Chapters Literary Arts Center & Bookstore

Also, the recurring question: How is Emma the Chapters cat?
Emma was happily retired, though lame, and was lovingly cared for by Steve. But after being our faithful feline partner for the last 8 years, she left us on October 10, 2009.
Another frequently asked question is about our store motto, Littera Scripta Manet. Latinists among you know that it's a quote from Horace that means the written word remains, a notion to which we wholeheartedly subscribe, and especially in a digital age. Here at CHAPTERS, the written word does indeed remain, even while our shelves and artwork are scattered, much like the limbs of Horace's poet, during our months of storage.
And finally, people might now ask: what is a literary arts center?
The short answer, in our case, is a nonprofit bookstore whose programs and income all support the cultivation of literary culture and the promotion of literacy outreach. And as to why we need the literary arts, please see Michael Dirda's eloquent and moving discussion of "literary reading" which was in The Washington Post's OUTLOOK section Sunday July 25, 2004. His piece could be a manifesto for what we believe in here at Chapters: the importance of reading books that "make us see the world or ourselves in a new way." And of course, that presupposes the ability to read in the first place!

---