Meet Jerry Thompson

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jerry Thompson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jerry , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

My optimism comes from an early realization that you never know what a person can say that can change your whole life… that a “yes” is an invitation to new worlds, ideas. I make an attempt each morning, before I slide my skinny ass out of bed to decide, no, to claim what kind of day I’m going to have. Setting myself up to fully embrace what’s already on it’s way to me. When I was very young remember something in my creative heart that clicked, well, almost like a curtain that was being pushed back for me. What I found behind that curtain, was my true self, my higher self. I guess you can say I fell in love with that guy… So each day I begin at zero, taking tiny steps toward that curtain and throughout each wonderful moment I allow the day to shine through me. Sometimes it’s had to contain the energy, the thrill of giving each day everything I’ve got!! I work in the book business, I talk about books, I recommend and sell books for a living. I’m bursting at the seams all day from the thrill of simply being able to say “yes” to new conversations, ideas and dreams…

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a writer, bookseller, event stylist. I get to spend my day in a space that allows connection and conversation. I arrive early in the day to acknowledge the energy in the store. Every book in the store has a mother, ya know… a heart beat. A toaster oven… they are alive!! Before opening the front doors of the shop I look over the landscape and I think… ahh, look at this…look at this sea of toaster ovens… wonderful!
I build relationships with everyone, like being invited to take a seat on a magic carpet, or holding the finger tips of every new Donna Summer song on the dance floor… I don’t share this with many people because they might think I’m a nuts, but sometimes, I can’t wait to get to go to work. Crazy? Funny.

Editing fiction, crime fiction is new for me., even after publishing two anthologies of Noir tales set in Oakland and Berkeley, I am still learning and loving the process. With great teachers, guidance and motivation from Johnny Temple, Eddie Muller, and Owen Hill I think I might be onto something.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

How much of a game changer it was for me to discover how powerful it was to tune in to my core self, my inner voice, the first voice!

This in turn solidified the dialogue I was having with myself, and with an outside world that loved distracting me.
Ultimately what I’m learning is that through this practice, eventually the noise fades / the distractions are powerless. Trusting my gut feeling, and never losing faith in the journey, you realize you are in fact creating from your desires. To want, to remember to let go, to create to begin, and to continue… .

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

There are at least two books that have played important roles in my development that I’m willing to share here. The first is the entire work of Ntozake Shange, (Nappy Edges ) especially. And a book called, the Weight of the World by Peter Handke

These books remind me to stay authentic, to stay cool, even when shit hits the fan… not to trip or flip out when going down is sometimes a way out! To speak from the heart, because in the end, and in the middle of everything, love is driving the story….

Ntozake’s voice lives rent free in my head because of her clarity and truth of the simple things life presents. Peter Handke has a way of immediately pushing back the curtains on a moment in life that says… ‘”it’s ok…” “you’re one of the angels” The passages in his book are like little fluffy clouds chasing your spirit in the night… and doorways to remembering how powerful and magical it is to simply be alive. Ntozake’s work, like that of August Wilson, and Luciile Clifton’s work guides and protects me everyday by the weighted simplicity and blues. I could go on and on about the writers, and poets who have kept me alive. But for now… these are the one’s I will speak about and celebrate, in these ever changing times…

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