A Room of One’s Own
“A lot of people have been pausing and saying ‘…wow!’ when they come in,” says Gretchen Treu, describing A Room of One’s Own: the queer, trans, and feminist-focused bookstore they co-own with Wes Lukes in Madison, Wisconsin.
People likely say this in awe of the twenty-foot-high barrel ceilings and exposed beams framing the numerous rooms of wall-lined, wooden bookshelves. It also might come out of appreciation for how spacious and airy the space feels, with its wide aisles and copious amounts of natural light from large windows and several skylights. Treu notices these aesthetics, too, but they’re also attuned to the shop’s smaller details—how, as of late, it smells like sawdust and paper, or hearing the gentle sound of pattering droplets against the roof on a rainy day. “One of my favorite experiences of being in this building,” Treu notes.
This building—just a few blocks away from Hudson Park on Lake Monona—is a new home for the bookstore, which was closed from July 24th until October 2nd of this year, to prepare for and complete the move. But the history of A Room of One’s Own spans a much longer time period than that.
“Room” (which is how employees and patrons lovingly refer to the shop) was first opened in 1975 by a group of women as a feminist bookstore in the downtown area of the Midwestern capital city, hoping to help connect people with one another, as well as to the feminist, lesbian and gay movements. In the years since first opening its doors, the store has grown exponentially to become even more inclusive, a place where poetry by Clemonce Heard and the latest essay collection by Phoebe Robinson of Two Dope Queens are featured regularly, alongside more canonical works by Alice Walker and Mary Oliver.
Treu and Lukes were longtime employees of the store before taking over ownership in July 2018 (with a little financial support from Treu’s friend Patrick Rothfuss, best-selling author of The Kingkiller Chronicle series).
“Wes and I have brought on some great staff, and collectively we have been doing what we can to run a successful business under capitalism while maintaining integrity and recommitting to intersectional activist roots,” says Treu, “as well as paying particular attention to racial justice, support for trans people, and addressing what we believe to be a key source of inequality in our country, by embracing abolitionist viewpoints.”
Image courtesy of the store.
This connects to how Room sees its role in the greater Madison community. “So many people who live here view us as a home away from home, and we love to build one-on-one relationships as booksellers [so] that our regulars trust us to introduce them to the kinds of books they may not find on their own,” says Treu. They also note that all of the store’s decisions are made with the mission to continue to be a space safe for Madisonians, prioritizing the voices and needs of marginalized people. “We recognize that while books can totally change a worldview, books aren’t enough,” Treu adds, “so we try to find ways to help people engage in collective actions and redistribution of wealth and power.”
This mission was made more difficult by the combination of gentrification in downtown Madison and the economic hardships caused by the pandemic. Room was informed in October 2020 that they would need to move the store by the end of summer 2021. “It took a great deal of time, energy, and resources that, quite frankly, we didn’t have to spare,” Treu says, describing the late nights they worked last year, trying to balance the needs of the store with that of their young children and family at home.
Through their network of customers, friends, and professional contacts, Room was fortunate in discovering the building it currently calls home and securing the new space. However, the whole process was still difficult. “It was very expensive,” Treu says. They add that it was no one’s first choice to have to move and build a new storefront in what has been one of the worst times in modern history to pay for materials and labor. “We did it because we love this store and this community, and we trust that our audience will continue to support us through this big change.”
Thus far this has proven true. Many online orders were placed over the quarantine months and donations were given to support the store through the turbulent moving months. Room has also greatly expanded its national network of people through social media, helping to connect those living in isolation to stories, politics, and even small joys that they had otherwise been missing.
This positivity has done a lot to offset the hardships the store has faced. “Recommitting to the community has built a great deal of gratitude and shown us how strong this community and audience is, and how much they support and crave the work that we do,” says Treu.
A Room of One’s Own’s hard work has also not gone unrecognized by the bookselling community at-large. Earlier this month, the store was recognized as the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA) Bookseller of the Year. The association noted that, “During a period of nationwide crisis, the staff at Room has kept the store running and their customers reading while also expanding their profile as one of the Midwest’s most empowered, political, and feisty bookstores.” MIBA’s executive director Carrie Obry added, “A bookstore like A Room of One’s Own is mission-driven, so when the world is in a state of crisis, the business becomes even more of a demonstration of the store’s values.”
Treu and Lukes thanked their staff in response, continually grateful for their dedication. “Our involvement as Room’s co-owners is sometimes an intentional stepping back and inviting our staff to take on ownership of the voice of the store to honor and bolster our presence.”
Looking toward the future for Room, gratitude remains the predominant attitude Treu maintains—most especially that now, after being kicked out of two locations in ten years, the store finally has a forever home; a kind of stability they hope will be more widely available for other bookstores. And even as the store moves forward in its new chapter, it will never forget its past. “Room has come a long way, but we feel a strong connection with our roots,” says Treu, “and our attempts to honor them are about making sure we are helping people find the kinds of books and literature that will help all of us become better people.”
Recommendations from the Booksellers
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
“This is a big-hearted sci-fi novel,” says Treu of this queer alien courtship that happens over a dozen fresh-made donuts from the author of two Lambda Award finalist novels. “It beautifully balances several quirky tropes (refugee aliens! Faustian bargains! trans teen runaway with a prodigious talent! inherited magics!) in service of a clear-eyed look at how and why people seek connection from one another—the risks and rewards of community,” they add. “It's got some tough stuff in it, but it is threaded throughout with a great beauty and belief in characters to find ways to make more of their lives without sacrificing their morals.”
The Companion by E. E. Ottoman
A queer, historical erotic romance set in the 1949 New York literary scene, this polyamorous affair has a comforting pace, and provides a wonderful take on trans people discovering love. “The characters are drawn sharply in few words, the sex is very hot, and the needs, histories, and careers of each character [are] given as much consideration as their relationships with one another, a dimensionality that can be hard to achieve in such a brief book,” says Treu. “It’s a gem of a novella!”
Treu is a fan of how this picture book celebrates “the connections of joy between people and the natural world.” In the latest from the beloved author and illustrator of Birdsong, a diverse group of animals and children celebrate playtime together in nature, in a story that is perfect for bedtime with little ones in the winter. The book is also an American Indian Youth Literature Honor Title, and includes a glossary of Cree words for wild animals, plus a pronunciation guide with an online link to audio recordings.
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