Boston’s Poet Laureate, Porsha Olayiwola, opens bookstore in Fields Corner
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Just in time for the holidays, Fields Corner has received the greatest gift of all: a brand-new independent bookstore called Just Book-ish. Developed by Boston’s poet laureate, Porsha Olayiwola, and Haley House’s former director, Bing Broderick, Just Book-ish will serve as a community gathering space as much as a place of learning.
The tagline of Just Book-ish is “culturally curated, radically influenced, locally inspired.” The shop offers a highly curated selection of books designed to serve the neighboring community. Olayiwola says there are books reflecting the identities of the African American, Vietnamese, Haitian and Dominican populations surrounding the store.
“I think it’s about having a space where folks who are traditionally or who have been historically marginalized can see themselves in this domain, and that domain being the literary arts and the literary world,” said Olayiwola “The same is true for the notion of being locally inspired, making sure we’re responding to the needs of the community and what they are interested in and what they want.”
This focus on inclusion extends to the programming in the shop and to the culinary program. Just Book-ish will host everything from author talks and reading parties to tea-tastings and youth open-mic nights. The shop is intentionally open into the evening, closing at seven most nights to provide a third space for the neighborhood after work and school hours.
Olayiwola will soon be approaching the end of a six-year tenure as Boston’s poet laureate. She hopes to continue her work promoting poetry, literature and community through Just Book-ish and a new appointment as an assistant professor of poetry at Emerson College.
“I think it’s important to continue to do in our work and to continue to provide a lot of space for local poets, national poets, to be in conversation with our city,” said Olayiwola.
The poetry section at Just Book-ish is substantially larger than at most bookstores.
Culinary director Tamika R. Francis, the mastermind behind Food & Folklore, an organization centering global food traditions, runs the on-site café. Currently, the café is serving a coffee and tea menu and empanadas, with plans to showcase a rotating selection of cultural hand pies and to expand the menu from there. Francis will be spearheading food-related programing as well and there are plans to acquire a beer and wine license down the road.
Olayiwola hopes Just Book-ish will be a balm during challenging social and political times.
“It was extremely important to figure out ways to gather across identity markers,” she said. “And I think we also live in a world where humans are silent, books are silent. There are several books being banned constantly and we just want to be a space where ideas can be fostered, can be nurtured and can be shared across folks and humans.”
