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Karl Pohrt, Owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop

Karl Pohrt, Owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop image
Parent Issue
Day
13
Month
July
Year
1998
Copyright
Copyright Protected
Rights Held By
Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text



Karl Pohrt, owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, has been elected to serve a three-year term as director of the American Booksellers Association, whose core members are independently owned bookstores with retail store-front locations.

"This is a decisive moment in American letters,” Pohrt said when taking his seat recently in Chicago. “Many people in my business see books as a subset of a larger American entertainment industry. I think the arts and letters in this country have a more interesting mission, and I’m pleased to be working with the best independent booksellers to influence the outcome of this issue.”

Pohrt earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in American culture from the University of Michigan. He was a lecturer in English for three years and also managed two independent bookstores before opening Shaman Drum in 1980. He is treasurer for the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, a member of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, and the president of the State Street Area Association.