Busboys and Poets Book Club in Shirlington

Shirlington is a literary community!

We had a great meeting this past Saturday morning at Shirlington welcoming new members and choosing upcoming books to read & discuss.

The book club meets on the third Saturday of every month at 9am in the Robeson Room. Always open to new members!  Support your local, independent bookstore and purchase your books from Busboys and Poets Books at Shirlington!

Upcoming books and meetings:

August 17, 2013

: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz
Chapter 1 of “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn

September 21, 2013

: “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore
Chapter 2 of “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn

October 19, 2013

: “What It Was” by George Pelecanos
Chapter 3 of “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn

We also have a book club at Hyattsville that meets on the last Saturday of every month at 9am in the Zinn Room.

The Making of Busboys and Poets

A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets

We’re proud to announce A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets, the new memoir from our CEO and Founder, which reveals the vision, challenges, and triumphs behind opening Busboys and Poets. Packed with misadventures, unexpected triumphs, and insights on race, business and politics, Andy Shallal’s memoir takes us on a “How I Built … Continued

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For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals.  He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.”  … Continued

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Palestine Week 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

No writer ever really wants to talk about censorship. Writers want to talk about creation, and censorship is anti-creation, negative energy, uncreation, the bringing into being of non-being, or, to use Tom Stoppard’s description of death, “the absence of presence.” Censorship is the thing that stops you doing what you want to do, and what writers want to talk about is what they do, not what stops them doing it.

What to read: Celebrating National Poetry Month at Busboys and Poets

What to read: Celebrating National Poetry Month at Busboys and Poets

April in DC – a time to welcome the sun, greet the cherry blossoms and relish the city’s many parks in bloom. April is also National Poetry Month, and being home to a vibrant literary community, DC celebrates every year with a diverse offering of events, readings and books to savor. Here at Busboys and … Continued