Tattered Cover, the Denver literary icon that Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan bought five years ago from Joyce Meskis continues to come under fire for a statement the owners posted on the store’s website on Saturday. In it, the couple disclosed that while they sympathize with the Black Lives Movement, the bookstore would remain neutral in the current protests against racial injustice. They cited the store's “nearly 50-year policy of not engaging in public debate,” stating that to do so now “would be anathema to a different principle that we also hold dear, and one that is central, we believe, to the role of an independent bookstore: a place where access to ideas, and the free exchange of ideas, can happen in an uninhibited way.” The couple backtracked within days due to a deluge of criticism on social media, as well several staff resignations and at least two virtual author event cancellations (the store remains closed to foot traffic).
Although the co-owners offered a public apology to customers and staff on Monday, acknowledging that a “policy of non-engagement is wrong-headed” and promised that, moving forward, they would “use Tattered Cover's voice as a force for good and positive change,” many members of Colorado's literary world remain concerned regarding the relationship between Tattered Cover and the BIPOC community in the Greater Denver metro area. The store has four outlets, three in Denver and one in Littleton; there are also several Tattered Cover-branded outlets at the Denver International Airport.
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