Common Language Bookstore
AboutMartin Contreras and Keith Orr are LGBT activists and the proprietors of the \aut\ BAR, as well as Common Language. Martin’s first career was as a physical therapist. Keith Orr spent twenty years playing double bass in the Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera, and other regional orchestras and opera companies. Both originally arrived in Ann Arbor in the ‘70s to attend the University of Michigan and eventually adopted the city as their home.
|
Store Information
|
Indie InterviewWhat inspired you to open an LBGT and Feminist bookstore? Martin and I had both been regular customers at Common Language under the previous owners. When they were ready to retire we felt it was important for someone to step up and continue this important resource for the community. We could not imagine an Ann Arbor without a Common Language Bookstore.
In what ways has Common Language supported these communities through the bookstore? First and foremost, we provide a safe space for the community. It is always such a pleasure when members of Riot Youth, Neutral Zones LGBTQ group, discover Common Language. Neutral Zone is a great organization and space. But when they discover their own space it is truly a joyous moment. Similarly we are an important space for LGBT adults, whether they are just discovering their identity, or looking for resources or culture which belong to them. We also regularly serve as a resource off site at events for the LGBT and Feminist community. What has been your favorite part of owning/running a bookstore?Author events when we get a good turnout and readers discover writers, and writers discover their audience. Favorite moment, when Kim Brinster, longtime manager and final owner of Oscar Wilde Bookshop, visited the store and loved it. High praise indeed. What has been your greatest challenge running a bookstore? Keeping it financially viable in an era when people can use a bricks and mortar store to find what they want and/or need, and then purchase it online. What role do you think books and bookstores play in the culture of Ann Arbor? Ann Arbor is a book town. In spite of the number of bookstores which have closed, we have an incredible number and diversity of bookstores compared to most towns. Our challenge is the changing behaviors of Ann Arborites, which remains a book town, but is not always a bookstore town. Our changing demographics include a generation used to buying anything online. Some of our most powerful allies are not Ann Arborites, but rather visitors who have no such resource in their hometowns. How would you describe your store to someone who has never visited? Common Language is a bookstore in a 100-year old home in Historic Kerrytown. The unique location gives the store a feel of a personal library rather than a retail store. We carry new trade books as well as many used books which are no longer published. All of this is watched over by Duke, our 13-year old sweet border collie. |
|
