open water is essential in the Reserve, especially as chalk is such a quick draining rock. The water itself is not held in the pond by a liner but is an actual indicator of the water table lows. The pond itself contains a multitude of creatures these include cuddly creatures such as newts, daphnia, sticklebacks etc, but it also contains leeches, water spiders, and often hunting grass snakes. In the wild it is usually very difficult to see grass snakes but on a hot day in the summer there is almost always one on display if you are quiet and observant. In the late summer there are innumerable species of dragonfly on the pond. The rarest creature utilizing the pond is the cute ‘Ratty’ of ‘Wind in the Willows’ this is the - endangered Water Vole Arvicola terrestris. They are the largest vole species found in the British Isles; they can weigh up to 350 grams. The water vole’s ears are more rounded and it has a blunter nose than a rat. Another distinguishing feature is its furry tail; the rat has a scaly, almost furless tail. The Great crested Newt is here in good breeding numbers and this is also on the nation-wide protected species list. We have all noticed the changing weather patterns of recent years. A chalk quarry is particularly susceptible to drying winds and so we had to develop methods of retaining moisture for as much of the year as possible. Certain areas of the Reserve are earmarked for chalk grassland. Thousands of years ago in

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Southern England people cleared the trees from the chalk ridges so that they could graze their animals there. Plants and animals adapted to live on this chalk grassland habitat It has short grass and poor soil. Here specialised plants can grow and our rarest species thrive in this habitat. Many butterflies feed on the flowers and their caterpillars eat the leaves. The difficulty in any site is that the grasslands are soon taken over by bigger plants that take the light and food and a progression towards woodland continues. Our chalk grassland is maintained at the required height by rabbit grazing or more intrusive conservation measures. There have been eight recorded species of Orchid in the Reserve of which six species are commonly seen. Of these, the most intriguing is Ophrys apifera, the Bee Orchid. Like other orchids, the bee orchid can only grow where a particular fungus is present in the soil. The bee-like structure is thought to have evolved as a means of duping amorous male bees into pollinating the flower, but this species is now largely self-pollinating. The seeds may remain dormant for up to a decade, and the bee orchid generally flowers for one season only it can be difficult to predict where this species will turn up next. The Reserve is home to many mammal species. There is one family of resident foxes. These have many homes scattered round the Reserve, including artificial earths which have been intentionally concealed from view. There are also several mustelids, including the Stoat and Weasel. Hares live in the extreme upper section of the Reserve outside the perimeter fence and there is a significant

The Reserve

population of rabbits which are both a benefit (grazing the grassland) and a shortcoming (eating orchids and ‘ring-barking’ trees). Another significant mammal present in the reserve is the charming Harvest Mouse, which weaves delicate little globular nests out of dried grasses. The Monkton Batcave is Britain’s first operational artificial Hibernaculum. Most of the year our bat population lives in the cliffs and woodland but they need a very specific environment if they are to hibernate successfully during cold periods; the Hibernaculum provides these exact conditions. The Brown Long-eared Bat uses it. We also have the tiny Pipistrelle Bat at the Reserve but this animal does not use the cave. Some of our reptiles are surprisingly large and vigorous. The usual limiting factor for growth in reptiles these days is the buildup of pesticide, which come up through the carnivore’s food chain. This stunts the growth and eventually results in the death of the animal. There has been no pesticide used in the Reserve for over 50 years, without this manmade restriction our reptiles sometimes grow to large proportions. Because of the varied habitats present the site supports numerous invertebrate species including 23 species of butterfly. For its size, the Reserve contains a surprisingly large number of rare, unusual or endangered and protected species. Apart from the Great Crested Newt, Water Vole and Harvest Mouse, these include the Terestrial Algae, Adder’s Tongue Fern, Small Yellow Foxglove, Lesser Centaury, and the Lizard Orchid. The reserve also supports the only Kent population of White Melick.

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Several experiments are underway in the Reserve looking at the early stages of soil development. The most northern section of the quarry floor was fresh white chalk only 30 years ago. This has colonized with algae, Iiverwort and mosses and finally a young soil has begun to develop. Parties Of students regularly use this area for study. The chalk cliffs of the Reserve contain much of geological interest. The rock is a pure limestone laid down under a warm shallow ocean about 80 million years ago. Many fossils have been found in the chalk of East Kent, including various Sea urchins, shells, fish coral, sharks and even giant ammonites. There are also many interesting geological features in he cliff face, including an earth-quake fault, and evidence of the last Ice Age One of the most unusual being an exposure of Loess, a rare deposit of fine sand blown South from the edges of the great Glaciers. Many fossil specimens are on show in the Study Centre exhibition rooms, including unique example of the shark Ptychodus polygyrus. The Monkton area has been under human occupation for many thousands of years and the evidence of settlements, burial grounds, and farming practices around in the soils of the Reserve. Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Saxon remains are commonly found in the surrounding area one of most notable being the Monkton Bronze Hoard which was discovered just a few yards from the main gate of the Reserve. A number of stone tools and other artefacts can be seen in the Centre Museum displays.

Introduction

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Introduction

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Introduction

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The Observatory

The Thanet Observatory houses a 12â&#x20AC;? Newtonian Reflecting Telescope that was originally built in the 1950s and has been extensively renovated and modernised by the Thanet Countryside Trust. Since opening to the public in 1999, viewings have included the moon, saturnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rings, mars, comets, eclipses and aurora.

Source: Monkton Reserve website www.monkton-reserve.org

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Introduction

photo of work?

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Schools

School Trips

The Reserve and Field Study Centre are popular with school groups looking for a varied, hands on educational visit. The Field Centre has displays and touchable fossils and artefacts.

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You do Graphic Design?

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Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great you can do posters and stuff for us. - Tony the volunteer

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Introduction

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Problems

Problems no gas & electricity

There has been a long running problem in the bookshop and study centre. They have no electricity or heating. For tea they have gaggle of whistling camping kettles on the stove. For heating they use a wood burner, housed in a cage in the natural history room. The main problem is in the winter. The building is wooden, usually colder inside than out. With no electricity the dark winter afternoons mean they cannot stay open later than 3pm.

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Problems

Problems Health & Safety

There are a lot of tools and potentially dangerous objects around the reserve. On the introduction for volunteering the main emphasis was on health & safety.

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Map

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Gore Street

Monkton Nature Reserve & Booksh op

Canterbury Road West 178

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Info

Monkton Nature Reserve & Bookshop

Monkton Nature Reserve

Monkton

Ramsgate Kent

CT12 4LH

Tuesdays 10.00 - 1.00

Thursdays 10.00 - 3.00 Sundays 11.00 - 3.00 Or when the flag is flying

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01843 822666

contact@monkton-reserve.org

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Chapter Five

Poetry

A selection of poetry & quotes

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Poetry

Robert Frost

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words”

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Vincent Van Gogh

“Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas not so easy as looking at it”

My favourite section in secondhand bookshops shops is always the poetry section. If I wasn’t doing graphic design, I would want to be a writer, unfortunately I can’t actually write poetry. Instead I have chosen some of my favourite poems from my favourite books, and created what I know how to. For each poem I have created an image that I feel represents the text.

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Introduction

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Poetry

Lewis Carroll

The Queen of Hearts the Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day:

The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, And tooks them quite away!

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Introduction

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Poetry

Mary Webb

A Night Sky the moon, beyond her violent bars,

From towering heights of thunder-cloud, Shed calm upon our scarlet wars,

To soothe a world so small, so loud.

And little clouds like feathered spray, Like rounded waves on summer seas, Or frosted panes on a winter day, Float in the dark blue silences.

Within their foam, transparent, white, Like flashing fish the stars go by

Without a sound across the night. In quietude and secrecy

The white, soft lightnings feel their way To the boundless dark and back again, With less stir than a gnat makes In its little joy, its little pain.

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Introduction

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Poetry

Lewis Carroll

How Doth the Little Crocodile How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tale,

And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spread his claws, And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!

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Introduction

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Poetry

Mary Webb

The Happy Life No silks have I, no furs nor feathers,

Butone old gown that knows all weathers; No veils nor parasols nor lace,

But rough hands and a tanned face.

Yet the soft, crinkled leaves are mine Where pale, mysterious veins shine, And laced larches upon the blue,

And grey veils where the moon looks through; The cries of birds across the lawns

In dark and teeming April dawns;

The sound of wings at the door-sill,

Where grows the wet-eyed tormentil; The ripe berryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s witcheries--

Its perfect round that satisfies;

And the gay scent of the wood I burn,

And the slap of butter in a busy churn.

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Poetry

Emporer Jomei

Climbing Mount Kagu

in the land of Yamato

The mountains cluster;

But the best of all mountains

Is Kagu, dropped from heaven.

I climbed, and stood, and viewed my lands. Over the broad earth Smoke-mist hovers.

Over the broad water Seagulls hover.

Beautiful, my country, My Yamato,

Island of the dragonfly

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Poetry

Anon

Evil and Good There is an evil and a good

In every soul, unknown to theeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

A darker or a brighter mood

Than aught thine eye can ever see;

Works, actions faintly mark the whole That lies within a human soul.

Perhaps thy sterner mind condemns

Some brother-mind that, reasoning less,

The tide of error slowly stems

In pain, in love, in weariness.

Thou callâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;st him weak; he may be so.

What made him weak thou cans not know!

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Poetry

Walter Brighty Rands

The Pedlarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Caravan I wish I lived in a caravan,

With a horse to drive, like the pedlar-man! Where he comes from nobody knows, Or where he goes to, but on he goes! His caravan has windows two,

And a chimney of tin, that the smoke comes through; He has a wife, with a baby brown,

And they go riding from town to town. Chairs to mend, and delf to sell!

He clashes the basins like a bell;

Tea-trays, baskets ranged in order,

Plates, with the alphabet round the border! The roads are brown. Amd the sea is green,

But his house is just like a bathing-machine; But the world is round, and he can ride, Rumble and splash, to the other side!

With the pedlar-man I should like to roam, And write a book when I came home; All the people would read my book.

Just like the travels of Captain Cook!

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Poetry

J Keats

The Holiday To one who has been long in city pent ‘tis very sweet to look into the fair

And open face of heaven—to breathe a prayer Full in the smile of the blue firmament.

Who is more happy, when, with heart’s content, Fatigued, he sinks into some pleasant lair Of wavy grass, and reads a debonair

And gentle tale of love and languishment? Returning home at evening, with an ear Catchin the notes of Philomel—an eye

Watching the sailing cloudlets’s bright career, He mourns that day so soon has glided by: E’en like the passage of an angel’s tear

That dalls through the clear ether silently.

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Poetry

Byron

Books but words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling, like dew upon a thought, produces

That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

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Jean Cocteau

“Poetry is indispensable if I only knew what for”

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