I wonder what most people think of when they think of archives. Quiet, closed access rooms only people with certain credentials can enter? Shelves of boxes, and the unexciting, daunting task of sifting through them? Places where only the highlights of the collection are shown, and the rest is forgotten? Archives can be all these things, but they are also treasure troves of information. They are where we can see first hand what life was like in the past, what people thought was important to leave for the future. In my short time working as an archivist, I thought I would highlight some interesting things I’ve discovered.
I found a folder full of various papers and keepsakes belonging to a bishop who served at the university in the 1940s. His leather wallet was in the folder, containing little postcards saying how much he loved his family. There was also a lock of woman’s hair in the wallet, which was kind of surprising to find. There was also a framed gold check, celebrating his and his wife’s anniversary. Stuff like that reminds you that things in archives were once someone’s possessions; they aren’t just objects. This same bishop was also invited to have lunch with President and Mrs. Roosevelt in 1941, and he kept the invitations as souvenirs. Another really fun archival find was a calendar from 2005, featuring male students dressed in fancy suits and using library books as props to look more distinguished. I wonder where they are now, and I’m considering hanging the calendar in my office. Maybe I’ll share some more fun archival finds in future posts.
The archives have been taking up a lot of mental space for me. Another thing taking up a lot of mental space is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. My dad introduced me to Stephen King a couple of years ago, telling me one of his favorite books was 11/22/63. I fell in love with that book too, and read several other King books in quick succession. I love his longer books, the ones that really build up characters and settings, making them feel real and alive. And he’s an author I can talk about with my dad, an interest we share, and I find that special and worthwhile. A lot of the media I like come from him, but that’s a story for another time.
Which brings us to The Dark Tower. My dad told me to read the series last year, and I agreed. It would be my first long fantasy series I’ve read in a really long time, as up until now, I’ve really only read stand alone memoirs. The first book in the series, The Gunslinger, was pretty good. I liked the vaguely western setting, and the feeling that something big and bad had happened in the world, but you aren’t sure what it was.
The Drawing of The Three, the second book, is my favorite so far. The gunslinger, Roland, comes across three doors, each leading to a different time and place. On the other side of each of those doors is someone to help him in his quest. You get a good sense of Roland in this book; someone with a face carved from stone, hardened by time and trial, someone who can take out a room full of mobsters, even when he is sick and nearly dying. I love the exploration of other dimensions in this book, and Roland finally has some other people with him.
The third book, The Wastelands, goes into more detail about Roland’s world. It is an old and dying world; Roland is the last of his kind and people in his world see him as a mythical hero. The characters encounter a giant bear and they discover it is part robot, built by ancient people to protect doors to other worlds, to guard the path of the Beam. We find out that the Dark Tower is at the center of the world (perhaps the center of all the worlds) and the Beam is a sort of path that leads to the Tower. In Wizard and Glass we learn more about Roland’s backstory and how he came to be on his quest for the Dark Tower. This one is good, but I didn’t like it as much as the others. It helped to make the world seem lively, with history, language, customs, and culture.
I had someone tell me they refuse to read anything by King because of a certain scene in It (which they read about on Reddit). I understand choosing to not read certain authors because you don’t like their stories, their writing style, their genre, or because you just don’t want to. I’ve done that before myself. But taking a scene out of a story and then saying everything else a person has written is bad because they also wrote this certain scene; I don’t know about that. I hope that I can be more open minded, can give things a fair chance and be willing to change my opinion. It’s a balance that has to be found and I’m still learning (and hopefully will still be learning for the rest of my life). How can we grow if we are never challenged?
May you have long days and pleasant nights. Until next time!
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