The first chapter

Stephen King once described books as “a uniquely portable magic” and The REO Town Book Party hopes to fully support that notion this Saturday.  

The inaugural literary get-together is a diverse, neighborhood-wide block party with a simple mission: spotlight local authors, poets and booksellers through a series of festive attractions. On the roster is a pop-up market, a city-wide indie bookshop crawl, and a poetry workshop, to name a few.  

Along South Washington Avenue, attendees will likely see scores of paperbacks tucked under the arms of local bookworms. That’s an encouraging visual that organizer Dylan Rogers will be thrilled to see in his blossoming neighborhood. 

As the co-owner of The Robin Theatre in REO Town, Rogers also operates The Robin Books, a small shop within the theater at 1105 S. Washington Ave. Rogers said he initially brainstormed the concept for the party with Lansing poet laureate Masaki Takahashi. From there, it gradually took shape. 

“Masaki and I have talked about doing a poetry festival in the neighborhood for a long time,” Rogers said. “With the nudge of having three small bookstores” in REO Town, “some iteration of this event was a long time coming.” 

Across from The Robin Books, you’ll find Deadtime Stories: True Crime and Other Books, 1132 S Washington. Just up the street, booklovers can scour Wayfaring Booksellers, a shop inside the REO Town Marketplace, 1027 S Washington Ave. 

“It’s kind of a unique, awesome thing,” Rogers said. “We have three independent, very different bookstores on the same block.”  

But the growth isn’t contained in one area. Despite Amazon, Lansing has become a hub for independent retail shops. Other participating Lansing-based shops are A Novel Concept, 222 S. Washington Sq., Socialight Society, 5454 W. Saginaw Highway, Everybody Reads, 2019 E. Michigan Ave., and The Resistance, 515 W. Ionia St. It’s an inspiring trend.  

“This past year, seven indie bookstores have opened during the pandemic era in Lansing,” Rogers said. “I wanted to make sure we made it an inclusive event that sheds some light on that.” 

The height of the pandemic hit extra hard for The Robin, a performance theater dependent on in-person ticket sales. Like other venues, he was closed for an extended period. He was dismayed. However, in September 2021, the entrepreneur called an audible and opened Robin Books.  

“I built the bookshelves and acquired a bunch of inventory,” he said. The store open on Fridays and Saturdays, and the hours will expand later this year, he said. 

Now that The Robin Theatre is back to hosting weekly live events, the space now doubles as a venue and tiny bookstore.  

“When we host performances, curtains open up, and library carts roll to the back,” Rogers said. “We transform pretty quickly into a listening room space.” 

And with the poet laureate involved in its planning, it’s no surprise that the party also focuses on poetry. Siaara Freeman, a 2021 Premier Playwright fellow recipient with Cleveland Public Theatre, hosts a workshop and showcase 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at The Robin.  

“I admire her work so much, and I’m so excited to be able to bring her into the city,” said Takahashi, who curated the poetry side. He said Freeman will help participants, limited to 25 people, create poetry with a fun Halloween twist. Later that evening, Freeman hosts a poetry showcase 5 to 7, with openers Takahashi, Rose Cooper, Justin Tokarski, Korey Deans, Clair Donohoe, Ryler Dustin and Great Dane.  

Takahashi said heading a party like this is just one of many undertakings he’s working on as the region’s poet laureate.  

“It’s one of my projects — to share my love of books,” Takahashi said. “Books have always been an escape for me, and writing has been cathartic. I wanted to celebrate that medium with the people.” 

He also hopes that future iterations of The REO Town Book Party can help tackle Lansing’s literacy struggles. “That’s something I also hope to change,” he said.  

Speaking of community impact, Rogers said he also hopes to expand the party’s reach further. Employing the “it takes a village” method has already proven fruitful.  

“My hope for this project has been, from the start, to create something that delegates facets of the event to people that are good at what they do,” Rogers said. “We have a bunch of cool people, whether they’re bookstore owners, poets, authors or other small business owners.” 

One of those small business owners is Amy McMeeken of Vintage Junkies, (1133 S. Washington). McMeeken, who is organizing the pop-up vendor market on the sidewalks of South Washington, said more vendors are signing up daily.  

“We currently have a few artist makers that repurpose discarded books and other ephemera along with many local authors,” said McMeeken, who said she will unveil her holiday stock early at her storefront for the party-goers.  

Having business owners like McMeeken on board, Rogers said, has already proven to be a novel model for hosting a free public fest. It’s a system he plans to continue for a few reasons.  

“I’ve been trying to think about how we plan events in the neighborhood and how they might serve the businesses in the neighborhood that exist down here as well,” he said. “These folks are here every day — whether there’s a block party going on or not.” 

Keeping access to businesses in mind, the party will not shut down the street or complicate parking in REO Town. If all goes as planned, Rogers said the setup will amplify, not block, what the neighborhood offers on non-festival days.  

“A lot is going on here on an everyday basis that I think many people still aren’t aware of,” said Rogers, who added that on the same busy day as their soiree, the Festival of the Macabre happens at the REO Town Marketplace. “When we have a few thousand people in the neighborhood on a big festival day, we see increased foot traffic to local businesses — but maybe not as much as you’d think.  

“Often, barricades are up trying to keep people in the festival area,” he explained. “If the event feels like a good day in the neighborhood, then I think our mission has been successful.” 

For more information on the book party, click here.