Store News

The Gallery at Phoenix Books Essex is now seeking artists for our next exhibit, "Peepers & Creepers." We have a wealth of natural beauty here in Vermont, and this spring we're going to get up close and personal with the reptiles, amphibians, and insects that emerge each spring here in the Green Mountain State. This exhibit will be on our walls from the beginning of March through mid-April.

Do you have a piece of art featuring a peeper or a creeper? Contact Colleen at colleen@phoenixbooks.biz for more details!

While you're at it, mark your calendar for the event that inspired this exhibit: Newt Night with the North Branch Nature Center at Phoenix Books Essex on Wednesday, March 13th. You can read more here.

The Coffeehouse will be open from 5pm-10pm, and Phoenix Books will be open for business from 10am-10 pm, on New Year’s Eve. Stop by and visit us!

First Night is a substance-free, New Year's Eve festival of the arts. It began in Boston in 1976 and is now in over 130 cities throughout the world.  Burlington was the fifth city in the world to embrace the First Night concept. First Night Burlington is Vermont's largest, single-day arts festival, providing an accessible and affordable New Year's Eve celebration to thousands of people in our community.  For more information, and to get your buttons, visit firstnightburlington.com.

Patrick Fitzsimmons Trio
Jeff Miller’s Burlington Coffeehouse: 5-5:50pm
Acclaimed Vermont singer-songwriter accompanied with his trio. "Fitzsimmons is an immensely talented singer. Wide eyed and heartfelt, his music ably and honestly recalls a simpler period of American pop music." Seven Days

Peter Katz
Jeff Miller’s Burlington Coffeehouse: 6-6:40pm
Multiple award-winner and JUNO Nominee Peter Katz captivates listeners with his unique brand of contemporary folk music. Playing 150+ dates per year all over the world, Katz’s remarkable efforts have resulted in him selling over 15,000 copies of his discs and sharing the stage with such notable artists as The Swell Season, Bedouin Soundclash, Dan Mangan and the legendary Garth Hudson from The Band. Not one to waste any time, Peter has just released a new studio album called ‘Still Mind Still’, followed by an extensive tour throughout Canada and parts of the U.S. and Europe. This new collection of songs is Katz’s best writing to date, recorded mostly live off the floor at a cabin in the woods and surrounded by a stunning atmospheric production thanks to producer Rob Szabo. “If talent alone ensures success, then Peter Katz will soon be a name on everyone’s lips” -The Record

Mark LeGrand & Sarah Munro
Jeff Miller’s Burlington Coffeehouse: 7-7:40pm
Sarah Munro has been singing all of her life. Her rich musical background beginning with her mom singing her to sleep with such mountain classics as Leadbelly's In The Pines. You can still hear the rich heartfelt soul of this music echoing joyously in her voice. Mark has been writing and performing his brand of "Thinking Man's Honky Tonk" in the spirit of John Prine and Hank Williams for over three decades. He has released two fine Vermont CDs, All Dressed Up, 2002 and Cold New England Town, 2006. The two released their first CD in 1998 titled Mischievous Angel to rave reviews. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Austin Texas music icon comments, "I think the greatest function of music is when spirit comes through it — and to me, that's what happens with these songs." Together Mark and Sarah have a stunning harmony sound and an engaging stage presence.

Anne Weiss
Jeff Miller’s Burlington Coffeehouse: 8-8:40pm
Anne Weiss unleashes her new double CD, “Where Folk Gets the Blues”, on the world! Funky, folky, bluesy, political, poetic, and sensual, Anne’s music and songwriting have been called “a meeting at the crossroads of Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, and Aretha Franklin”. Some of the finest musicians of the Pacific Northwest have collaborated with Anne, including renowned blues guitarists Mary Flower and David Jacobs-Strain, gold recording artist Billy Oskay (Nightnoise). Several of the selections also feature Kenny Pasarelli (bass, Elton John, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills). Originally from New York City, Anne now resides in Portland, Oregon. With six CDs and book of poetry that gained her an Allen Ginsberg Poetry award, Anne has performed with everyone from powerfolk singer / songwriter Ani DiFranco to blues aficionado Taj Mahal. She is known for her enormous bluesy voice, great guitar chops, emotional piano work, humor and striking stage presence.

The Chalk Cats (Rik Palieri & Rebecca Padula)
Jeff Miller’s Burlington Coffeehouse: 9-9:40pm
Their roots run deep. Rik Palieri and Rebecca Padula employ an arsenal of instruments to dig up dust bowl ballads, blues, Appalachian banjo tunes, Hobo stories and songs from their home state, Vermont. Their set often includes music from the folk revival of Seeger and Guthrie, Utah Phillips, Leadbelly and traditional music mined from the vast archives of folksong collectors who have come before them. They explore the diversity of American musical traditions and make their own innovative contributions to these traditions with their original songs. They also enjoy sharing the music with audiences, getting them to sing or stomp along with their high energy performance and drawing them in with Rik's stories and Rebecca's whiskey and honey voice.

If you missed our Phoenix Holiday Review 2012 edition, which was featured in the Tuesday, November 20 issue of the Burlington Free Press, be sure to download the PDF version here or stop by the store to pick up a copy! It's chock full of gift ideas for everyone on your holiday list.

The Queen City’s eighth annual celebration of the written word is on the way. September 21 through 23 enjoy readings, signings, panels, workshops, exhibits, musical performances, original theater, demos and special events featuring literary luminaries from around the world-and just around the corner! All events are free. This year’s headliners include Rolling Stone's Michael Hastings, Alison Bechdel, Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman, Vermont Poet Laureate Sydney Lea, Emily M. Danforth, Bill McKibben and winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Tracy K. Smith.

As in years past, Phoenix Books will be handling book sales as the official Festival Bookstore at the Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday of the festival, and...

FOR THE FIRST TIME, PHOENIX BOOKS WILL BE A BURLINGTON BOOK FESTIVAL VENUE

On Sunday, September 23rd, Phoenix Books Burlington will host a series of readings entitled "Women's Work," featuring Hinda Miller, Katharine Fisher Britton, Emily Bernard, and Emily M. Danforth.  Hinda Miller is the cofounder of Jogbra and has been a Vermont State Senator.  Her new memoir is entitled Pearls of a Sultana: What I’ve Learned About Business, Politics and the Human Spirit.  Katharine Fisher Britton's debut novel, Her Sister’s Shadow, is ”A touching intimate account of painful memories that radically shape lives" (Publishers Weekly).  Emily Bernard's acclaimed new work, Carl Van Vechten and the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black and White is a tale about the messy realities of race and the complicated tangle of black and white. Emily M. Danforth’s debut novel, The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and School Library Journal, and was featured in the LA Times, The Seattle Stranger, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and NPR–whose reviewer called it “…a skillfully and beautifully written story that does what the best books do: It shows us ourselves in the lives of others.”

For more information on the Burlington Book Festival, and to find the full schedule, please visit http://burlingtonbookfestival.com.

"Phoenix Books in Essex, Vermont, was one of author Howard Norman's stops on his tour promoting his new book," reports Bookselling This Week in this week's Around Indies.

Listen in to this great show, including a recommendation of our own!

On February 7th, students at Brown's River Middle School participated in Vermont Writes Day. Students wrote for seven minutes, and had the option to polish that draft and enter it into a contest. Phoenix Books was proud to co-sponsor this event and to serve as an impartial jury in choosing the contest winners. Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to Audrey, Lukas, Flannery, and Hana!

Audrey Pearl (5th grader)

I never really was an avid reader as a small child. Books frightened me with their big black print, and those crisp, white pages that tore so easily. They always had an overwhelming smell, ink and crinkling paper. As I grew older though, my knowledge blossomed like a flower, finally seeing the sun. My history as a reader started as a tiny seed of inspiration, and grew into a beautiful tree, healthy and proud.

Now I love to get lost in a world of my imagination where I can let my soul fly free. Let go of all the terrifying realities of life and soar through page after page of adventure, fantasy, love, and happily ever-afters. The moment I pick up a book, my whole body changes. It starts with a tingling in the center of my heart and spreads all throughout my body, filling me with hope and anticipation!

There in the world of literature, I feel magical, like I could do anything in the whole wide world!!! Books are so powerful. They can make you feel sad, joyful, angry, scared, hopeful, so many emotions pour from those black, black letters and soft white pages.

Books are my life. Without them I would be lost, without a compass, without a light filled with knowledge and grace to guide me through this big, broad world!!!!!!!

Lukas Keating (6th grader)
I remember the first time I read. It was when I was 3 or 4 years old. I had just finished skiing, and I was very tired. We got down to the car, a beat up old blue Toyota and I was just about to sit down when- I noticed a book lying on the floor of the car. I picked it up and my mom said, "Hey Lukas, we have to go." I jumped into the car and, since I had nothing else to do, I read the book. I looked at the pictures and I read the words. By doing a combination of both I managed to successfully read it. I screamed in delight. The words gave me power. I could use them later on. I felt like I had discovered something new, something completely alien to me. The feeling was that of biting in to a sweet chocolate, rich joy and happiness. I felt special because now I could read. I treasured the power of reading forever, because it is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Flannery Abbey (7th grader)
The first thing I remembered was a flash of light, which probably wasn’t a good thing. I rubbed my head, dazed, and tried to push away the aching headache that was pulsing through my brain, muddling each one of my thoughts. There was a flash…the light was yellow? I couldn’t quite remember.

More troubling, though, was the fact that I couldn’t remember my own name. Once it hit me, it was like a cannon had shot the idea off in my brain as I frantically tried to remember my name. It was no use. All I could remember was the flash, which didn’t help me much.

My world was spinning, so I fumbled for something to touch, something to hold on to. I scrambled around, trying to find something, pawing at the air with furious and scared swings. At last my fingers brushed something in the darkness, something hard that was below me. Ah, that’ll be the floor. I thought, and then I was suddenly confused even more, which I wasn’t sure was possible. Frantically I pushed my fingers into the floor, as if I was trying to make them sink through, until the world stopped orbiting around me.

I blinked, and tried to take in my surroundings. I traced the cracks in the floor with my fingers, feeling the dips and where each crack veered off, like a tiny river in the stone. I attempted to stand up, trying to steady my weight. Eventually I let my hands leave the rigid position they were in, clamped to my sides, and began to stubble around. I wobbled a bit as I walked, and even though my eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, I could not see much of anything. Eventually I reached what must have been a wall, which I realized in a moment, was also stone. With no visible door, and definitely no windows, I felt trapped, to say the least, if not held hostage against my will.

I sank back to down to the floor, craving its solidarity as I tried to make sense of the strange conundrum that had befallen me. If I could remember the flash, I knew there must be more in my brain, something I just wasn’t reaching. There was some explanation for this, I thought. I paced around, thankful that my eyes had now fully adjusted to the darkness and were penetrating it with sharpness that might have resembled how an owl might see. Somehow, though, in even in the confused state I was in, that didn’t feel right. I carelessly threw the thought aside and further continued racking my brain for anything, anything at all I could remember. I could only remember the flash. Or so I thought.

There was something else there, though, and I could feel it the way wind slips through your fingers. I just had to grab on to it. Squinting and aiming my concentration at the thought that was almost in my grasp, I attempted to mentally grab hold of it. It was like trying to capture smoke, and it almost taunted me. At last I came up with what I believed to be a part of it, knowing that this was no where close to the whole thing, and that I had been outwitted by my own mind, of all things. Oh the irony. A word, a simple word, was all it was. I felt like it was important, but that was it. There was no meaning connected to it, nothing that held a clue to its importance in my past. The word? Changling, and despite remembering a vast majority of other words and their meanings, the meaning of this one eluded me, which was especially frustrating when that was all I had to go on, besides the blinding flash. In other words, I was most likely doomed.

Hana Kallen (8th grader)
My mom is a reader, I swear that’s all she’s ever been, and ever will be. Me, I get lost in books, and just squirm around and can’t find my way out. My mom bought a giant bookshelf before I was born, when she was pregnant with me.”She’s going to be a reader,” my mom said. That bookshelf was filled with books by the time I was a year old. Sitting in my mom’s lap as she’d read to me. My eyes widened with wonder at the words dancing on the page. I learned to recite the alphabet when I was four years old, in preschool. Reading is like a huge glowing red exit sign above my head. It seems to say, leave reality for a while, escape with me. And I follow. Books are indescribable. The experience of it is just amazing. I don’t know where I would be today as a person if my mom didn’t read me three books to me before bed. If only every one had the chance to get lost in the amazing world of books. If only everyone had that glowing red exit sign.

If you missed our Phoenix Review Holiday 2011 edition, which was featured in the Tuesday, November 22 issue of the Burlington Free Press, be sure to download the PDF version here or stop by the store to pick up a copy! It's chock full of gift ideas for everyone on your holiday list.

Click here to check out Michael in an advertisement for VSECU!  The advert is set to start airing this week! You can also find Michael in Seven Days' recent article "Print Versus Pixels," which explores - and questions - the value of e-readers.

"When I buy a book," Michael says, "I'm buying more than the brief life of an electronic image on my screen.  I'm buying a lovely flower for my garden."  He goes on to say, "Here in Vermont, we don't feel compelled to [carry e-books] yet, with the emphasis on yet.  If selling e-books is necessary as part of a product mix for us to stay in business, I would do so.  That being said, I don't like 'em."

Great literature and well-crafted stories aren't the only arts and crafts you'll find at Phoenix Books and Cafe at the Essex Shoppes and Cinema. The store has, since its inception, housed fine art from members of the Essex Art League. Now, Phoenix is also home to a world-class trio of Vermont potters, namely Judith Bryant, Warren Dixon, and Lynn Flory.

Bryant has lived and created fine porcelain and stoneware pottery in northern Vermont for over 35 years. "I'll always be fascinated by...the alchemy of transforming fluid clay through fire into pottery," says Bryant. Monkton's Warren Dixon adds, "Who doesn't like to play with mud?" He emphasizes the functionality of these works of art, positing that "... hand-made pottery creates an energy with the food that is simply not achievable eating off mass-produced dishes." Native Vermonter Lynn Flory studied with world-renowned potter Otto Heino, and says she moved back to her home state to "be surrounded once again by beauty and to dedicate myself solely to the art of pottery. Since then, miracles have happened."

Work by all three artisans is on display and for sale at Phoenix Books & Cafe. For more information, please call 872-7111.

"As of October, Essex, Vermont, once again has an independent bookstore..."  Read more.

"On a recent Saturday morning, Phoenix Books and Cafe bustled with customers anticipating book readings..."  Read more.