#just realised the middle east doesnt exist as well

[poaytree]

My local library's poetry collection drives me up their freaking walls. There is literally 80% of old French poetry mixed with obscure, contemporary French poets I never heard of, then 15% of European Union countries' poetry books (it is marketed as such, with a european flag sticker and everything, the Remainers will be elated to know that as far as my library is concerned the UK is still in the EU), with a prevalence of UK (Cause you know, romantism, Blake, Shelley, Shakespeare) then German, Spanish and Polish books. The remaining 20 european countries have to fight to have even one book. To not even talk about the rest of the world. South America simply doesn't exist. Maya Angelou and Ginsberg represent North America. Asia is down to a handful of haikus books, and Africa and Oceania? Never heard of them.

You've got to understand that this public library is the biggest of a big town. But instead of books (that occupies at most one quarter of their building), they acquire Movies and CDs. Nothing against those, its just that their book collection pales in comparison clearly suffering from the competition.

They sit on a gigantic collection of obscure French poetry collections and not a single recent collection, neither in French, English, or any other language. Where is Time is a Mother, library? Where is Jericho Brown? Kaveh Akbar? Ada Limón? Where is ANY novel poetry book for Muses' sake-