The Scrapper Poet

This time of year I have heard bloggers shouting Shop Independent! — and I always have simply sighed.  In rural Western New York, bookstores — independent or otherwise — are a bit hard to come by, so in the past I have resorted to ordering from the evil empires of the book world (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc…)  But not this year — I’m happy to report that the Jamestown area has a new independent bookstore called Off the Beaten Path located in Lakewood (right outside of Jamestown).   I know I don’t have very many readers from this area, but if you happen to stumble into my part of the world, stop by Holly Richardson’s independent bookstore.  She does special ordering — and she is now offering a program for teachers (at any level!)   And guess what?  She even has a poetry section that has more than the token Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Billy Collins books!