The Closing of a Corner Store by Amelia Bjesse-Puffin (2020)

 The Closing of a Corner Store

Amelia Bjesse-Puffin

Microcosm.Pub

Portland, OR

(c) 2020

I have read a number of books, both non-fiction and poetry, about the demise of "zombie capitalism" and its effects on the land and the communities negatively impacted by the CLOSING of America, as it were, and this unpaginated staple-bound booklet emphasizes this uncontrolled collapse as well as any $50.00 academic book published by a major publisher. Probably more accurate since it is not written by anyone in the ivory tower but by someone who lives on the ground and feels the street level withdrawal more acutely. This is the same city that has generated the conditions that led to Mimi German's insightful Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars (capturing the plight of the homeless in an unforgiving city) and Loaners: The Making of a Street Library by Ben Hodgson and Laura Moulton (about a portable library "catering" to street people).

It should surprise no one that the publisher, Microcosm.Pub, also brings out books about punk of local music scenes across the country. More on that part next.