The Book Beat Book Shoppe thrives as a haven for OKC counter culture
By Chris Sharpe

    When people set foot in the Book Beat Book Shoppe (9136 S. Walker) for the first time, they are often overcome by the feeling that they aren’t in Oklahoma anymore. Suddenly they are surrounded by art and literature seldom seen in the buckle of the Bible Belt. The store specializes in Beat generation and counter culture books, but also carries a wide variety of chapbooks, underground ‘zines, CDs, cassettes, fringe videos, t-shirts, magazines, posters and other interesting literary and cultural artifacts.
    The store began almost four years ago in the back of a resale shop. The initial inventory was approximately 1000 books and CDs. The store gradually expanded until it forced the resale shop out and mow claims three rooms for its massive inventory.
    The shop is the brainchild of Shilo Brown who had dreamed of opening up a book shop since he was fifteen and discovered counter culture literature for the first time. “The stuff with the Beat generation and the counter culture stuff, I really got interested in when I was about 13,” Shilo said. I discovered a lot of that through Jim Morrison. I was a big Doors fan and I would read biographies and stuff on the Doors and I found all these books that Morrison liked to read. So I started picking up on them and it was things like – Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Burroughs.”
    Although born and raised in Oklahoma, he lived in California for most of his teen years. His close proximity to the Ontario library allowed him access to one of the largest collections of Beat literature in the country. “They had just about every book by these guys. I first started out with some things by Allen Ginsberg. I was really big into poetry.”
    During his time in California, the idea for the book store began formulating in Shilo’s brain. He considered opening it in California, but knew he would end up returning to Oklahoma anyway. So he waited, and began to accumulate books. Lots of books. “The three years before we opened this up I spent my time going out to places and finding books,” said Shilo. “I was collecting books when we were still in California, getting things ready. I would put them in boxes and stick them in the attic.”
    Shilo’s taste in literature influences every title that his shop carries. All of the books are hand-selected; none of them are bought by the box. “We also have about 20-30 people who go around looking for books for the shop. They go all over the United States, Canada, and sometimes even into Mexico,” he said. Recent finds have come from as far away as Paris.
While the Book Beat searches the far ends of the earth for its inventory, it doesn’t turn a blind eye to art and literature that’s produced in Oklahoma. Local work has a large presence in the store, from zines and chap-books to the large paintings that hang on the walls. “There is a lot of talent in Oklahoma and it kind of gets covered over. From art to writing – even music,” Shilo said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in Oklahoma that people just don’t understand. A lot of writers… I couldn’t count how many writers there are. There are just a ton of writers.”
    In February, the store added a weekly poetry reading. Compared to some of the more highly publicized readings around town, it’s a decidedly more casual affair. “It’s a small gathering of people, mostly writers. We come and show each other our poetry and read it, perform it, sometimes critique it in a nice way,” Shilo said. “Its kind of like a work shop without the work.”
    The monstrous corporate bookstores may claim to have everything, but one trip to the Book Beat will convince you that they definitely do not. If you’re interested in truly unusual literature, its time for you to make a trip to the Book Beat.