Nature doesn’t really care whether there are human beings or not.
I’m sorry to break this to you.
- Margaret Atwood
I’m not sure what I need to comment on first – the bloem or that wry, newsflashy quote. Let’s start off with the easy things first – the quote. Canadian environmental activist and contemporary Scheherazade, Margaret Atwood, really knows how to drive her point home and reverse perspectives. Isn’t it utterly refreshing to hear Nature’s point-of-view? Although She may not care about our existence, we should definitely be concerned about Hers – especially on Her special day – April 22 – a.k.a. Earth Day!
Now you might be wondering what a bloem is or maybe you’ve already guessed by now that it’s a portmanteau or a blend – a word formed by clipping two words and then merging them: blog + poem = bloem. If you ask me, it’s quite a simple equation and an appropriate tribute to World Book Day, which happens to be on April 23. If you’re interested in words, literature, the future of books, and their connection to the environment – for there is one – then you are cordially invited to sample my bloem, “The Future of the Library: The Future Library,” which serves as an appetizer for the main course, an interview with Margaret Atwood about this fascinating literary and environmental project.
The Future of the Library: The Future Library
By Maryann Henck
In the digital age
It’s truly all the rage
To fire up your Kindle
And let those paperbacks dwindle.
Just imagine a few years from now
Words on cellulose might cease to wow.
Emaciated libraries will gnaw on e‑books
Though printing presses had been the better cooks.
Will the future of the library be left up to the Fates?
And those paper treasures trapped eternally in dire straits?
Not if the Future Library grows over the years
A project created to allay booklovers’ fears
That one day the printed page will cease to exist
Should we fail the aid of green writers to enlist
Who will create books that withstand the test of time
And hide them away so they stay in their prime
To be printed and read a hundred years down the line
From a thousand trees of Norwegian wood so fine
Planted in the woods of Nordmarka for a good cause
The visionary Margaret Atwood agreed without pause
To compose the first piece for this brilliant endeavor
In the hope that books will live on forever
And now for that interview between the Berlin-based Scottish artist and project creator, Katie Paterson, and the project’s first contributor, Margaret Atwood – Just click here for the whole story. Enjoy!
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