
September 2025

September 3rd, 6pm
Indie Press Book Club
Our featured press for July and August is Milkweed Editions, and our book is The Science of Last Things by Ellen Wayland-Smith. We'll discuss this book at 6pm on Wednesday, September 3rd!
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About the Book:
The Science of Last Things by Ellen Wayland-Smith. In this luminous collection of essays, Ellen Wayland-Smith probes the raw edges of human existence, those periods of life in which our bodies remind us of our transience and the boundaries of the self dissolve.
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At once intimate and expansive, The Science of Last Things peels back layers of human thought and behavior, breaking down our modern conceptions of individuality and reframing us as participants in a world of astounding elegance and mystery.
About the Press:
Milkweed Editions is an independent publisher of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They believe that literature has the potential to change the way we see the world, and that bringing new voices to essential conversations is the clearest path to ensuring a vibrant, diverse, and empowered future. Their mission is to identify, nurture, and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it.
On their website, they state, “We publish literature that transcends boundaries and fosters transformation. We identify and nurture outstanding literary voices, connect readers with our publications through innovative engagement, and cultivate a vibrant supportive community around their organization.
Milkweed is a site of nurture and metamorphosis for monarch butterflies, and Milkweed Editions seeks to honor their namesake by serving that same purpose in the literary ecosystem. They seek out debut and experimental writers and invest significant time in the editorial process. As a nonprofit, they are not focused on making money, though they do focus on helping their authors succeed.
Since their founding in 1980, they’ve published over 350 books of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and now have over four million copies in circulation.

September 5th 6:10pm
WhaDubber
For September's First Friday, the Alamosa Live Music Association is holding a mini music festival, and we're excited to be part of it!
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At 6:10pm on Friday, September 5th, we'll have WhaDubber in store to with his electronic music setup. Join us for some electro-funk, live-looping, and beats that are going to make you want to move!
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We're the second stop of the night for Roaming Rhythms and we're excited to see you!

September 6th, 4pm - 6pm
Artist Reception:
Trina Council
The Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative is pleased to welcome artist Trina Council as our September featured artist. Join us at the Narrow Gauge for her Artist Reception on September 6th from 4pm - 6pm.
Trina Council has lived in the San Luis Valley for nearly ten years. As a child she moved around from California to Colorado to Texas, where she spent most of her adolescence and young adulthood. As an adult, she spent time in Dallas, Fort Worth, New Orleans, Chicago, and Taos, before finally landing here in the SLV in 2016, where she and her family immediately felt at home.
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Trina took art classes while attending University of North Texas but did not continue her pursuit of art until five years ago during the Great Pandemic Lockdown. Prior to watercolor art, she created collage journals, taught herself coptic stitching, sewed her daughter's clothes in elementary school, created quilted cards, sewed quilted bags and totes, and a number of other creative pursuits.
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Trina’s first art show was at the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in 2020, thanks to then-manager Amaranth’s faith in her. When she first began to make art, it was a way to keep sane during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. She had been sewing for a few years, and, along with sewing face masks for others, began watercolor painting long into the night.
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Once worried that her pieces didn’t have a “deep” meaning for “real” connoisseurs of art to understand, Trina now realizes that painting what makes her happy and brings others joy is the deeper meaning in a world increasingly filled with uncertainty, fear, and anguish. Her heart fills with joy if someone smiles at the sight of her heart, and she’s happy if they purchase her art because they carry a piece of her art with them.
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We’re so pleased to have Trina as a featured artist this month, and hope you’ll enjoy her work as much as we do!
Join us on September 6th from 4pm - 6pm for a come-and-go reception. You’ll have a chance to chat with Trina about her art, which will be on display all month.

September 19th, 6 pm Air Issue Release
Join us in store to celebrate Hysteria Heart Press's release of HeartThrob's third publication: the Air Issue.
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Artists featured in the zine will present their work, followed by refreshments and a chance to purchase a copy of the zine.
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September 20th, 6pm
Spadefoot Story Slam
Each month, we host the Spadefoot Story Slam community, sharing stories based on a theme, selected at the previous month’s Slam. While inspired by the Moth Story Hour, our monthly meetings are not a contest, but instead are a way to come together and practice sharing, and deep listening.
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This September, join us for your stories on LESSONS. Prepare a story about a time you got schooled. From your alma mater to your own mother. Flashes of enlightenment. Trial-and-error, trial-by-fire, and aha! moments. Lead a horse to water and teach it to fish. Tell us about a time you had to learn the hard way. A time you failed the test. A time when experience was the best teacher.
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Stories should be true as remembered by you, and spoken from the heart, instead of read from the page. We don’t have an official time limit, but encourage stories that take 10 minutes or less, especially if we have a large group. We look forward to seeing you on September 20th at 6pm!