This past Saturday, as Book Passage celebrated its 40th anniversary at its main store in Corte Madera, Calif., the common thread among members of the community who turned out--famous authors who have graced the stage, prospective authors who take classes there, students who became authors, readers who see the store as their special place and more--was the idea of celebrating a beloved home.
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| Elaine and Bill Petrocelli with (front) Isabel Allende, Don George and Anne Lamott | |
Kicking off the daylong celebration, a group of local schoolchildren read from their work. In the afternoon, the store hosted a reception for wood-cut artist Tom Killion, whose work has been available at the store almost since it opened. And then Book Passage president Elaine Petrocelli invited three special guests to have a conversation about their experiences at the store: Anne Lamott, who started BP's writing programs; Don George, who has run the store's Travel Writers Workshop for 25 years; and bestselling author Isabel Allende, Elaine's BFF, who's been known to help out at the store on many occasions--even making cappuccino in the café.
"I'm the very lucky woman who gets to be the founder, I guess, of this country we call Book Passage," said Petrocelli. "It's thanks to all of you that we are not only still here, but are stark-raving mad, because in a few weeks we are about to open a new store in Sausalito." Before handing the stage over to her guests, Petrocelli thanked her staff spanning 40 years--people, she said, who could have made big money working in that other little industry that took off in the area, technology--but who chose to be booksellers.
Petrocelli recalled that, as a new bookseller and a fan of Lamott's debut novel, Hard Laughter, when she couldn't find any more copies, she simply used the phone book to look up the author, who informed her that the publisher planned to remainder it. After getting her "in-house lawyer"--her husband, Bill Petrocelli--to negotiate a deal, Book Passage bought all the remaining copies, which they sold at full price, splitting the profits with Lamott. "This is my place," said Lamott, noting that her son grew up on its floor playing with Legos and had his first crush on Luisa Smith, now the head buyer.
Similarly, when Petrocelli decided she wanted to start a travel writing conference, she simply called travel writer and editor Don George and invited him to chair it. Then, George explained, he got the crazy idea that Jan Morris (whom he did not know) should be involved; he reached her by phone in Wales where she accepted his invitation while lounging in her bath. "Which is an image that has stayed with me forever," he joked.
For a man who sees traveling as his "religion," George explained, "I am the pope of the Church of Wanderlust and this is the Vatican." He even said he'd want his memorial service at Book Passage.
"That's so mushy," teased Allende, who got a little mushy herself. "Elaine was my first friend when I came to this country. Together we've seen our children grow up. She's been with me through the death of my two stepchildren and my daughter. I can't imagine my life without this safe place."
And you just never know when someone at Book Passage will have the right words at the right time. Once, when Allende suffered writer's block, she ran into Lamott at the store, who told her there's no such thing. "The reservoirs are empty and you need to fill them up," was the advice Lamott had for her.
"A bookstore and a library really is a cathedral," Lamott told the packed room of true believers. "It's a clinic where you can breathe again after an anvil dropping on your family... when the only thing that can save you is in a book."
"Bill and I are very blessed. And we plan to be here a long time," concluded Petrocelli. "Now let's have some booze and talk." --Bridget Kinsella