Stories indexed with the term ‘Karl Pohrt’

Tom Fricke, chair of the University of Michigan’s anthropology department, writes a remembrance of Karl Pohrt, published by the Ann Arbor Observer. He writes: “Karl and the [Shaman Drum Bookshop] were vital parts of the life of this University, representing a vision of the tapestry, community and academy, into which we need to be woven. It is a threatened, perhaps irreproducible, reality approached so closely by this simple bookstore. … And Karl presided over it all with delight. This was what he wanted. This is what he would never compromise.” [Source]

Karl Pohrt, founder of Shaman Drum Bookshop, died two days ago on July 10, 2013 after being diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer in October 2012.

Karl Pohrt in front of his Shaman Drum Bookshop in 2009.

Karl was most widely known for his work as an independent bookseller, both locally and at the national level. He also had a deep belief in the importance of civic life, and served for several years on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board, among other local entities.

Karl was also supportive of other local entrepreneurs. Shaman Drum Bookshop was one of the very first advertisers on Teeter Talk and also The Ann Arbor Chronicle.

He was generous in sharing his reflections with Chronicle readers both before and after closing his bookstore in 2009, as well as on his blog, There Is No Gap.

From his May 8, 2006 Teeter Talk interview: “So I feel, if it has to do with a devolving of a political conversation into a sloganeering and trashing of people … given the amount of time I have left on the planet Earth, I’m not sure that it’s worth my effort. And it’s also counterproductive, or I suspect that it’s counterproductive on some deep and profound level. However, maybe that’s what a democracy is: this sort of jostling and continual debate and back and forth with people with conflicting interests. So I have not thought this through. But I also feel that my energy would be better used in other areas.”

Karl, thank you for the ride.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Road in Ann Arbor. Donations can be made to the church or to the Children’s Literacy Network. [Full Story]

An obituary in Publishers Weekly marks the passing of Karl Pohrt, who founded and ran the Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor for nearly three decades before closing it in 2009. Pohrt, 65, died on July 10 from anaplastic thyroid cancer. Deb Leonard, executive director of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association, described Pohrt as “the godfather of bookselling in Ann Arbor and Michigan. He’s already missed.” A memorial service will be held Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 3257 Lohr Road in Ann Arbor. Donations can be made to the church or to the Children’s Literacy Network. [Source]

Sandy Iran Canales, Rev. Bayardo Lopez Garcia and Karl Pohrt in Catarina, Nicaragua. Pohrt was part of a delegation that traveled to Catarina to celebrate the wedding anniversary and ministry of Rev. Garcia, Padre of the Church of the Remnant.

In the midst of all the sturm und drang surrounding the future of Shaman Drum Bookshop, I went to Nicaragua.

Dianne, my wife, had been teaching for the last month in Catarina, a town in the mountains south of Managua. She volunteered under the auspices of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, a small congregation in Ann Arbor of which we are both members. ECI is collaborating with the Iglesia Bautista Remanente, a Baptist church in Catarina, on projects that “will bridge the divide between wealth and impoverished countries by providing capital, employment and opportunities for cultural exchange.”

Joe Summers, our minister, is an old friend of mine – we worked together in the bookshop years ago – and ECI is an openhearted, diverse community that is serious about creating a better world. Although I’ve been mostly engaged with Buddhism in my adult life, I was attracted to this church because of the willingness of Joe and the congregation to struggle together around difficult issues. And I still enjoy a good sermon.

I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk with Dianne about the state of the bookshop given that our telephone and internet connections were short and infrequent. The experience teaching in Catarina was transformative and very positive for her, but living conditions were difficult. She asked me to come. I traded my frequent flyer miles for a ticket to Nicaragua. [Full Story]