June 17, 2021 • 9 mins
We get great reading suggestions to celebrate LGBTQ people and foster understanding, courtesy of Jaime Harker, owner of Violet Valley Bookstore, Mississippi’s only queer, feminist, trans-inclusive bookstore.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something Good
(00:27):
for today. It's Pride Month, and today we're going to
get some great reading recommendations on the topic. We'll hear
from the owner of Violet Valley Books, located in a
small Mississippi town called Water Valley. Now, Violet Valley Books
is Mississippi's only l g B t Q, feminist and
trans inclusive bookstore. The store was founded by Jamie Harker,
(00:50):
who is a professor at the University of Mississippi and
director of the Sarahism Center for Women and Gender Studies there. Today,
we're gonna learn from Jamie what inspired her to Violet
Valley Books, the authors that she thinks deserve more attention,
and her suggestions for books to read for Pride Month.
Here's what Jamie had to say, Jamie, thanks so much
for joining us my pleasure So Violent Valley is Mississippi's
(01:15):
only l g B T Q feminist and trans inclusive bookstore.
Can you tell us a little bit about why you
founded it and the impact it's had. First thing I
always say answer this question is, as someone who loves books,
I've always dreamed of having a bookstore. So I don't
think anyone. I think every english Manajor Harbor's this secret dream. UM.
I was working on a book for about seven years
(01:36):
about Southern lesbian feminists and the Women in Print Movement
UM that came out in UM and it was a
great project with writers like Alice Walker and Dorothy Ali Staman,
Bruce Pratt, Map Secrets, all these great Southern writers, and
as I was working on it, I got interested in
their in their books, but almost all of them were
involved in what's known as the Women in Print Movement,
(01:57):
which was this attempt to create an autonomous ecosystem for
women's voices to be published and distributed. So you had
women starting presses, starting bookstores, distributing writing for these presses,
kind of creating a space where they felt that there
wasn't a space for those particular perspectives in mainstream media.
And so as I was learning about all these women,
I not only love their books, but they were always
(02:18):
doing these other amazing things like oh yeah, on the side,
I started to press, I'm working on this. I have
a bookstore, but when's resource center. And they were all
doing it, you know, when they were just out of
college and they were living in like a third floor,
cold flat walk up with three hundred dollars in their
bank account. They had to buy use presses and figure
out how to set tight, you know, all these really
complicated things. And they created this network of over two
(02:39):
hundred bookstores across the country and all these feminist presses
that published for them. And I thought, you know, they
did all these really amazing things with really nothing, you know,
they had like hardly just had their own desire and
friends who maybe would network. And so I thought, if
they could do all of that, I could do something
small like this, like I could open a bookstore. I
already have a salary, so I'm ahead of them. UM.
(03:01):
And it's so much easier to do a lot of things,
And it was back in the day. You know, you
can crowdsource, you can fundraise online, and all these things
made it easier. So that really got me thinking about this.
UM and then this kind of perfect opportunity came up.
This little space right next to my wife's restaurant came
open um and the timing was said that there's this
great space. It was a really good location. And there
(03:24):
was also a political element that HPREE, which was an
anti gay quote unquote religious freedom bill, passed in the
state of Mississippi. Um in and everyone felt so kind
of disheartened. The queer community felt really under siege. And
as someone who both identifies with a career community and
teaches gain lesbian classes at the University of Mississippi, I've
(03:46):
really wanted to do something to help for youth of
Mississippi and kind of create an inclusive space. UM. And
since I'm an English professor, it made sense to open
a bookstore is a thing that I would do. So
all this kind of pain together UM and I when
I had the right space open up, I decided to
take the plunge. Even though I didn't really know anything
about running a bookstore, I had to learn all the
fly and so I founded Rolly Bookstore in sev And
(04:09):
you're dedicated to showcasing feminist, queer and multicultural literature. Can
you share some writers with us that you think deserve
greater recognition when you when you ask any professor that question,
you I could talk your ear off about it, so
it's gonna to limit it down. UM. I was thinking
about this question and a few of the people I
really love. UM. There's a Scottish writer named Alie Smith.
(04:32):
Her Quartet series has gotten a lot of attention based
on each of the seasons. But she's got a great
book called Girl Meets Boy, which is a retelling of
the myth of Iphis And it's this whole sort of
story of gender not conformity and queer love and feminist
kind of connection. It's a beautiful little book. I've taught
at students and they love it. So that's one I
(04:52):
would definitely mention. UM. The trans journalist Samatha Allen has
written a terrific book called Real Queer America LGBT store
is from the Red States. UM that is takes her
through queer communities in Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, in Mississippi
and Utah UM and it's it's a really delightful study
of of a community that a lot of folks don't
(05:13):
know is they're right they think about queer life being
on the coast in large cities, and she really takes
us into these thriving and very supportive small queer communities
in these states that are often over the hostile in
terms of lats UM. And then for older stuff, I
would say, Um, you know, Tales of the City came
out as a Netflix series recently, but there is a
(05:34):
whole series of novels at Armisent. Mopan wrote Um starting
in the nineteen seventies. There are nine novels in the
Tales and the City series, and they are a really
delightful study of queer life in San Francisco, um in
ways that are often funny and unexpected and bring all
these different communities together. So I think he's gotten attention
since that Netflix series came out, but I don't know
(05:54):
that everyone knows what a long prehistory Tales of the the
City has um, and it's worth going back to the
beginning and reading through. I'll pause there because I could
keep going for a long time. And lastly, in honor
of Pride Month, do you have any books by l
g B t Q authors or any literature that you
recommend for allies who want to learn more. That's a
really interesting question. Um. One of the books we always
(06:15):
carry in the bookstore is The A. B. C's of
lgbt Q, and it's a really good introduction to identities
and it talked about all the identity flags and the
way people think about gender and sexuality, and it's a
good sort of primer for folks to come in UM.
I always like to refer folks to history about especially
about the regions that are in UM. One of the
(06:38):
classics is a queer Mississippi history called Men Like That
by John Howard, and it's a book I always have
in this store. And he basically had to invent a
whole new way of analyzing and seeing queer community in
Mississippi because most of our models are based on urban
urban patterns, so gay bars, gay bookstores, gay neighborhoods, um,
gay businesses, gay activism, and when there are these explicit
(07:01):
areas and explicit businesses, you think there's no queer community.
But what John Howard does is find other ways to
identify how queer folks have always created networks of support
and connection. And so it's a book I read my
first semester when I moved to Mississippi, and it just
completely blew my mind. It maybe see the entire state
in a different way. So history books like that could
(07:22):
really help to to frame and let us see the
blind spots we bring. Um. And the final thing I'd
probably mentioned that that I think I'm going to teach
next time I do interest in gender studies is Gabby
Rivera is why novel Juliet takes a breath and it's
a really great study of latinos. Uh. You know women
in college who travels from New York to Portland, and
you've got all these different kinds of queer communities, explorations
(07:45):
of identity and terminology in ways that are really accessible,
um and interesting. So those will be a few, I guess,
little little gems to start with. And of course I'm
always happy to talk queer books of it and wants
to send me an email and talk more all lower
case Violet Value Books at gmail dot com and we
also have a website Violet Valley dot org Violet Valley Books.
(08:07):
What a great store with an important mission and what
a great reading list from Jamie Harker. So here's something
good for today. First, Jamie was inspired to start Violet
Valley Books by the women who came before her. She's
following in the footsteps of the Women's Imprint movement, which
aimed to make a space for women by starting women
Don't presses, publishers and bookstores. The effort continues today through
(08:31):
Jamie and Violet Valley Books in Mississippi. Second, whether you're
celebrating Pride Month or any other time of the year,
there's always an opportunity to learn more from l g
b t Q, feminist and trans inclusive authors. Jamie gave
us some great reading recommendations, including the A. B. C's
of lgbt Q and Gabby Rivera's novel Juliet Takes a Breath. Finally,
(08:54):
you can find more wonderful books at Violet Valley dot org.
Thank you for listening, and please share Today's Something Good
with others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co
(09:15):
author of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women.
To learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women
dot com or download the Seneca Women app free in
the app store. Care Something Good is a production of
the Seneca Women podcast network and I Heart Radio Have
a Great Day. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
(09:39):
check out the i Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something Good
(00:27):
for today. It's Pride Month, and today we're going to
get some great reading recommendations on the topic. We'll hear
from the owner of Violet Valley Books, located in a
small Mississippi town called Water Valley. Now, Violet Valley Books
is Mississippi's only l g B t Q, feminist and
trans inclusive bookstore. The store was founded by Jamie Harker,
(00:50):
who is a professor at the University of Mississippi and
director of the Sarahism Center for Women and Gender Studies there. Today,
we're gonna learn from Jamie what inspired her to Violet
Valley Books, the authors that she thinks deserve more attention,
and her suggestions for books to read for Pride Month.
Here's what Jamie had to say, Jamie, thanks so much
for joining us my pleasure So Violent Valley is Mississippi's
(01:15):
only l g B T Q feminist and trans inclusive bookstore.
Can you tell us a little bit about why you
founded it and the impact it's had. First thing I
always say answer this question is, as someone who loves books,
I've always dreamed of having a bookstore. So I don't
think anyone. I think every english Manajor Harbor's this secret dream. UM.
I was working on a book for about seven years
(01:36):
about Southern lesbian feminists and the Women in Print Movement
UM that came out in UM and it was a
great project with writers like Alice Walker and Dorothy Ali Staman,
Bruce Pratt, Map Secrets, all these great Southern writers, and
as I was working on it, I got interested in
their in their books, but almost all of them were
involved in what's known as the Women in Print Movement,
(01:57):
which was this attempt to create an autonomous ecosystem for
women's voices to be published and distributed. So you had
women starting presses, starting bookstores, distributing writing for these presses,
kind of creating a space where they felt that there
wasn't a space for those particular perspectives in mainstream media.
And so as I was learning about all these women,
I not only love their books, but they were always
(02:18):
doing these other amazing things like oh yeah, on the side,
I started to press, I'm working on this. I have
a bookstore, but when's resource center. And they were all
doing it, you know, when they were just out of
college and they were living in like a third floor,
cold flat walk up with three hundred dollars in their
bank account. They had to buy use presses and figure
out how to set tight, you know, all these really
complicated things. And they created this network of over two
(02:39):
hundred bookstores across the country and all these feminist presses
that published for them. And I thought, you know, they
did all these really amazing things with really nothing, you know,
they had like hardly just had their own desire and
friends who maybe would network. And so I thought, if
they could do all of that, I could do something
small like this, like I could open a bookstore. I
already have a salary, so I'm ahead of them. UM.
(03:01):
And it's so much easier to do a lot of things,
And it was back in the day. You know, you
can crowdsource, you can fundraise online, and all these things
made it easier. So that really got me thinking about this.
UM and then this kind of perfect opportunity came up.
This little space right next to my wife's restaurant came
open um and the timing was said that there's this
great space. It was a really good location. And there
(03:24):
was also a political element that HPREE, which was an
anti gay quote unquote religious freedom bill, passed in the
state of Mississippi. Um in and everyone felt so kind
of disheartened. The queer community felt really under siege. And
as someone who both identifies with a career community and
teaches gain lesbian classes at the University of Mississippi, I've
(03:46):
really wanted to do something to help for youth of
Mississippi and kind of create an inclusive space. UM. And
since I'm an English professor, it made sense to open
a bookstore is a thing that I would do. So
all this kind of pain together UM and I when
I had the right space open up, I decided to
take the plunge. Even though I didn't really know anything
about running a bookstore, I had to learn all the
fly and so I founded Rolly Bookstore in sev And
(04:09):
you're dedicated to showcasing feminist, queer and multicultural literature. Can
you share some writers with us that you think deserve
greater recognition when you when you ask any professor that question,
you I could talk your ear off about it, so
it's gonna to limit it down. UM. I was thinking
about this question and a few of the people I
really love. UM. There's a Scottish writer named Alie Smith.
(04:32):
Her Quartet series has gotten a lot of attention based
on each of the seasons. But she's got a great
book called Girl Meets Boy, which is a retelling of
the myth of Iphis And it's this whole sort of
story of gender not conformity and queer love and feminist
kind of connection. It's a beautiful little book. I've taught
at students and they love it. So that's one I
(04:52):
would definitely mention. UM. The trans journalist Samatha Allen has
written a terrific book called Real Queer America LGBT store
is from the Red States. UM that is takes her
through queer communities in Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, in Mississippi
and Utah UM and it's it's a really delightful study
of of a community that a lot of folks don't
(05:13):
know is they're right they think about queer life being
on the coast in large cities, and she really takes
us into these thriving and very supportive small queer communities
in these states that are often over the hostile in
terms of lats UM. And then for older stuff, I
would say, Um, you know, Tales of the City came
out as a Netflix series recently, but there is a
(05:34):
whole series of novels at Armisent. Mopan wrote Um starting
in the nineteen seventies. There are nine novels in the
Tales and the City series, and they are a really
delightful study of queer life in San Francisco, um in
ways that are often funny and unexpected and bring all
these different communities together. So I think he's gotten attention
since that Netflix series came out, but I don't know
(05:54):
that everyone knows what a long prehistory Tales of the the
City has um, and it's worth going back to the
beginning and reading through. I'll pause there because I could
keep going for a long time. And lastly, in honor
of Pride Month, do you have any books by l
g B t Q authors or any literature that you
recommend for allies who want to learn more. That's a
really interesting question. Um. One of the books we always
(06:15):
carry in the bookstore is The A. B. C's of
lgbt Q, and it's a really good introduction to identities
and it talked about all the identity flags and the
way people think about gender and sexuality, and it's a
good sort of primer for folks to come in UM.
I always like to refer folks to history about especially
about the regions that are in UM. One of the
(06:38):
classics is a queer Mississippi history called Men Like That
by John Howard, and it's a book I always have
in this store. And he basically had to invent a
whole new way of analyzing and seeing queer community in
Mississippi because most of our models are based on urban
urban patterns, so gay bars, gay bookstores, gay neighborhoods, um,
gay businesses, gay activism, and when there are these explicit
(07:01):
areas and explicit businesses, you think there's no queer community.
But what John Howard does is find other ways to
identify how queer folks have always created networks of support
and connection. And so it's a book I read my
first semester when I moved to Mississippi, and it just
completely blew my mind. It maybe see the entire state
in a different way. So history books like that could
(07:22):
really help to to frame and let us see the
blind spots we bring. Um. And the final thing I'd
probably mentioned that that I think I'm going to teach
next time I do interest in gender studies is Gabby
Rivera is why novel Juliet takes a breath and it's
a really great study of latinos. Uh. You know women
in college who travels from New York to Portland, and
you've got all these different kinds of queer communities, explorations
(07:45):
of identity and terminology in ways that are really accessible,
um and interesting. So those will be a few, I guess,
little little gems to start with. And of course I'm
always happy to talk queer books of it and wants
to send me an email and talk more all lower
case Violet Value Books at gmail dot com and we
also have a website Violet Valley dot org Violet Valley Books.
(08:07):
What a great store with an important mission and what
a great reading list from Jamie Harker. So here's something
good for today. First, Jamie was inspired to start Violet
Valley Books by the women who came before her. She's
following in the footsteps of the Women's Imprint movement, which
aimed to make a space for women by starting women
Don't presses, publishers and bookstores. The effort continues today through
(08:31):
Jamie and Violet Valley Books in Mississippi. Second, whether you're
celebrating Pride Month or any other time of the year,
there's always an opportunity to learn more from l g
b t Q, feminist and trans inclusive authors. Jamie gave
us some great reading recommendations, including the A. B. C's
of lgbt Q and Gabby Rivera's novel Juliet Takes a Breath. Finally,
(08:54):
you can find more wonderful books at Violet Valley dot org.
Thank you for listening, and please share Today's Something Good
with others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co
(09:15):
author of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women.
To learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women
dot com or download the Seneca Women app free in
the app store. Care Something Good is a production of
the Seneca Women podcast network and I Heart Radio Have
a Great Day. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
(09:39):
check out the i Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
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