Sunday Post - Libraries I Love

Hobbits, Heroes, Tour Schedule, News

Images from a first edition of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit

A few weeks ago my daughter, Amelia, and I visited the Lilly Library. The Lilly Library is located at the IU campus in Bloomington Indiana and is world renowned for its extensive collections of books, manuscripts, music, images, and much much more. It really is a world class library with changing main exhibit rooms and a reading room where you can reserve to see particular pieces…all open to the public. Right now the main room has a beautiful exhibit with examples of works with nature themes called “Flora & Fauna”. You can walk in and see Shakespearean 1st (2nd, 3rd) folios, along with later printings illustrated by artists Arthur Rackem. There were first addition comic books, fascinating bindings, poetry, letters and papers, illuminated manuscripts that feature whimsical animals and plants, early science journals, an Audubon Elephant folio and beautiful botanical illustrations. That is just in the main room and public section.

You can go online and request to see something specific in their public reading room. My daughter requested to see three particular first editions, which included an first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. It was such an amazing experience to gently touch the book in its original dust jacket. There were also images and illustrations that did not make it into later editions, so it was lovely to see some of the iconic Tolkien maps, but also maps and illustration we don’t usually see. Tolkien was a professor when he created The Hobbit, first as a children’s story for his own children which was passed around to family friends. He wrote the Hobbit (and later the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) after surviving serving as a signalman in WWI. In this work of fantasy and fiction he explored topics like community, individual responsibility, the power of goodness, the presence of evil, and what it means to be of service in troubling times. The character of Bilbo Baggins and later Frodo Baggins, were ordinary and literally small people in a large and complicated world. They were both called (among others) to rise to heroic action, brave challenges they could not have expected, and ultimately to carry a deeply heavy burden during and after their adventures.

This story line was true in Tolkien’s time but it is an enduring theme and story for our time as well. Heroic action and true service is often required those who are not the biggest, tallest, wealthiest, most resourced people. I have known great individuals and they did not wear capes or look like Marvel superheroes. They were all people who rose to what was needed at a particular time and sometimes at great personal cost. I often tell people I’m the person you want in a crisis. I get very calm and organized, I gather information and help with the next wise thing to do or not do. But I’m also the person that will go home later and have a good cry over a cup of tea. The truth is I don’t know if I’ve ever met a person who has not at some point in their lives had to rise to challenges they didn’t want or expect. Most of us have at some moment been called to be heroes in our own or someone else’s story. In turn, most of us have had someone step up with a helping hand when we needed it most. Most of us have known people who have inspired us, with the integrity of their lives - even when it has required very real personal cost.

For many reasons, the book changed how we thought of storytelling and The Hobbit was the inspiration for countless authors and even whole new genres that followed. Fun fact - the publisher’s editors wanted to change Tolkien’s spelling of the plural version “elves” to the commonly used “elfs”. Tolkien was a scholar of medieval and old English literature, and he refused to change the spelling as he preferred to use the old style spelling of “elves”. Now, the plural form of elf, in current literature is most often spelled “elves.” But I digress.

I love libraries and librarians. When I was a girl the town I lived in had a mobile library, a bookmobile, that visited my neighborhood every two weeks. I loved the bookmobile and would take out my limit of books every visit. There was a wonderful librarian who noticed my love for books and the kinds of books I read. She began recommending books she felt would be of interest to me and then started adding ones that might expand my choices. Eventually after I’d read through most of the regular offerings in the bookmobile collection, she began bringing special books from the main library just for me—autobiographies of Harriett Tubman and Amelia Earhart, an illustrated book of a Robert Frost poem, books about science and geology, books about far away places, stories that happened in my own Midwest, books on arts and crafts, books with photo plates of famous paintings, and so many beautiful, inspiring, bewildering and horizon expanding stories. I loved the sound of the metal steps that let into the bookmobile, the smell of books, the smiling face of the librarian whenever she saw me enter. I remember the feeling of the world expanding when she pressed that little rubber stamp on the yellow book borrowing card which allowed me to explore that book for a two whole weeks.

But I digress again….back to the Lily Library. There were many things that moved me at the library this past weekend, but one of them was having the opportunity to see these little known illustrations, to chat with my daughter about what it was like when I read The Hobbit to her for the first time when she was a girl. It was lovely to touch the pages of a story that has become part of the canon of important stories in English literature. It felt spiritual.

A spiritual text can be important works of a specific spiritual tradition. I’ve gone to the Lily Library and seen 400 year old illuminated manuscripts, telling and illustrating some of the parables that have continued to move me to this day. I’ve seen Sufi manuscripts from the Koran and a beautiful book based upon the Jewish Kabbalah teachings. There is a copy of the Gutenberg bible as well as ancient Tibetan and Hindu manuscripts that I’ve yet to see - but have in my cue to visit. I’ve sat in the presence of a 15th Century Dutch Book of Hours, and seen the original manuscript for Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions and Cat’s Cradle. I’ve touched first editions of books by the Quaker abolitionist, John Woolman and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the poetry of several luminous poets. In this extensive historical and yet still public collection, are works of art, music and papers of major scientists, poets, stories, folklore, government documents, representations of great thinkers and philosophers.

I like the idea of recognizing the power and history of specific spiritual texts. But I’ve also loved expanding what I include in the cannon. I guess I am continuing the journey a lovely librarian who worked in a mobile library in a small town in northern Indiana helped me begin so long ago. A spiritual text may or may not be something originated in a specific religious text or tradition. I am moved by the variety of ways we are inspired to widen our view of the world, and reflect upon the best of what we can be as humans. In a time when we are inundated with internet click bait and the shifting sands that inhabit the digital ether. It was good to be literally in the presence of books that have carried between their covers many stories and ideas that changed how we saw the world, understood the natural world, understood ourselves and in some way expanded our horizons.

Idea….With our question and practice this week, I’m encouraging you to respond to one another’s comments. This is such a lovely, thoughtful, respectful community. I’d love to encourage a widening of our interaction….just a thought folks.

Question

Have you ever felt the energy of a story, the spirit of a book, that you are holding in your hands? What was the first book that changed something about how you saw the world?

Practice:

Pull out a collection of poetry, a story, an image that is part of what you consider spiritual text. If it is online, print out a paper copy of a page. Sit with that text quietly. Then breathe in the spirit of that story, text, idea or image. Breath out the words, “Blessed be the stories that expand, connect and heal.”

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Second Single “Potluck” from A Great Wild Mercy will be released Monday Aug 28th! Watch for a new video!

Check The First Single from A Great Wild Mercy on Spotify, Apple Music or where ever you stream music!

Here’s the Spotify Link to the song I hope you’ll check it out and share with your friends, maybe add it to your own playlists :-)

Hi Everyone, I’m so excited to introduce the first single from my new album, A Great Wild Mercy! The video for the single is also available on YouTube.

Many Thanks & Much Gratitude to all the musicians who created magic on this track. And of course wild appreciation to Elle Hodge & Kayla Behforouz for all the love and creativity you put into making this video.

“I’m tired of all the rage, tired of all the worry, I’m ready for a Great Wild Mercy”

Tour Schedule - For Details & Tickets Visit www.carrienewcomer.com/tour