London, England: Near Waterloo station. They were confused as to why I wanted to take a picture, but they were both just dead sexy in their costumes. He just looks a bit puzzled, perhaps, but she’s working that costume: look at what she’s doing with her left leg.
Manchester, England: Ghost Bike
London, England: That’s me on the left, my friend and colleague Laurie Ellinghausen on the right, and an unidentified literary scholar in the middle. The three of us met at the British Library and then went out for coffee (and honey).
Many bloggers have been discussing an upcoming event called The September Project, “a collection of people, groups, and organizations working to create a day of engagement, a day of conversation, a day of democracy.” More details are found on the project overview page.
Given that a number of KC people read my site, I was hoping to generate some interest and involvement in the project here in Kansas City. How about it? Please email me at ghw [at] wordherders [dot] net to discuss organizing events at local libraries and other public spaces. You might also mention this on your own blog to help spread the word.
David Silver, one of the project directors (along with Sarah Washburn), was recently interviewed (PDF) by the Chronicle of Higher Education:
“It’s a response to the climate of silence that has seeped into this country, post-9/11,” Mr. Silver says. “It’s difficult to get a lot of information from the media and from the government, so we wanted to create safe spaces — safe local spaces where we have free information.”
The September Project has few requirements for participation. Mr. Silver is encouraging libraries to hold readings of the Bill of Rights and to set up voter-registration programs. He is also encouraging participants to take digital pictures on that day, with the hope of creating a huge photographic collage.
But beyond that, events and programs are up to the individual libraries. Because September 11 falls on a Saturday this year, when some academic libraries are closed and when students on many campuses have not yet arrived for the fall, some academic libraries are holding exhibitions that will last for weeks.
The Seattle Times also published an article with more details on the project.
A quick post from the Newark airport, where I’m en route to KC. Last week I met Miriam from ScribblingWoman at the Starbucks (I know, I know) across the street from the British Library, and she has a brief entry on the meetup. It was great to meet her, and as she says, there’s a strange kind of familiarity that comes from talking with someone whose life story you’ve been reading for a few months.
I have a backlog of information to share, dear reader, and a whole mess of photos, but that will have to wait for now because we are about to board. Look for more over the weekend. I see Sonic Youth this Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, and I’m quite happy about that fact.