“…never explain. Let the work speak for itself.”
These words are etched in my brain. Spoken by Ellen Kushner today when I asked her if I should warn the audience at today’s reading at the Library of Congress that what I’d planned to read was a bit graphic.
What fantastic wisdom.
The funny thing is, I’ve read the exact same thing (the bloody birth scene from my book, Blood Soup) at other venues and never thought twice about it. So…what is it about the Library of Congress (or LC, as it is fondly known in library circles) that made me want to tone it down?
Hallowed Halls? Who knows…? I’m too tired to think about it tonight…but it’s something I’m going to ponder for a while….and probably revisit here later.
Here’s a photo of the Broads involved.
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| Me!, Sue Lange, Ellen Kushner, our Awesome LC Hostess Extraordinaire Colleen R. Cahill, and Catherine Asaro |
In a nutshell: we met at LC and proceeded to a very nice venue within the Jefferson Building where we each read for 10-15 minutes, did some autographing, chatted with very interesting people, went to lunch and then returned to the library for a private tour.
- I read from Blood Soup, of course.
- Ellen read from Swordspoint (one of my favorites!) and the “not quite a sequel,” The Privilege of the Sword –Fabulous!
- Catherine read from The Ruby Dice (scroll down after the jump) – I was riveted.
- And Sue read a piece that she wrote specifically for reading aloud, collected in the book, Uncategorized. She had folks rolling in the aisles.
Fellow Broad Jean Marie Ward showed up to support us. It was great fun.
I snapped a lot of photos during the tour. I’m certain I’ll be sharing them here over the next couple of weeks. (Unfortunately, some of the best parts of the library I wasn’t allowed to take photos of.) I’ve linked below to the LC exhibits on line, but to get the full affect, you’ve really got to see them in person.
We got to see:
- a Gutenberg Bible
- Some fascinating Mesoamerican Art from 600-900 AD with paintings depicting Cortes’ meeting with Moctezuma, a large clay statue of a jaguar, a vase depicting the Teoihuacan-Maya War with nifty human sacrifice themes and more. (Missing from the online exhibition is my favorite: a choker necklace of 19 skulls carved from conch shells. I’d wear that.)
- The only surviving copy of the 1507 world map by Martin Waldseemüller. This map is widely referred to as America’s birth certificate, since it’s the first map bearing the name America.
I should point out that all of this is open to the public…we were just treated to Colleen Cahill’s expertise for an extended afternoon tour. Having a personal tour guide who can answer just about any question you pose is an awesome way to explore a library.
I think my favorite part of the tour was seeing Thomas Jefferson’s Library. I could have sat on the mosaic floor of the room and absorbed the enormity of his collection: (IIRC) over 60,000 volumes, which he sold to the Library of Congress for $23,000 when he was without means to support himself. Apparently, he bought too many books. But when he got his settlement from the LC, he started a second library. My kind of man.
Engraved on the wall of the exhibit are the words of Thomas Jefferson:
I cannot live without books.
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| Not my Photo. |
I swear, I know exactly how he feels.
I love readings at the LoC. For some reason, they seem to bring out the best in everyone. And I love, love, LOVE the Jefferson Building. It’s my favorite tourist sight in the world. When friends and visitors ask to see DC, it’s always the place I take them first. Cheers!
The Jefferson Building has supplanted my love for the Natural History Museum for the #1 place to visit in DC. I’ve already got plans to go back. I swear I’m going to spend time just sitting on the floor in front of Jefferson’s Library, soaking it all in. Great to see you at LC yesterday!
Way to go Kelly!!!! I’m jealous!!!! What a fantastic day. I which I couldn’t have trade places with you. Keep up the great work.
Maggie
Hi Maggie! I really can’t take credit for the “good work.” 🙂 I lucked into the invitation and simply took FULL advantage!
Wish I could have been there! Sounds like a blast. Glad you had a great day!
Hi Cate! It really was terrific. Thanks for the best wishes.
Glad to hear that you had such an enjoyable time at the museum and for your reading.
Thanks, Sue. “Awesome” is too small a word to describe it. Next time some of the exchange ‘students’ are in town, we should take them to the LC…
Wow! I am soo putting the Library of Congress first on my list of places tos ee on my next trip!
Congrats to you and Blood Soup..you rock!
Hi Candace! You. Must. See. It. You’ve got to see it if only for Jefferson’s Library. I never realized there was so much to see in the LC. The architecture alone is worth going for.
How wonderfully, Kelly. I would so much love to do a reading like that. My whole family thinks I’m nuts because I read every aloud to myself…especially when I’m typing. My lips move as fast as my fingers. 🙂
Thank you for sharing.
Ginger! Thanks for stopping by. It was a real blast….
I’m so sorry I’m late to the party. It looks like you had a blast! I love the photos. 😉
Hi Jaime! Yes – we did have a blast. I can’t decide which was more exciting: the reading or the tour! Thanks for dropping by.
Kelly, thanks for the great writeup, and the wonderful photos! It was a pleasure getting to meet, read, and tour with you!
Hi Ellen! Thank you for the superlative advice about readings. It was the highlight of my day getting to spend time reading and chatting with you. Thanks for stopping by!
The Jefferson Library is my favorite in DC. Sounds like it was a great time!