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Hello!
I gotta tell you about this amazing bookstore I visited.
I pushed open the glass panelled door, and a smile as wide as the wingspan of a golden eagle spread over my face.
I stepped over the threshold into the bookstore. The Poetry Pharmacy, in Bishop's Castle near Ludlow in Shropshire UK. The first of its kind anywhere in the world.
To my left there was an apothecary cabinet stacked with small bottles, filled with capsules. On closer inspection, each one encapsulates a tiny piece of parchment, with a snippet from a poem.
On top of the cabinet, an old fashioned set of brass scales, weighted with the words WORK and LIFE. To the right a bookshelf with a sign that said First Aid and a glorious array of books, interspersed with old fashioned medical kits and pharmacy bottles.
Along that wall more bookshelves, each cabinet headed up with a different remedy: COMFORT. WILD REMEDY. JOY. LOVE, to name a few. The books in each cabinet fitting the nature of the prescription, rather than the usual literary classifications.
In front of the cabinets, a table gloriously and creatively stacked with books, writerly cards, (which are notoriously hard to get hold of) and Poetry Prescription boxes and books.
A woman stood by the table with a book in her hands, oblivious to my having entered the shop.
To my right a cafe area. The DISPENSARY sign indicated various teas and coffees: Byron; powerful and rich, Keats; dark and invigorating to name two.
A solo woman was seated at one of the tables, reading a book, with a glass carafe of coffee and a half eaten victoria sponge cake in front of her. A trio, two women and a man, were seated at another table having a good old chat about their favourite books.
Another half a dozen empty tables didn't stay empty for long.
The place was lit by industrial bulbs and the smell of coffee invited me in.
I turned and looked at Jules, my writing teacher, fellow author, poet and friend, and my smile got bigger.
We'd heard about the Poetry Pharmacy and liked the sound of it, so we found an AirBnB to stay in that was nearby. The reality of the Poetry Pharmacy was already better than I'd imagined.
We spent three hours browsing the prescriptions, the books, the cards and other writing paraphernalia, interspersed with an Elizabeth Barrett Browning coffee for me, a decaf tea for Jules, and a shared piece of lemon blueberry cake. We chatted with each other and the staff. It was delicious and I'm not just talking about the cake.
We were lucky enough to meet and talk to one of the founders—or as she calls herself, the Emergency Poet—Deb Alma, her cheeks blushed pink as I regaled her with everything I loved about her store.
I came away with a number of books, several writerly greetings and postcards, and three prescriptions, one for myself, Wild Remedy, and one for Ash, my husband and my mum.
I've visited a lot of bookstores in my time, and I have my favourites, but the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishops Castle now tops my list.
They have two physical stores, the other one in London, and they are opening another store in Manchester, plus they have an online presence. Why not pay them a visit.
I've got lazy over the years and have bought most of my books from Amazon. But there's no excuse for that any more. Like the Poetry Pharmacy, many independent stores, have an online presence.
I decided a while back I would buy more books online, from independent stores, but I've been a bit hit and miss with it. This visit to Bishops Castle has increased my resolve to be more constant about that.
Here's my favourite bookstores I will be ordering books from henceforth.
Word on the Water (The London Book Barge)
I've added these to my favourite websites list, so I can find them more easily.
If you have a favourite independent bookstore, that has an online presence, let me know. I'd love to expand my list, and if I get enough I will share the list in a future newsletter. Especially let me know if your favourite is not UK based, some of my non UK readers may be interested.
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Happy writing and let's talk soon.
With love Maria |
