Communities large and small across Montana are blessed with a small, independent bookstore. Like most other businesses, bookstores have had some interesting ups and downs. YPR’s Karl Lengel continues his journey along the Montana Bookstore Map.
Today, we visit Wheatgrass Books in Livingston, Montana. Owner/operator Lisa Snow has consistently and politely rebuffed our frequent requests for an interview. She deferred our curiosity instead to the store and its visitors. So, on Independent Booksellers Day in late April, we had a chat with the Wheatgrass Bookstore.
“So I started reading when I was three and fell in love with it right away. But probably at five I wrote my first little story - it was about a little puppy chasing a ball down a hill and he got lost, and he ended up making his way back home and I thought ‘Oh, yes, I love stories - maybe someday I can do this if I’m lucky enough.’ And that’s where it’s blossomed - it just went from there.”
Wheatgrass Bookstore also highlights diverse voices, bold ideas, and stories that spark curiosity and connection. AC Paolini’s husband - and Eragon author - Christopher was chatting with some admirers as AC signed copies for eager youngsters.
“When I graduated, I was bored out of my mind because there was no internet, no radio and no television for me back then, so I decided to try and write the sort of story I would enjoy reading, and that became my first book Eragon, which my family and I self-published and marketed around the area here. Eventually that got picked up by Random House. Because of that experience I got to meet my wonderful wife.”
As a bookstore, Wheatgrass considers itself a Space for Storytelling, and it works to bring literature off the page and into the community.
“If you know the story of Wolf 21, Wolf 42, Wolf 8, they were all great heroes in their own was. Heroes in the sense that we should really emulate the things they’ve done. Wolves have very difficult lives, especially in the wild, they have a lot of things to overcome, and some of them are really big and strong like Wold 21, others, not so strong, like Female 42, and in her case she had to put together an alliance to deal with her difficult sister - she couldn’t defeat her sister one on one, so she had to befriend the younger females so they were finally on her side when she finally had the big confrontation with her sister. That’s just an example of some of the things we can learn from wolves.”
Author Rick McIntyre was on hand, signing copies of his award-winning "Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone" book series for adults and his "Chronicles of the Yellowstone Wolves" book series for children.
"First of all I love bookstores. I love people that read books. What would we do without books and people that read books.”
Wheatgrass is also a hub for art exhibits and performances, and gatherings that uplift underrepresented voices and celebrate freedom of expression.
Outback guide Ashea Mills runs Walking Shadow Ecology Tours of Yellowstone, and she was set up at Wheatgrass just behind Rick McIntyre. Her table featured skulls and bones from her years as an outback guide. Her presentation included a healthy respect for the region’s millions of national and international visitors, but she’s concerned about a new kind of visitor.
“I see people walking up to bison or grizzly bears. I wouldn’t get close to a cow I didn’t know and these people are walking up to a 2000 pound bison. I used to say ‘Hey folks we’re getting a little too close’ and they snapped out of their zombie walk and say ‘Oh, ok’ and they’ll back off. These days they cuss me out. I see it on the road, I see it in the backcountry, I think we need a lot more education on ‘leave no trace’ ethics, and I see that in the front country too - plan ahead and be prepared.”
Wheatgrass invites its visitors to Join the Conversation. "Step inside and discover books, gifts, and events that remind us of the power of stories to inspire, challenge, and unite."
Upstairs, in the Green Door Gallery, we ran into Jason Singlar, Pres Skateboard Alliance of Montana. His table detailed the Alliance’s survey for Livingston residents about an upgrade to the all wheels activities there. On the walls of the Green Door Gallery were skateboards, each a unique statement.
“We are teaming up with 20 local artists that have done amazing artwork on skateboard decks and all will be auctioned off in a silent auction to raise money for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and for the Food for The Kids in the Park program, as well as the next steps in developing all wheels infrastructure in Livingston, Montana.”
Independent bookstores have been critical contributors to a community’s health for centuries. Montana and Wyoming’s independent bookstores are mainstays in their communities, reflecting the needs and interests of their neighbors. In Livingston, Wheatgrass Books and owner/operator Lisa Snow offer a standard fare of contemporary and historical works, regional authors, who acclaim the Yellowstone region’s rich environment and history, and the broader range of social - popular and unpopular- interests that arise as we seek to understand one another.
