Nightbird Books, a supporter and favorite haunt of English students, faculty, and staff for fourteen years, closed its doors for the last time on February 29, 2020. Thank you, Lisa Sharp, for all the excellent book recommendations and for providing a place where lovers of literary art could gather and feel at home—we will miss you! Read the following report by Jesse Greenhill, below, on the bookstore’s closing event.
The Nightbird Books closing event, which took place during the warm, sunny last day of February, drew dozens of patrons who wanted to say thanks to owner Lisa Sharp and the Nightbird Books staff and, in most cases, leave with a book or two (or five in my case). We shared stories as we browsed the shelves and enjoyed the free cake. Everyone seemed to know at least one other person there—a testament to the fact that Nightbird was as much community center as it was bookstore.
During its fourteen thriving years, Nightbird provided space for free events: book clubs, discussion groups, local author fairs, small craft fairs, book signings, speakers, meetings, and, of course, the Open Mouth series organized by our own Creative Writing students and faculty. With its wooden chairs and tables, its lamps and oriental rugs, its birdcage where doves cooed and parakeets chirped, Nightbird Books cultivated a funky, warm atmosphere where many aspiring writers gained their first, valuable experiences reading their work in front of others. Those of us who took advantage of these opportunities were proud to claim Nightbird as our independent, locally owned bookstore.
In her announcement about the store’s closing, Lisa wrote, “I’ve loved every minute of owning a bookstore in this community and I hope we have contributed something to you as well.” On behalf of the students and faculty in the English department at the University of Arkansas, we’d like to offer an enthusiastic, “YES!” You definitely contributed something to us as well.
