the mystical quarterly

so...if you go to Harvard with me, STOP READING RIGHT HERE.

did you stop?

today i went to widener library. since widener is Harvard's largest and most famous library, you would think this was not a big deal. it was a big deal for me, though, because i had never been there. not even once, in 4.5 years. i often go to the music library, but usually when i want to read an actual book that is completely unrelated to music, i order it from amazon. however, since i am only teaching one section this semester, i decided to try and do something new every day, even if it's just going in a building for the first time. i looked up some books that were related to my dissertation, and off to widener i went.

you have to have a harvard id even to enter widener. i swiped mine and the gate opened and i went in. when you first go in there is a huge staircase that leads up to our copy of the gutenberg bible in a fancy display case. i looked at it and noted how elegantly it was typeset; unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures. then i went looking for my books, but i couldn't find the place where the books are (stacks! i couldn't find the stacks.) i didn't want to ask anybody where the stacks were since most people go to widener every day, so i just walked and walked around and finally found a little poster that showed where the call numbers are and my books were supposed to be in 3-east so i took the elevator up to 3, and it was a weird floor with no people on it, and no books either. finally, i was helped out by the custodian, who gently pointed out that 1)this was not the stacks and 2)this was the sixth floor.

down the stairs again! i found a map and started again, and found the stacks, and 3-east, where my book supposedly was. 3-east houses the religious mysticism section. woohoo! did you know there is a journal called 'the mystical quarterly'? i really wanted to take a picture (as well as a picture of the 'BS' aisle...close to my book which was a 'BV') but that's against the rules! i found my book 'between exaltation and infamy' and also another one called 'cloud of unknowing' which seemed appropriate for some reason.

i found the book-checkout place, took out my book despite owing large fines, visited the ladies' room, visited the cafe, and left. nobody even noticed i was wearing my cannabis leaf belt!

in summary: going to widener was well worth the trip, and i look forward to going back, just as long as i'm not too pressed for time...