A random guy in another part of the country contacted me last week after googling the Chinook Bookshop, a beloved Colorado Springs institution that closed in 2004, and stumbling across one of my old blog posts. He asked if I could find an old bookmark from the store and transcribe the poem on it for him. After some digging I was able to find one. It was certainly well used and well loved! I thought it'd be nice to share a picture of it here, since so many residents of this city still heartily mourn the loss of the Chinook Bookshop. And here is the poem inscribed upon the bookmark:
"The warm wind kept blowing
...like a low chant from the land
or like the flurry of far wings...
lapping up the snow...
until the whole body of earth
lay brown and breathing
except for the topknots of buttes
and, away and away,
the high float of mountains...
Chinook...
Promise of Spring."
The poem is attributed to A.B. Guthrie, Jr., from These Thousand Hills.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! Tamera
7 comments:
I remember hanging out in the play house at Chinook's as a child (50 years ago!). So sad it is gone! I'll have to dig out a book mark myself.
Quite a good book mark to hold onto.
I hate when a good bookstore closes. Hold on to that one.
I have several of those bookmarks from my childhood.
In the Guthrie book it isn't actually a poem, though it's certainly poetic; see the original passage here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=ff2htDjG35cC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=%22The+warm+wind+kept+blowing,+the+dry+wind+out+of+the+southwest%22&source=bl&ots=OHHib8m3ER&sig=4M4-teKgVg4XkH9OX5H0Dh4ppkA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWscPx_IbUAhVLw4MKHWTzCPsQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20warm%20wind%20kept%20blowing%2C%20the%20dry%20wind%20out%20of%20the%20southwest%22&f=false
The line about Chinook being the "Promise of spring" shows up on the following page. On the bookmark they condensed and arranged the passage into a poem.
Roderick, thanks so much for adding to the conversation! I never knew that the poem wasn't actually a poem at all but excerpted from a novel. Fascinating! Your comment is appreciated! Tamera
I live in Lewiston Idaho, and this morning as I headed out with one of my dogs, I immediately noticed the wind was out of the east. My mind instantly brought up the line "Chinook, promise of spring." Quickly followed by A.B. Guthrie's name. When I got home I wanted to find the rest of the passage. Was it from a poem or something else? Which lead me to Tamera's blog and the comments on the line, the Chinook Bookstore, etc. I attended CC at the end of the 60s, and the Noyes' distinct bookmark was the first gratis bookmark I had ever encountered. Now, of course, it's an expectation not a surprise. Sad to know the Chinook Bookstore like so many other indie booksellers has fallen to the onslaught of Bezos/Amazon and online shopping.
@Tym I'm so sorry it took me an eternity to approve your comment, it's been months since you wrote it! (I'm bad about that.) I think it's pretty neat that you went to CC and have happy memories of Chinook. We all miss that place! :)
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