SOUTH HADLEY – “A group of diverse modern poets of our time who are in direct dialogue with events and experiences that question what it is to live (and die) within or without the confines of this late-stage capitalist emergency existence” is the heart and essence behind the narrative for the Odyssey Book Shop’s new in-house curated poetry book club beginning on Sept. 19.

Established in 1963 by French Canadian immigrant Romeo Grenier, the independent and locally owned bookshop focuses extensively on selling fiction and children’s books and carries a rich selection of political and progressive-minded nonfiction.

Nestled in The Village Commons in South Hadley, the bookseller hosts over 125 events yearly, including author appearances for adults and children, and book clubs such as The Open Fiction Book Group, The Crime Club and The Active Citizens Book Group. They are also the official Mount Holyoke College store, carrying everything from books written by the college’s professors to clothing, merchandise and other products.

To expand its offerings, Jesse Hassinger, Odyssey’s assistant manager, said he and the current owner, Joan Grenier (Romeo Grenier’s daughter), decided that adding a poetry book club would be a “fun way” to add to the bookstore.

“The nice thing about book clubs is it gives people an excuse to talk about the things that they read and are really excited about. I think poetry is one of those genres if we can call it that, where discussion afterward really enhances understanding or deepens the love of the book the author itself,” Hassinger noted.

Being a “poetry lover” himself, Hassinger will lead the group’s discussions and explained that he selected the first four titles based on recently published modern poetry that will have been published within a month or two from when they will be discussed.

The first title they are introducing is a book from Saeed Jones’s newest collection called “Alive at the End of the World,” which is a book.

On Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., Joshua Bennett will be at the Odyssey reading from his new book, “The Study of Human Life,” and then on Oct. 17, the book club will discuss the book.

The selected readings can be purchased at the bookshop or through Odyssey’s online portal. Book club members will receive a 20 percent discount. Members will need to read the book prior to attending so that they are prepared to join in on the discussions with topics in mind or have some of their favorite poems selected.

Bearing that Sept. 19 will be the first meeting, Hassinger shared that his idea is to keep it open to what people would like to do.

“If people are really focusing on wanting to discuss a single poem or a couple of poems, we’ll dive into that – if we want to do a little bit of readings of the poems beforehand, and then go into the discussion; we’ll do that,” Hassinger said. “If people are interested in choosing a topic or a poem, we’ll then take it home with us and maybe write something in reaction to or influenced by or along those lines, and then come back the following month and present those to the group; that’s something that I’m totally open to including that in the book club as well. It’s really going to be dictated by who shows up and what they want this book club to look like.”

After the club establishes itself for the first few months, they will discuss the option to continue reading newly published material or perhaps move towards available older material. Whichever route they choose, Hassinger added that it is open for participants to “have as much buy into the club as they wish, including active involvement.”

Looking ahead into the new year, he then added, “I have a pretty good roster of additional titles that I’m looking at for after 2023, so we’ll be discussing that and talking about what’s coming up and what people are interested in if there’s something that we’re missing. You know, I’m definitely trying to keep a focus on diversity in terms of the folks that we’re choosing both in terms of people’s point of view, the author’s point of view, and also perhaps they are unpublished, or, having some younger poets that maybe it’s their first or second book as opposed to somebody that hasn’t already like six or seven collections deep. I’d like to mix it up a bit and really leave it open for people.”

The Poetry Book Club meets on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at The Odyssey Bookshop at 9 College St. Readers interested in the book club should email Robin Glossner at events@odyseeybks.com.