Turning the Page on Community Engagement at Massy Books
Patricia Massy is a powerhouse. A bookseller, a community leader, a parent, and a genuinely lovely human being, she sees every book as treasure waiting to be discovered. She’s the owner of Massy Books, which is not only features Indigenous and other stories but includes the Massy Arts Society Gallery and its ongoing roster of community events. Recently, she sat down with Chief Joseph and shared some poetry at her store in downtown Vancouver, and we learned more about Patricia and her vision.
Massy Books has a really stellar reputation in the bookselling industry. How did you get to where you are now?
You know, I’m really honored and like flattered that you said that. I've been working with the publishing industry for a very long time. We're not just a bookstore, like we do a lot of community work. We did a lot of fundraising. In 2019, we started our nonprofit Massy Arts Society. And then last year in August, we actually opened up a new space out of a need for literary events. When we were hosting events at the bookstore, it was a lot of work because we'd have every time we'd have an event we have to roll the bookshelves out of the way. As of today, we’ve hosted over 400 literary events.
What kind of events are we talking about?
We provide space for over-excluded authors and artists to launch their work and attend workshops. People of colour, LGBTQ and non-gender conforming queer folks, in addition to Indigenous folks. Over the last two years we have given $100,000 to the Art Society to bring it to life. We really we really do put our heart and soul into creating this space and it's for the community. We’ve had concerts, poetry workshops, art workshops. We're 100% community focused.
Was this a dream of yours for a really long time? How did Massy Books emerge?
My first job was working at the Save-On-Foods books department. Then I went on to work at a used bookstore for 10 years in Chilliwack, which is one of the biggest in BC. For most of my life, however, I've worked in nonprofit as a support worker on the Downtown Eastside. Then in 2012 I went to a ceremony and was really at a crossroads. I asked myself, what do I want to do with my life? I just had a really traumatic experience where I had come out of a building and someone was there with a machete. They were chasing somebody else, but it was overwhelming. In the ceremony, I came out with a vision, an idea that I wanted to open up a bookstore. I didn't have any business training, but I knew bookstores. I decided to open up a little pop-up shop to test and see if I could do it, and it was successful.
Wow. What a story.
From there, I went on to the permanent location that we're at now. And I think the community aspect of the bookstore is just something that I've always been committed to as well. It's always been a part of me to be involved in fundraising and charity work. And so this vision was a natural blending of the two parts of my life.
You sponsored Chief Joseph’s Vancouver Writers Fest event. How did that happen?
We get information about new books that are coming out all the time from Raincoast Books, who printed the book, and we have quite a large collection of Indigenous books in store. Although it would have been possible to use the Art Society Gallery, it’s still a space for only 60 people, so we partnered with the Vancouver Writers Fest, who have a lot more resources. We love them, and I’ve worked with Leslie Hurtig, their executive director, on book prize juries and boards in the past. It was an outstanding event for everyone.
Do you have a future vision for Massy?
I'm very much an ideas person. I live in the future. I love just evolving and growing and taking on new projects. And I'm always excited about doing something different. And a lot of Massy Books is evolution and growth in response to our community, and ideas from staff. It’s not just me at the helm. I feel like everybody brings their own life experiences, they bring their own knowledge, they have their own skill set. I really rely on staff and the people that we work with and the community to give guidance as to where we should go. We're community based in every sense, including right down to what we display in our front window. Everybody gets an input into where our future might be headed.
You're building community in every aspect of your business. That's so wonderful to hear about.
I want to say it too, it makes owning a business much easier. Because not one person is managing and making decisions and doing all the work. And it just makes life so much easier when people are excited, when you give someone the opportunity to make a decision. It’s just a more pleasant work environment.
Massy Books is 100% Indigenous owned and operated and a member of the Stó:lō Business Association, acknowledging that they operate on the traditional, ancestral, unceded, and occupied territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Patricia Massy