Congratulations to the Grolier Poetry Book Shop in Cambridge, Mass., which celebrates its 90th anniversary this coming Saturday, May 19. The Grolier is the oldest continuously operated bookstore dedicated solely to poetry. It was founded by Adrian Gambet and Gordon Cairnie in 1927, had several owners, and in 2006, was bought by Nigerian poet and Wellesley College professor Ifeanyi Menkiti. The 404 square feet store with towering bookshelves has hosted many major poets over the years, including e e cummings, T.S. Eliot and Allen Ginsberg.
The Grolier is marking its 90th anniversary with a street fair and poetry festival on May 19 from noon to 8 p.m. on Plympton Street near Harvard Square. The event opens with the Boston Shakespeare Project's spoken word adaptation of "Twelfth Night," part of a children's program that also includes a reading by X.J. Kennedy. The afternoon continues with readings from Fred Marchant, David Ferry, Harris Gardner, Martha Collins, Kathleen Spivack, Gloria Mindock, Keith O'Shaughnessy and Partridge Boswell. Music, dance, workshops and more round out the festivities, with food available from Grafton Street Pub & Grill. A rain date is set for June 2.
