A pile of books. A wall of books, a barricade, a rampart.
To dig a hole in a pile of books, to gently caress them, to give and feel pleasure, the wisdom of pleasure (never the other way round).
During my stay in the library I have tried to hold all the books I could. I have touched every one of them and felt the smell of many. I have heard the sound of their different papers and, from all of that, built a weightless portrait of many things that might have been overseen other times these books were read.
It was an exercise of approaching the library from pleasure before wisdom and, in doing so, recognizing the wisdom that lies within pleasure, a knowledge often missed out that felt eager to be felt.
If you hold a stone
Hold it in your hand
If you feel the weight
You’ll never be late
To understand
(Caetano Veloso)
November 2018
Text: Theo Firmo