This week I had the pleasure of visiting the poet Ian Patterson, interviewing him for an article to be published in 'Suffolk' magazine in a couple of months.
Ian has written 'Books A Manifesto: Or How to Build a Library' which will be published in September. In it he describes how he commissioned an outbuilding of his home to be converted into a library. Through tracing the progress of the work over the months, Ian describes his relationship with books and outlines why they are so important to him, and to society as a whole, and our future.
It was a treat and a privilege to be shown the completed library which houses, mainly, Ian's huge poetry collection. But it was even more of a delight for me to be given a tour around his home seeing the sitting room with the first editions in glass cabinets, the dining room with the 200+ cookery books beside the shelves of crockery, the front room's wall of detective fiction paperbacks and the study with, well, I forget if there was one subject or genre here as I was overwhelmed with the quantity: there were books just everywhere.
I came away thinking about how I order my books, and how accessible they are when I need to find a particular author or title. Do I value some books more than others? What books do I need close to hand, and why? How am I displaying them, and for what purpose? Would I like to have a wall of books of the same colour?
If you could create your own purpose-built library, what would it look like?
Thank you for reading.
PS It's almost the end of the.month already and so this is your reminder that we'll be meeting in Woodbridge a week tomorrow to discuss 'The Coast Road' by Alan Murrin. Do let me know if you're hoping to be with us so that I have an idea of numbers. Everyone's welcome to come along.
PPS A date for your diary...
Forward notice for everyone who enjoys the writing of Kevin Crossley-Holland, the children's author known for his stories of myth, folklore, magic and legend. He will be speaking at The Longshed in Woodbridge on 18 September at 7pm, as the guest of Ipswich Children's Book Group. Tickets are available now by emailing jayne.gould@btopenworld.com