Who We Are: Danny Rosen

Photo by Kyle Harvey

“The miracle of the desert” is what San Francisco poet Neeli Cherkovski calls the Lithic Bookstore & Gallery located in Room 202 at 138 South Park Square in Fruita. Inside lies a maze of bookshelves along with a small stage and a corner sofa. Paintings by local artists grace the walls as wood and metal statues stand on the shelves and hang from the ceiling, giving the place a vibrant aura. This same energy emanates from the store’s owner Danny Rosen, who has lived an interesting life as a rock climber, scientist, poet and publisher.

Beginning in the 1970s, Rosen began rock climbing as a teenager. Though he remained an amateur, he found himself hanging out with some of the best rock climbers and traveled to various rock climbing locations around the world. While in Israel, he had a revelation akin to a religious experience, which led him to becoming a field geologist. Later, he took an interest in astronomy and landed a job running an observatory in Namibia for a year.

Rosen also developed a passion for poetry, which resulted in him putting together three books of poems. He even became acquainted with various poets, including Jack Mueller, a poet from the Beat movement that Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg famously founded. Mueller in turn had a major impact on Rosen’s life, especially with his “all power to the paradox” saying. According to Rosen, what this saying means is one should pay “attention to both sides being right or to the endless possibilities” of life. Because Rosen was so inspired by Mueller, he founded the Lithic Press to publish Mueller’s books and later created the bookstore to complement the press, much like the City Lights Bookstore & Publishers in San Francisco. In this endeavor, Rosen was aided by Kyle Harvey, who manages the store and designs the press’s book covers.

Since its inception, the Lithic Press has published over 60 books from people across the U.S. and the world. These can be purchased at lithicpress.com or the bookstore. As for the store itself, Rosen wants it to be “a reflection of the community [he lives] in, as well as a place that wants to enhance [his] community” and “raise human awareness and touch hearts and minds” through learning and public discussion. To this end, the Lithic Bookstore won the Grand Junction Inclusivity Business of the Year Award in June of 2023. Rosen’s store also recently hosted an episode of the podcast My Story So Far on Colorado Public Radio where speakers discussed the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community in Grand Junction.

Business hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., though the store is open later for special events, such as poetry readings and science talks. For more information, visit lithicbookstore.com or call 970.858.3636.