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This page is for sharing the online presence of those people and places that have made my life richer, and that might do the same for you, if you’re inclined to check them out. 

 

  • The place my teaching life calls home: Canisius College’s Creative Writing Program, home of its amazing Contemporary Writers Series, run by my friend and colleague, Mick Cochrane. (www.canisius.edu/creativewriting/)

  • American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL), online home of Debbie Reese and her tireless crusade for accurate indigenous representation, geared specifically to aid those who shape the world views of young people. (http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/)

 

Awesome, magical, fiercely independent bookstores I encourage you to visit and support.

 

  • Buffalo, New York: Talking Leaves . . . Books, co-founded by proprietor Jon Welch whose truth-in-advertising motto is “Independent and Idiosyncratic since 1971,” and who, somehow, seems to have memorized the exact location of each idiosyncratic volume in his store. (www.tleavesbooks.com)

  • Niagara Falls, New York: The Book Corner, the Morrow family’s multi-generational book store on Main Street, opened in 1927! where I learned about special ordering books, as a thirteen year old (George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead novelization, in case anyone’s interested).(www.fallsbookcorner.com)

  • Minneapolis, Minnesota: Birchbark Books & Native Arts, Literary Supernova, Louise Erdrich’s incredible store where you can get lost for hours and come away with your own wonders, including signed copies of Louise’s books, and an excellent selection of books by indigenous writers in addition to a broader collection of general literary interest books. (www.birchbarkbooks.com)

  • Booked Up, Inc. Larry McMurtry’s legendary bookstore in his hometown of Archer City, Texas. You can purchase and read The Last Picture Show in its setting! (www.bookedupac.com)

 

Record Stores for those of us who have yet to cave to the full digital revolution. Come down from the cloud and hold album art in your hands!

 

  • Buffalo, New York: Record Theatre, where you can still find a wide array of vinyl if that’s your thing, and an abundant variety of new and used CDs, and a fairly impressive number of box sets if, like me, you are totally a sucker for these things. (www.recordtheatre.com)

  • New York City: Midnight Records. Perhaps the best musical education I got was discovering a Midnight Records catalog, some time in the early ‘90s. Specializing in hard to find, limited editions, and independent releases. Sadly, the physical store is gone, but they are still in the internet business and evidently, you can make an appointment to visit their new, (mysteriously undisclosed) location. (www.midnightrecords.com/Joomla/) 

 

A succinct, and in no way comprehensive list of writers whose work you should check out:

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