Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Janet Grant and I just returned from finishing up our presentations at Scripps College– one of the top schools for women in the country. We thoroughly enjoyed the students and the faculty and staff but we fell in love with the campus. There can’t be a more beautiful campus anywhere.
But it was the library that took our breath away. Here was a magical place– a creative place. Our host, one of the Scripps’ dads who developed and funded our seminar, said that if he went to Scripps, he’d live in that library. Janet and I agreed.
I’ve long been enamored of old libraries. My first library wasΒ the San Francisco Library on 24th Street. My mother would pile the babies in a buggy every other week and we’d all walk to the library. I was happiest when coming home with my arms full of books. Especially my favorites, like Babar or Flicka, Ricka and Dicka. A creative place for me.
When we moved out of the city to the east bay the library was a little storefront on 10th Street. I was old enough to walk there by myself and loved picking a new book every few days. I remember bringing home treasures like Baby Island. I first began thinking about writing my own books in this library. It too was a creative place for me.
A few weeks ago I talked about sehnsucht, that inconsolable longing, especially for a place. Never have I felt it so strongly as I felt it in this library. The silence. The old books. The architecture. The fragrance of books. The magical sense of slipping back in time. I didn’t get a photo of the huge main doors but they are only opened twice a year. Once on the first day of school and again on graduation day. The students only walk through those doors twice. The day they matriculate and the day they graduate.
We weren’t able to go into the archives, but next time. . .
It made me think about those magical places, those creative places in our lives. And I wondered about your creative places. Tell us about those places that always make you want to be more, do more, see more. Create.
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What a beautiful place to read! Thank you for sharing the photos and the feel of this wonderful library, Wendy.
* I did first, second and third grade in a one-room school house with a very inadequate library–I pretty much read every book on the two shelves. Fortunately, my parents bought a membership in the nearest public library. My mother faithfully made the drive every two weeks so that I could check out my limit of 7 books. I have no recollection of the inside of the building. I do remember the stack of books on my lap in the backseat of the car.
* And there is nowhere better than a spot warm sunshine to inspire my creativity.
My mom did this too, Shirlee. I think I fell in love with the written word via her example and our local library!
A spot of warm sunshine, hmm? You need to move out near us. That’s about the only weather we have– sunny and warm. (Still praying for rain.)
And you say your parents bought a membership in a public library. I thought libraries in the US were always free.
Where I live now the libraries fall under the jurisdiction of the county and are free to anyone who lives in the county. The library of my childhood was in the nearest large town and was free for those who lived in the town. I think the fee was in lieu of taxes, but maybe they didn’t want us to drive off with our stacks of books, never to be seen again.
When I want to pray and think about goals and/or need a place of perspective and renewal, I go to the prayer chapel on the campus of Taylor University,built in memorial to several students and a staff member who died in a van wreck some years ago. It’s a beautiful, white-steepled building with several small, glassed-in places of prayer, a larger prayer room with a piano I can play in worship, beautiful landscaping and views. When the students are gone on breaks, it often remains open and very private. I’m looking forward to a personal January retreat there after I finish a book and the holidays, looking to God for guidance in the new year.
I wish we had the ability to post photos here. It sounds beautiful, Rachael.
Wendy, what a simply gorgeous place to create! I have always loved libraries. Shirlee, my mom took my siblings and I to the library, too, a habit I passed on to my children. Now they are passing it on to theirs. How blessed we were to have parents who cultivated the love of books!
What a wonderful tradition! Generations of book lovers.
My daughter-in-law is a librarian, and my grandsons always have books from their library. But when they come to my house, they want to go to my library.
I love the smell and feel of libraries. I can remember walking to our local library with my younger brother and looking through the books as long as he’d let me. I also remember how exciting it was to get my first library card.
As much as I like libraries, nature inspires me. Even if it’s only to sit on my deck and write. My favorite place though is a condo on Holden Beach where I can look out at the ocean. I never have writers block at the beach.
Thanks for sharing pictures of Scripps College Library.
Ahh, the beach, with rolling waves and seagulls. That’s a great place to unlock those creative juices!
If it weren’t for sticky sand.
Holden Beach. Atlantic or pacific?
Atlantic. It’s a quiet little beach in North Carolina.
The woods. A walk through the woods, especially towards sunset, ignites my imagination like few places can. Also, the mountains, and quiet, snow laden farms.
Yep, it’s the woods for me too, Melinda.
Those pictures whet my wanderlust.
What a beautiful library! Makes me want to pick up and go right there now. I remember the smell of my childhood library. The carpeting in the children’s area and the sunlight slanting through the windows as I searched the shelves for Nancy Drew books during summer break, amazing places, libraries. My creative place now, there is this little Bible Camp where we live and work. It is my place. Log cabins, an alpine meadow, pine needles covering an old dirt road, snow dusting the fir trees…this is my creative place. The spot that stirs my soul. I wish I could give you a picture…so I’ll share the facebook page link. I’ve been trying to post pics on there once in awhile to keep everyone updated about the seasonal changes. Everyone sees pics of summer camp, but miss much of the loveliness the rest of the year. Anyway, this is what inspires me.
https://www.facebook.com/CamasMeadowsBibleCamp
That sounds lovely!
Pretty place, Kristen.
Beautiful, Kristen. I looked in your “about” section and couldn’t see where you are located. Camas– is that Washington?
We are about 30 minutes into the Cascade mountains from Leavenworth, WA. On Blewett Pass. A lovely place to live and write. You guys should all come visit!
What an amazing library!! It’s just beautiful.
*When I was a girl, my mom regularly took us to our nearby library. It was old and beautiful back then. I would check out as many books as I could. From the time I could read, I’ve loved libraries.
*I just discovered my favorite creative place. After my husband returned from a 2 1/2 week international business trip, he let me go to Glen Eyrie here in town for a few days to write. The peace, the beauty of trees, landscaping, the castle itself, the wildlife . . . they had my heart happy and my creativity flowing. I think I’ll beg to go back there every time I get to go away and write.
I’ve been by Glen Eyrie but never stopped. You also have Garden of the Gods close by, right?
Yes, we do, Wendy. Maybe you need to make a field trip out here. π
Great pictures, a lovely library, and by your words, along with Janet’s description yesterday, a lovely trip.
* I used to have very much a feeling of the specialness of some places, but circumstance has forced me to try to find that sense of repose in that which is around me now.
And in wet noses and furry companions? (So glad to see you back, Andrew. We missed you last Tuesday. Did you sense our prayers?)
Exactly! And I did sense your prayers…thank you so much!
I don’t have a home office, so often I write in my bedroom (which, I know, is breaking all the sleep hygiene rules). Ordinarily, nothing could be more mundane and work-a-day than a bedroom, especially since my mouth guard sits on the nightstand right beside me. But I bought a large painting of a lake that reminds of the one we lived next to when my family and I lived in India. I hung it on the wall beside my bed, and I gaze at it for a while before I begin writing for the day. It takes me out of my suburban dwelling and deposits me back to a time when I lived in the middle of a beautiful, difficult whirlwind. And then I find I can more easily string the words together, one at a time.
Where in India, Hannah? Have you ever been to Amritsar?
Our landlords were Panjabi Sikhs and were forever talking about Amritsar. We were ever there, though we traveled often in the north, i.e. Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, etc.
What a wonderful experience! I enjoy being among Sikhs.
Hannah, love the part about your mouth guard. π I still wear my retainers a few nights a week. Making space to be creative in the mundane is a great discipline.
That mouth guard ensures that all the writerly angst I feel goes onto the page and not in my jaws.
Love it, Hannah. Proof positive we can find sanctuary right where we’re planted.
My office is the dining room. As I type this, I can see out the Not French doors, which are basically two sliding glass doors, and see our rather nice back yard. We have a small forest that divides us from our neighbours, and there are willow, white birch, pine, and red maple trees. Oh, and a wall of blackberry canes. We have all kinds of birds that travel through, and more squirrels than our dog can defend us from with a fury meant for a police dog on a drug run.
Before my mom married again when I was 12, we lived in an inner city housing project. I can tell you whan almost every crime sounds like in the dark of night, although I don’t think I ever heard a murder. But I have heard everything else.
It’s no accident we live in the quiet of the very well treed suburbs.
My creative spaces that are not mine? The rim of Canyon de Chelly. Keats Island. Jamestown, New Mexico.
To name a few.
Blackberry bushes. Yes!
I do have a happy place that I can take with me. It’s called the Bible.
Nothing like a portable happy place that has all the answers.
We just got memberships to our “local” library … $50 a year, since we live out of the county. But when you walk out with Becky Wade, and the girls walk out with smiles, you know that is money well spent. π Barns inspire me, and every time I pass a new one that calls out to me, I wish I had my camera. And when I go to Disney World … creativity flows. I wrote some of my manuscript there … mostly through the night. And something about sitting in a movie theatre … when I should be concentrating on the film, my mind drifts off. I’ll hear one line that will do my mind in … and then I find I missed the whole movie. π I’m working at living in the present. π
Books, artistic structures, Disney. . . yes, I can see that. π
Shellie, I love barns too. Each barn seems to have its own personality.
You should be me, Shelli. I live in a barn. A renovated barn, with heat and indoor plumbing and appliances.
I always feel more creative when I’m on the ocean. Something about the relentless waves.
I’ve actually read studies that explain the increased creativity of the ocean (and showers). I think it has something to do with negative ions. . . or something.
“And I wondered about your creative places. Tell us about those places that always make you want to be more, do more, see more. Create.”
Any time I travel that is my creative place. Especially when I go overseas. I always want to do more when I travel. It was that way when I went on an Africa safari in 2004. It was that way when I went to France in 2014 and 2015. I wanted to be more when I was in Chartres since to me the whole town is a museum and a library to the past. Of course, Paris goes without saying. How can you not go to Paris and not feel the creative energy.
I think I have travel envy, Lori. Oh the places you’ve been!
Wow! It pulls me in: All the elements of elegance, grace, and charm of yesteryear. I love magical places, too.
That’s how I felt, Norma– the burnished wood, stone fireplace surround and all the nooks for study and reading. And it was practically empty. Hushed.
I love libraries, too! Sadly, we lack great library options up here. (Well, our libraries are decent as far as resources go, but lack “atmosphere” to work in.) I usually write in my home office, which I’ve set up with inspiration-igniting things like my personal library, a comfortable reading chair (usually occupied by a cat), a piano keyboard to noodle around on between writing stints, etc. When I need an extra creative boost (and weather allows), I take my laptop or notebook out to a covered swing deep in the woods behind our house.
A covered swing deep in the woods? Magical.
I know, Jenny. Why are they building bright, modern libraries? Sun is not good for books and there’s something about that dim Hogwarts-like setting that is especially magical.
But a covered swing, deep in the woods sounds plenty magical to me. (Wish we had a photo.)
Wendy, I love the woodwork in this library, and it’s so nice to see you and Janet enjoying yourselves there. Good books are magic carpet rides.
The places that most inspire me to create are ones that have a combination of nature and charming history.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
History– that’s right. Nothing inspires as much as a beautiful place with a storied history.
I just looked up Scripps College’s founder, Ellen Browning Scripps, of the newspaper/broadcasting family. She sounds like a very interesting, well educated and well traveled lady with a heart for philanthropy. Look her up if, like me, you’re looking for a reason to procrastinate–I mean, research opportunity. π
Yes. There is a great history to Scripps. It’s part of the Claremont Colleges , a consortium of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges, two graduate institutions, and Claremont University Consortium, reminiscent of the Oxford-Cambridge model. All the campuses are adjacent to one another (though none as beautiful as Scripps.) The undergraduate colleges include Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College. The two graduate institutions include Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute.
I love the smell of old books in the library. I went there every other day in the summers between grades 6 and 9, and then we moved. I don’t have a special creative place. I flip open the laptop, open the Word document, and enter a parallel universe no matter where I am. I do have a creative time between about 10 pm and 2:30 am.
Your creative place is your story world, right?
Spot on! It’s like a real place, not just a virtual one.
Oh, this is beautiful! Thank you for taking us there with your words– what an experience! The most memorable such place for me was the Reading Room inside of the British Museum in London. Looking at the rolling ladders in the round room, the shelves upon shelves of books all around, the heavy writing desks where some of my favorite writers went to write once upon a time… it’s incredible how many lives, works, epiphanies, are represented in that one small space upon the earth. And yes, the quiet. So still, so breathtaking!
That sounds perfect, Amanda. History, setting and beauty.
Oh, Wendy, I love this. I have felt that inconsolable longing in a few places, but two stand out as most important and most meaningful: my dear grandmother’s house in the little town where my mom grew up, and my future husband’s house where I felt “at home” on only our second date. Both places inspired me to create–and to see more and do more. Now those houses belong to someone else, but I will always carry with me the memory of that longing, that deep joy that Lewis wrote about. Thank you for reminding me!
But LeAnne, you’ve created a place that is just as creative– with your love of folk art and words. I wonder how many people in the future will recall your home with a sense of sehnsucht.
What a lovely thought, Wendy.
I love libraries. I’m very thankful for Mr. Carnegie’s generosity that led to my town having a library. Nothing like the one in your pictures, but it had books that I got to read. What a gift he gave to so many people!
As to my creative place, I just want a window to look out onto some bit of nature. But I can agree with Carol too. Sometimes it’s just that window into whatever world and story I’m trying to create.
We had a Carnegie library in the larger town next to us but it was outgrown and replaced with a modern, sunny library. Then it burned. Those beautiful quarter-sawn oak floors and woodwork. Happily the town rebuilt and restored and kept the flavor, the brickwork and the intent of the building. It is now the city’s art center. http://www.carnegieartsturlock.org/#!history-of-the-carnegie/c1r0z.
All libraries are wonderful places. It’s just that some are more wondrous than others.
Hawaii is one of my best creative places, as is the house at Sea Ranch or the one in North Star. Top places for me to hide out and write like crazy. I just found another and I want to go back. Wawona Lodge in Yosemite. A snapping fire, tea on demand and a comfortable couch. The words poured out. I write better away from home, without the daily distractions.
I love spending time in libraries and, as a youngster, wore out my library cards. This one you’ve shared is wonder-filled. Thanks for sharing it. They are not the most conducive places for me to create, however, because I’ll research down one rabbit trail after another. The most creative spaces for me are The Sierra Nevada Mountains near Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe. Creativity must be part of the atmosphere there. Then quiet ocean beaches and Scotland. Like creativity in the atmosphere in the mountains, history is in every breath in Scotland and stories dance through my imagination.
Thanks for the article. It took me back to January of 2011. I wrote excerpts of my first book in a cubicle among the stacks at the San Marcos campus of Texas State University. Peace and quiet like nowhere else….