Open Stacks

About Open Stacks

Open Stacks brings you conversations with scholars, poets, novelists and activists on subjects as eclectic as the books on our shelves, from under-the-radar debates in the academy to pressing contemporary social issues, and from bestselling works of fiction to avant-garde poetics. Recorded live at Chicago's Seminary Co-op Bookstores, Open Stacks invites listeners to sit in on the kind of candid discussions and lively debates made possible by the participation of readers in a public space, with the aim of expanding and encouraging a broader community of ideas. Turn up the volume, pull up a chair, and let's start a conversation.

Publisher

The Seminary Co-op Bookstores & UChicago Podcast Network

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Sept 2017

Latest episode

30 Jun 2022

Latest episodes

100 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Jun 2022

   Havens for the Heterodox: Seminary Co-op Director Jeff Deutsch on Good Bookstores

   On this special episode of Open Stacks, we hear from Jeff Deutsch, the Director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. Jeff's book, In Praise of Good Bookstores, came out from Princeton University Press this Spring, and Jeff has been traveling the country visiting other independent bookstores to talk about it, and about the value of bookselling and bookstores in the 21st century. Jeff spoke at the Seminary Co-op with Ydalmi Noriega, a member of the Co-op's board of directors, and director of programs and community engagement at the Poetry Foundation. Find out more about the Co-op's mission and help these important spaces thrive (https://www.semcoop.com/give). This episode was produced by Jackson Roach, hosted by Alena Jones, and features music by Andrei Pohorelsky and Daniel Birch.

2. 

   2 Dec 2021

   Meeting Again: Mikki Kendall, Jack Cella, & Colin McDonald

   On this episode of Open Stacks, the last of the fourth season, Mikki Kendall remembers a childhood at 57th Street Books and the reading that shapes her writing. We also hear from old friends Jack Cella and Colin McDonald, and from booksellers on the books they return to year after year. For a list of books discussed, music credits, and directions for submitting your favorite passages, head to our website.

3. 

   11 Nov 2021

   Curiosity Is a Skill: On Reading Seriously

   This time on Open Stacks, with Philip Leventhal, Elizabeth Branch Dyson, Paul Yamazaki, and Dan Wells, we ask what makes a book "serious." Booksellers Amélie, Annie, and Artemie share scholarly favorites. We're releasing this episode during University Press Week 2021, the 10th annual celebration of these important institutions and the knowledge and culture they help to cultivate. Philip Leventhal is Senior Editor at Columbia University Press, acquiring titles in journalism, film and media Studies, and literary studies. He also worked at the Co-op for many years, and was the managing editor of The Front Table, the Co-op's print catalog and newsletter. You can hear him on this episode from earlier in the season. Elizabeth Branch Dyson is Assistant Editorial Director and Executive Editor at The University of Chicago Press, acquiring titles in education, sociology, and music, especially jazz and blues studies. She's appeared a few times (https://www.semcoop.com/blog/post/washing-book-elizabeth-branch-dyson-eve-ewing-and-ann-kjellberg) on this season of Open Stacks. Paul Yamazaki is the principal buyer at City Lights, where he has worked for over 50 years. He has also appeared a few times (https://www.semcoop.com/blog/post/cave-windows) on this season of Open Stacks, and will soon be publishing with Ode Books. Dan Wells is the founder of the publisher and bookstore Biblioasis (http://biblioasis.com/). He also appeared on an earlier episode this season. Thanks to listener Marie for sharing a passage from My First Thirty Years by Gertrude Beasley. If you'd like to share a piece of great writing with us, send us a voice memo. This episode was hosted by Alena Jones and produced by Jackson Roach, and features music by Blue Dot Sessions, Los Amparito, Loyalty Freak Music, and Daniel Birch. Find a list of books discussed in this episode here.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

61 ratings

Contact Open Stacks

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.