An independent, college preparatory, co-ed, Episcopal Day School serves a community of students in grades 6-12.
Issue link: http://palmertrinityschool.uberflip.com/i/154161
The Literary Channel: Mitchell Kaplan By Suzanne Gottlieb Calleja A quick look at the Books & Books website www.booksandbooks.com will tell you a very important thing about its owner and founder, Mitchell Kaplan: he loves writers. While other bookstore sites detail bestseller lists, video game reviews, and sale items, Books & Books highlights writers front and center. "Writers were always my heroes," Mitchell said to me as we sat across from each other in the Bookstore's cozy café. "I think that working with writers fulfills my creative tendencies; getting readers and writers together is, for me, most satisfying." Creative tendencies, indeed. Florida-native Kaplan opened Books & Books in 1983, and it remains one of the most successful independent bookstores in the country, and the only large independent bookstore in South Florida. His respect for the written word and those who write them has enabled him to find success as an independent, despite the public's predilection for online ordering and mega-store shopping. One of his biggest insights was having touring authors stop in his store for readings, lectures, and book signings. Doing so has created an environment where authors feel respected and readers are enthralled. Born at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Kaplan grew up in predominantly Jewish Miami Beach with his father, a lawyer, and mother, a stay-at-home mom. His parents encouraged him to find a fulfilling career, the seeds of which were planted during his time at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where his lifelong appreciation for independent bookstores became more serious. "When I got to college, I found out about stores like City Lights, and Shakespeare & Company—stores that were central to their communities," he says. After graduating with a Bachelor's in English, he came back to Miami and earned a Master's of Education degree with an emphasis in English Literature from the University of Miami, while working at local book stores. What would an educated literary fan turn to next? A logical choice: teaching. And even then, it was a book that inspired his role. Jonathan Kozol's Death at an Early Age, a book about the failings of the Boston school system in the '60s, impacted Mitchell in his early teaching career. From 1980-1982 he taught Basic and Honors English classes at Southridge Senior High, in Miami, starting a thread that would lead to Books & Books. 24