The Last Chapter: Durban North Says Goodbye to a 40-Year Literary Sanctuary

There’s a particular quiet found only in a second-hand bookshop. It’s the sound of countless stories resting, waiting for their next reader. In Durban North, that specific, comforting quiet has lived for forty years at Kensington Square, within the walls of Books at Kensington. Now, the final page is being turned.

The beloved bookstore, formerly known as the Durban North Book Exchange, has announced it will close its doors for good on December 31st, marking the end of an era for local bibliophiles.

A Legacy Run by a Line of Women

The story of this shop is itself a rich narrative. It began not with books, but with sports equipment in 1985. A woman named Lou transformed the space into a bookshop, setting in motion a legacy that would be carried forward by a line of women.

The torch was passed to Dawn Yates, and is now in the hands of her daughter, Jen Yates, who has been steering this literary ship. For Jen, the closure is more than a business decision; it’s the end of a family chapter and a deep community connection. The understood reason is that the lease for their shared space is not being renewed.

More Than a Shop, a Place of Connection

What makes this closure so poignant is what the shop represented. In an age of digital downloads and algorithmic recommendations, Books at Kensington was a tangible, human experience.

Jane Upton, who works at the shop, perfectly captured its essence. “This space was one for conversations and connections,” she said. It wasn’t just a place to swap a thriller for a romance; it was a place to chat, to recommend, to share a love for the feel of a paperback and the discovery of a forgotten classic on a crowded shelf. It was, as Jen Yates noted, a true “community.”

A Final Call to Patrons and a Continued Mission

As they prepare to close, the team is making sure the story ends with grace. Jen is encouraging all loyal patrons who have store credit to please come and use it before the year’s end.

And true to the shop’s generous spirit, the mission of sharing stories continues. They have maintained a long-standing relationship with the Highway Hospice, to whom they donate books. They are welcoming final book donations from the public to support this cause, ensuring the pages that filled their shop will find new hands to hold them.

The closure of Books at Kensington feels like the loss of a town square for the mind. It’s the end of a 40-year conversation. But the stories that passed through its doors, the connections forged over a shared favourite author, and the countless books donated to hospicethat legacy, like a great story, will surely live on.

{Source: TheCitizen}

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