To ask anyone in the book-selling world about “City Lights”, they’d bring up the radical store in San Francisco, California, but in February 1985, the name “City Lights” gained a whole new perspective on the other side of the country.
Gary Carden is a storyteller and playwright described in an article by Smoky Mountain News as “a Sylva native who has established himself as one of this region’s most-recognizable, best-known and best-loved wordsmiths.” Gary is the man who started Sylva’s City Lights Bookstore.
The bookstore originally began on Main Street in Sylva where it bagan not so much as a bookstore, but as more of a newsstand. As second owner Joyce Moore put it, it also served as a hotbed for small-town socializing.
The City Lights Bookstore of Sylva has no connection to the iconic one in San Francisco aside from the shared name, both of which were inspired by a Charlie Chaplin film of the same name.
Gary ran the store from its foundation in February 1985 to the summer of 1986 when Joyce bought the store.
Joyce Moore, a wool spinner and member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild since before she added her name to the list of City Lights owners, says that without Gary’s 18-month start, she might not have taken the store. She credits it as a constant learning experience. In 1993, Joyce moved the store to its current home, a former doctor’s office located one block above the original Main Street site.
On the day of the move, a parade was arranged leading from the Main Street location up the hill to the new place on the corner of East Jackson and Spring Street, where it is today.
The cafe on the lower floor of the bookstore came about because in the early 1990s, pairing a café along with a bookstore were an “in thing”, according to Joyce. It just made sense to go that route in an effort to appeal to the masses. The cafe started as more of a coffee shop with coffee and pastries before it branched out into the sandwich business. Joyce says that Sylva is a prime example of a small town and City Lights is a small town at its finest.
The bookstore has seen even more changes since it started at the current location, including the conversion of a former gallery into the Appalachian Regional Room. As the town evolves, so does City Lights. It has always maintained a sense of hominess that aims to entice every person who walks through the door and keep them feeling welcome to come back any time. Joyce passed those most important aspects of City Lights on to long-time customer and then-employee Chris Wilcox, when he took over in 2009.
As a patron of both the bookstore and the cafe, I can say that I have always felt welcome at City Lights and I’ve always looked forward to the next time I get to hear the jingle of the door when I walk in, immediately followed by a warm, friendly hello from behind the counter.
While it may sometimes be confused with a different bookstore from the other side of the country at national conventions, for the people of Sylva, the surrounding area, and Western Carolina University, it’s almost a home away from home. City Lights Bookstore has become a staple of Sylva, NC. City Lights has strived and thrived through 30 years of history. As the pages turn and the faces pass, that legacy grows more and more.
When asked if he thought he could see City Lights Bookstore celebrating another 30 years in 2045, current owner Chris simply said, “Easy.”
Upcoming City Lights Events
3/19/2015 10:30am Coffee with the Poet featuring Mary Ricketson
3/21/2015 3:00pm Deborah Edmonds Reading & Signing
3/27/2015 6:30pm Nevada McPherson Presents Graphic Novels
3/28/2015 3:00pm Liza Wieland Reading & Signing
3/29/2015 1:00pm Jamie Kornegay Presents His Debut Novel
For More Information Visit: http://www.citylightsnc.com/event
If you would like to work at City Lights and be a part of its next 30 years, they are always accepting resumes for internships year round. Just talk to Chris.
PHOTO GALLERY
Notes from the Lit Fest Intern 