[Since I’ve been
on sabbatical this Fall, in place of my usual semester recaps series I’ll be
recapping some of the many
book talks I’ve gotten to deliver over the last few months. Leading up to a
special weekend post on what’s next for We the People!]
On three reasons
why my last
book talk of 2019 was a perfect way to end (for
now!).
1)
Beauty: If giving a talk in a
space like this didn’t feel particularly special, I’d be doing something
very wrong. Obviously the content and significance of my talks don’t change
based on where I’m delivering them, and I’ve never given one where I felt
uncomfortable (although the one bookstore, many years ago, where they literally
just had a mic in the middle of the store and expected me to step up and start
talking with no introduction of any kind was a bit daunting!). But for the
sabbatical’s and year’s culminating talk in particular, to be in such a
stunning place helped me take a step back and think about the whole series so
far, and I’ll always be grateful to have had that moment in this beautiful
place (and for the help and support of all the Athenaeum folks, especially Elsa
Vernon and Brian
the A/V guy).
2)
History: The Athenaeum is much more than just a
beautiful place, of course—it’s also one of Boston’s most
historic spaces, and one of America’s oldest enduring libraries. I felt the
presence of that history in many ways, including in the great Required
Reading: Reimagining a Colonial Library exhibition
(which runs through March and I highly recommend). But by far the most
inspiring such historical echo was an entirely unexpected one—I was able to
prepare for the talk in a small room adjoining the lecture hall, and that room’s
spacious windows looked out directly into the Granary
Burying Ground, home to (among other historic landmarks) an obelisk that
honors Benjamin Franklin’s parents and a memorial to the Boston Massacre
victims (one of whom, Crispus
Attucks, I discuss briefly in my talk). A symbolic reminder not just that
we are surrounded by our histories, but that we have to keep them in better view
if we’re to move forward into any kind of meaningful future.
3)
Today: While sharing some of those histories has
been my central goal for my book talks (as it was for We the People itself), it will come as no surprise that many of the
conversations at and after those talks have focused (as my book’s Conclusion
does) on our 2019 moment. At times (including this one) those conversations
have felt more like group therapy sessions, and I don’t mean that in a
dismissive or negative way at all—god knows we can all use spaces and
opportunities for that. But in both the Q&A and at the book signing table,
the contemporary conversations at this talk also included more practical and
productive ideas about work we can all do going forward, both individually and
collectively. And along those lines, it was great to see at the talk folks from
organizations that are doing that work, such as Laura Tavares
from Facing
History and Ourselves and Alison Bassett
from The Trustees of Reservations (who
are, she told me, planning a 2020 series on defining American identity, for
more on which watch this space!). Solidarity is a key element of the work, and I
felt it in many ways at the Athenaeum.
Special post
this weekend,
Ben
PS. Ideas for
other places I could talk or write about We
the People? Lemme know,
and thanks!
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