In an exploration of Ann Arbor’s robust and diverse literary scene, The Michigan Daily’s Business beat spoke with seven downtown bookstores. Each article in ‘The literary culture of downtown Ann Arbor’ project aims to capture each store’s unique offerings and contribution to the community. Read the other articles here.
Located on South Main Street in the center of downtown Ann Arbor, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore serves the Ann Arbor community as a center for books about consciousness, ranging from holistic health and bodymind therapies to psychology and spiritual practices. Owners Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter bought Crazy Wisdom from its founder Aura Glaser in 1989, who actively practiced Tibetan Buddhism and was deeply interested in women’s spirituality.
Zirinsky wrote in an email to The Michigan Daily the store used to be a small shop on North Fourth Avenue until he and Schekter relocated to a building on Main Street in 1999. Under the new ownership, the Zirinsky and Schekter renovated the much larger space and won an award for their historical preservation efforts. He wrote the bookstore is well-known in the downtown area and houses a wide variety of books about spiritual traditions around the world, trinkets and more…