Grolier’s was once the haunt of e.e. cummings ’15, T.S. Eliot ’10 and Alan Ginsberg.

The book is about to close on the nation’s oldest all-poetry store, as the Grolier Poetry Book Shop is forced under by competition from chain bookstores and the Internet.

First opened in 1927, the store at 6 Plympton St. was once a haunt of famous poets like e. e. cummings ’15, T. S. Eliot ’10 and Allen Ginsberg. It is currently one of only two for-profit poetry-only bookstores left in the country.

Louisa Solano, the store’s owner, remembers the days when her shop was “almost unlivable,” packed with people reading books and discussing poetry.

But last Saturday, few customers wandered in. The store, which boasts over 15,000 titles, now sees as few as 20 customers per day. This lack of foot traffic, along with increasing competition and a slowing economy, has caused serious financial trouble for Grolier.

Much of Grolier’s business used to be mail-order purchases, but with the increase in online shopping, it has been virtually phased out. Though the store tried revitalizing sales with a website, it desperately needs proper organization, design and maintenance, says Solano.

Solano, who is also a member of the Adams House Senior Common Room, had originally planned to close the store last January but media coverage of the store’s closing brought a boost in sales.

The coverage also drew inquiries from five potential buyers, she said.

This support and renewed interest has allowed Grolier to stay afloat if only temporarily.

“I really stay open day-by-day and rely on daily sales to do that,” Solano says. “It keeps me going until I can find a buyer.”

CLOSING RHYME

Amidst the store’s imposing financial troubles, Solano, who has owned and managed the one-room store for 30 years, maintains some hope. “Even though we are in some trouble here, there’s always a certain amount of hilarity, ” she says.

On Saturday, former Adams House Senior Tutor John Hildebidle, provided some of this comic relief. Hildebidle, who is a friend of Solano’s and a Professor of Literature at MIT, entertained customers with haikus about curried chicken.

He praised Solano’s tremendous ability to find poets and poetry that suited her customers.

Solano draws her clientele mainly from students at Brandeis, Bentley, Lesley, Harvard and MIT, many of whom want books for advanced courses in poetry and literature.

Other customers are intent on becoming practicing poets.