Sunday, June 06, 2004
"LEAVE THE DAMN MANURE PILE ALONE SO THE FLOWERS CAN GROW!"
That's what Stan Bevington, founder of Coach House Press, has to say about the possibility of levelling the lovely coach house on bpNichol lane, only to make way for another residence for U of T students [albeit a more affordable co-op residence]. These weeks are crucial ones for the publishing house, the outcome of which may be the first-time-ever signing of a lease which puts CHP at the mercy of landlord Campus Co-operative Residence Inc. Then, only a matter of time before the handing over of the key takes place [plus the handing over of the padlock, as the case may be]. This will a lamentable loss, should this come to pass. Having been inside the charmingly rickety yet abundantly productive publishing house only once, it left with me the impression that the art and history of bookmaking was in full force and appreciation here. A true hidden gem in the heart of downtown Toronto. I'm sure I'm not the only one who, when given the option, chose to walk along bpNichol lane in the effort to eventually reach Bloor Street, albeit in a roundabout fashion, if only to pause and read the engraved poem on the street, if only to peek through the dusty windows to catch a glimpse of the presses in motion, feeling the ground beneath your feet tremble with the vibration, if only to marvel at the fresh piles of books leaning precariously in whatever available space left, the fruit of some local author's literary toiling. Alas, all of that might become a fleeting memory, replaced with fresh architecture whose windows display a line of empty beer bottles. [Source: The Globe and Mail]
That's what Stan Bevington, founder of Coach House Press, has to say about the possibility of levelling the lovely coach house on bpNichol lane, only to make way for another residence for U of T students [albeit a more affordable co-op residence]. These weeks are crucial ones for the publishing house, the outcome of which may be the first-time-ever signing of a lease which puts CHP at the mercy of landlord Campus Co-operative Residence Inc. Then, only a matter of time before the handing over of the key takes place [plus the handing over of the padlock, as the case may be]. This will a lamentable loss, should this come to pass. Having been inside the charmingly rickety yet abundantly productive publishing house only once, it left with me the impression that the art and history of bookmaking was in full force and appreciation here. A true hidden gem in the heart of downtown Toronto. I'm sure I'm not the only one who, when given the option, chose to walk along bpNichol lane in the effort to eventually reach Bloor Street, albeit in a roundabout fashion, if only to pause and read the engraved poem on the street, if only to peek through the dusty windows to catch a glimpse of the presses in motion, feeling the ground beneath your feet tremble with the vibration, if only to marvel at the fresh piles of books leaning precariously in whatever available space left, the fruit of some local author's literary toiling. Alas, all of that might become a fleeting memory, replaced with fresh architecture whose windows display a line of empty beer bottles. [Source: The Globe and Mail]
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