I don’t know if you’ve heard of this but I only heard about it a couple of weeks ago when I was doing the Margaret Attwood course on Masterclass, which I talk about HERE. It’s the Future Library.
It’s a fascinating project. Back in 2014 someone set up the future library, starting first of all with a Margaret Attwood work, where a different author submits a work every year and the work is unread. It’s placed in storage – in the future library – in this forest, and authors will be given the opportunity to be a part of the project for the next 100 years and when 2114 comes around the books will be printed on the trees they have planted and the people who are alive then will be able to read the works that have been stored. How amazing is that. To know that in 100 years, or just less, depending on where your work is in the project, someone will be reading your work? To be Margaret Attwood and know for a fact no one has read this piece of work and won’t for 100 years, long after you have gone. I think it’s an amazing idea.
There are of course detractors of the project who say they are preventing people reading now. In my view we have plenty of books available for people to read now. One book a year is not going to harm the children of today. It’s not going to harm literacy. In fact there are so many books hitting the shelves that authors are struggling to be seen. It’s a ridiculous argument.
See the below video to learn more about this fabulous idea. The Future Library. Maybe, if you’re an author, you might be approached in a few years time, who knows…
Margot Kinberg says
Oh, wow! I like this idea! And what a great way to do something sustainable, too. It’s almost like a sort of time capsule, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing, Rebecca.