Walking About Atlanta

While in Atlanta I took an afternoon to wander around and explore the city.

My first stop was The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. (The King Center).

By the time I took MARTA from Buckhead to King Memorial I didn't have much time before The King Center closed. Some time was definitely better than none at all, though. I think my favorite part of the visit was watching all the other people who were also visiting/touring The King Center. It was a different experience than visiting the Smithsonian Museums--dominated by personal connections, stories, reactions, and most of all deep respect and reverence.

My second stop was Inman Park/Reynoldstown where I wandered along Euclid and then Moreland Avenues until I came to the Little Five Points (L5P) area and found Charis Books and More: Your Independent Feminist Bookstore.

Charis reminded me of a similar bookstore I used to frequent in my undergraduate days--Different Drummer Books (Loretta Staub, owner), an "alternative Orange County" bookstore that specialized in Women's Studies, Lesbian & Gay Studies, Spirituality, Healing, Special & Mail Order books. They were located (they've long been closed) on North Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, CA. I used to ride my bike from the university to Different Drummer, pick up some new books, and then go read on the beach. It was an ideal weekend outing.

Even when I first moved to Washington, DC, there was a comparable bookstore--Lammas Women's Books and More (Sylvia A. Colon, co-owner). It wasn't long after, though, that Lammas closed down. Before that happened, though, I did get to watch Debra Guy perform a rooftop concert--fun.

But back to Charis...the staff person was super friendly, and I loved just hanging out there browsing their shelves. There weren't lots of customers coming and going on that Friday afternoon, but there was a good handful, and I got to overhear lots of fun discussions about queer places to hang out, and good places to eat. It felt good just being there.

Of course, wanting to economically support Charis, I was on a mission to find something to purchase. I was looking for David Levithan's novel Boy Meets Boy, but although they had other YA gay fiction, Levithan's novel wasn't among them. So, instead I walked away with Leslie Feinberg's new novel, Drag King Dreams and an AWESOME CD by Brianna Lane, Radiator.

I haven't been able to stop listening to Radiator yet (track 4 "Dreams & Nightmares" and track 7 "Wrong Hands" are my favorites)...and I might just have the chance to check out Lane in person next weekend while she's in MD. We'll have to see...Kate Bornstein's re-scheduled shows are this week, too (not to mention my university is bringing Leslie Feinberg on campus in a couple of days) so it's a FULL week.

Thank goodness for independent and feminist bookstores!

If you want to shop at Charis, you can order online & take 10% off!