As news began to spread about the possible demise of the Couth Buzzard, an immediate reaction from their community has spurred new hope. According to the GoFundMe site “Save the Couth Buzzard“,
“Our answer to this news is, Not On Our Watch! We are the “Friends Of The Buzzard,” a group of people who love the Couth Buzzard and whose lives have been changed by the bonds and friendships we’ve made there. We make music there. We meet with fellow writers there. We attend amazing concerts there. It’s a balm for loneliness and isolation. It’s a place of acceptance and caring for anyone who walks in the door. We want to imagine how the Couth Buzzard can do more than survive from crisis to crisis but thrive and grow. We don’t know what that looks like yet, but we want to buy time to create a map and a business plan for a reimagined Couth Buzzard.”
In addition to being a used and new book store and coffee house, the Couth Buzzard is also an essential venue for numerous music, writing and social groups who depend on the space for their work. Per Doug Plummer, one of the Friends of the Buzzard organizers, “I like the metaphor of the Couth Buzzard as a keystone species in an ecosystem. Remove it, and the system starts collapsing. The glue that holds us together in community starts to fragment and weaken. The society is sicker without places like the Couth Buzzard.”
If you would like to be a stand for music, books, writing and community, please consider donating to the Couth Buzzard relief efforts here. If you have any questions or can offer assistance or resources to this effort, please contact the organizers at [email protected].
