Many thanks, Ken. I do value your post. A rare insight indeed. Can't wait to
get in touch / contact with Spring Church!
Best
Árni
--
Árni Ibsen
Stekkjarkinn 19,
220 Hafnarfjördur,
Iceland
tel.: +354-555-3991
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/
on 11/1/03 3:12 AM, Kenneth Wolman at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Wendy Carlisle, who told me about Spring Church, lives in Texarkana, not
> exactly the poetry capital of the Southwest. They were the first to stock
> her "Reading Berryman to the Dog," for which I give regular sales pitches
> because she's a beloved friend, bastard of a critic, and a hell of a
> poet. Anyway...I told someone offline that you don't just do business with
> Britt Horner, you form a relationship with her. Can you do that at
> Amazon? Her wrapping jobs are worthy of top secret documents: white paper
> taped, surrounded by NY Times castoffs, then into a bubble-wrap bag. It
> takes ten minutes to get the thing open. The invoice is inside,
> handwritten, tucked in the back cover of the book. Usually there is a
> personal note.
>
> After 9/11/01, Britt and I spent a lot of time on the phone. I was close
> to the thing, her daughter was too; and she was in the middle of a nasty
> breakup with a caddish but longterm Significant Other. She wasn't trying
> to fix me up with her daughter, who lived blocks from where I worked; we
> were, I think, trying to hold each other together. And very often money
> never changed hands. When I buy something in B&N or on Amazon, I almost
> feel disloyal.
>
> As I said to this other person, the worst thing that could happen to Britt
> would be a website: you'd lose the personal touch and the sense of
> friendship. She doesn't have Black Heralds in stock but I would guarantee
> it'll be there inside a week. Maybe I'll have her redirect it to New
> Mexico first so Rebecca can sign it:-).
>
> Ken
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