Sometimes there’s a place where it all comes together. The Dutch town of Leiden has a new place like this: Index Poetry.
Index Poetry in a bookshop that specializes in poetry, and only poetry. At first they might seem like a regular sized bookstore, but these bookshelves aren’t filled with fiction. Every shelf is filled with poetry, or poetry related books. The collection is huge and they have even more than they are able to show in the store. And even if they don’t have it at the moment, they are able to order almost everything – even that one obscure book you’ve been looking for for ages.
The collection isn’t just big, it’s also really diverse. As a Dutch bookstore, of course they offer a lot of Dutch poetry, and they have a huge English department, but many other languages and countries are represented as well. Apart from nationality and language, they also make sure other kinds of poetry are represented: for example, they have a special shelf with LGBT+ poetry.
People sometimes say the world of books is having a hard time, with ebooks and online ordering making it impossible for a bookstore to make enough money. Luckily the owners of Index are really passionate about poetry, and they own a book distribution company that is making enough money to support this little bookstore. They really want to offer quality in the shop, and they’ve made sure the people working in the store know what they are talking about. So even if you don’t know a lot about poetry it’s a great shop, because they surely will be able to help you find something you’ll like.
BOOKSIEN 