Prairie Lights Dimmed for a Night

by Claire Kirch, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 2/1/2007

Prairie Lights Bookstore, the literary hub of Iowa City, closed its doors early Tuesday evening in response to threatening phone calls and letters received by store owner Jim Harris that day. Although PW Daily was unable to learn the specifics of the threats made, they clearly were in reaction to a reading scheduled for 7 p.m. that evening by Krista Jacob, an abortion rights activist and the editor of the book Abortion Under Attack: Women on the Challenges Facing Choice (Seal Press, 2006). Jacob's collection of essays by a number of feminist writers explores the impact of race, economics and culture on women's reproduction rights and women's attitudes toward abortion.

According to store book buyer Paul Ingram, the decision to close the store was made by Harris, who was preparing to leave the country the next morning. "Jim did not want to subject people to possible harm when he was leaving town. He did not want to leave his staff in an awkward situation," Ingram said.

Ingram said that although the store was closed to the public, Jacob was still prepared to read from her work at the store for Iowa Public Radio's Live from Prairie Lights broadcast. But Jacob told PW that Iowa Public Radio was not going to broadcast Live from Prairie Lights that evening because there would be no live audience. Instead, Iowa Public Radio offered to tape an interview with Jacob and air it at a later date. Jacob asked Iowa Public Radio to reschedule the interview; it is to be taped next week.

Jacob, reached at her home Wednesday evening as she prepared to discuss the incident on Air America Radio, told PW that she had been contacted by Iowa Public Radio while en route to Prairie Lights Tuesday afternoon from Madison, Wis. Informed by Iowa Public Radio that the event at Prairie Lights had been canceled, she drove to Iowa City anyway, and stood outside the store that evening, where 12-15 people gathered to demonstrate their anger over the reading's cancellation. "This bookseller doesn't understand the impact of this [decision]. This is a tremendous victory for the local antichoice movement. They just censored a writer," she said. Despite this setback, Jacob hopes that Prairie Lights will reschedule an appearance.

Prairie Lights was open for business as usual Wednesday.