What I like most about Visible Voice Books is that it’s one man’s dream come true. The first time I met Dave Ferrante was at a Tremont art festival in Lincoln Park and he encouraged us to go there, to be part of the space for books he created. And when I later visited, I found a bookstore with racks of books and tight spaces and stairs to more books. Visible Voice is what a bookstore should be.
Add in wine, coffee, music, and author readings, and the bookstore became the kind of place I wish I’d been brave enough to create in my own neighborhood. One man’s dream became a gathering place.
Then the bookstore closed, and I kept thinking that it couldn’t be. The place had been lively and vibrant and cool. It seemed Visible Voice went the way of bookstores generally. We started reading digital books and listening to audio books that we could buy on Amazon. Who needs bookstores anyway.
But we craved a place where we could hang out and hear music and new voices and be surrounded by the calming influence of books.
After a three-year hiatus, Visible Voice Books, an urban retreat, returned to Tremont. The website describes it as a place “for curious readers and creative thinkers eager to connect with art, ideas, people and tastes that challenge their world view.” Yes! That’s what we want in a bookstore, now isn’t it? Who are our local authors and what’s going on with them? What great writers did we miss along our journey? What do the words that people write have to do with you and your life, our world, our history, our humanness?
The new space in the Komorowski building on Professor Avenue is open and bright. When you reach the top of the stairs, you find books to the right and tables to the left in space big enough to hold dozens of people during author events and musical performances. The cafe serves an ever-rotating array of seasonal wines, craft beers, coffees, teas, and pastries. Now isn’t that just what my vision of a bookstore is?
Visit the bookstore on Sunday afternoons after brunch for a series of musical performances starting at 1:30. This Sun 3/25, hear Brazilian native Moises Borges as he sings and plays his guitar in the Bossa Nova tradition. On Sun 4/8, the Hamker/DeReburtis Duo plays improvisational music of Americana ranging from folk to fun.
Chill on Friday or Saturday evenings with a variety of musical performances. Or find your music at the April poetry workshop on Wed 4/4. Book release parties are coming up on Fri 4/6 (Girlish with Lara Lillibridge & Friends) and Sat 4/7 (Sean Thomas Dougherty’s The Second O of Sorrow).
The Visible Voice loyalty program gives you opportunities to try new things and gives us reasons to see each other more often. For just $25, get a year of awards, including $10 off $100, free drinks or food, a monthly newsletter, and opportunities to mingle. The bookstore is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and open by noon and into the evening the rest of the days, except for Sunday, when it closes at five, just in time for Sunday dinner.
Thank you, Dave, for creating this space at 2558 Professor Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. I hope to see you there again soon!
Claudia Taller contributes to Coo Cleveland show possibilities for a bigger life. Find out about her books (including the novel Daffodils and Fireflies) and Igniting Possibilities events at claudiajtaller.com.