On this special episode of Open Stacks, we hear from Jeff Deutsch, the Director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. Jeff's book, <a href= "https://www.semcoop.com/praise-good-bookstores">In Praise of Good Bookstores</a>, 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 <a href= "https://www.semcoop.com/simple-truth-member-letter-2022">the Co-op's mission</a> and <a href="https://www.semcoop.com/give">help these important spaces thrive</a>. This episode was produced by Jackson Roach, hosted by Alena Jones, and features music by Andrei Pohorelsky and <a href= "https://www.danielbirchmusic.com/">Daniel Birch</a>.

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.