This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Iowa chapter.
Courtesy of the literary loveliness that exudes the annual Iowa City Book Festival, I had the pleasure of attending a reading at RSVP, the self-identified “purveyor of pretty paper products and sundries” on North Linn Street. The reading, held on Sunday, October 4, featured poets published by Rescue Press, “a small independent publisher of chaotic and investigative work.” The reading was especially celebratory for RSVP, as the store turned 17 on Sunday. As Rescue Press’ Co-Founder and Managing Editor Danny Khalastchi put it — in the personifying language of a poet — “You’re almost old enough to buy cigarettes.” Kitsch items aside, RSVP invites writers and visual artists alike into its open doors for uniquely colorful gifts and give aways.