Basbanes Shares Tales of the Power of the Printed Word

Nicholas Basbanes of North Grafton, Massachusetts will share his love of books and storytelling at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 1 at Polk County Library's Columbus Branch. To read off the litany of writing he's done both as an award-winning journalist and as an author, while impressive, may not be very entertaining. However, while listening to him, or reading what he has written you are bound to be pulled into a tale that will intrigue you. Mr. Basbanes adventures into the world of his writing subjects and then reports his discoveries with the artistry of a master storyteller.

What was your masters in from Penn State? How did it prepare you for journalism and books about books?

I studied literature for my undergraduate degree at Bates, and received my masters in journalism from Penn State. I've always been a writer, writing professionally since 1964 when I received my first paycheck for a story. I've always loved books, always wanted to be a writer. It has been a life long dream to write a book, even though I was 53 when I published my first one. I can't think of anything else that I'd want to do more than to write books and celebrate books.

I started my first book in 1995. I was writing literary features and collecting books and writing about the authors. I wrote a magazine piece in 1988 for the Bostonian about 1,200 years of book collecting in Boston. What looked like a boring story turned out to be worthwhile because the stories of the people were interesting. I discovered all these people who were passionate about books. My wife said, "You could write a book about that." I found an agent who quickly sold it to a book publisher, but then it took seven years to get it done. I thought I'd finish it in a year and a half. My focus changed, it became about the stories, such as the book thief Steven Blumberg who stole 23,600 books.

In the Computer age, do think a love of books is something that needs to be taught, or will it survive with these generations of kids raised on computers?

I think it's a fact. The National Endowment for the Arts program "Reading at Risk" points specifically at the younger generation because they are not reading as much. When you see these big "Read" programs at schools and libraries they engage not only the kids but also the community.

There are so many media items flashing at these kids with razzle dazzle computers and cell phones. In my day, you simply read a book you were happy with it. So I guess we do need to teach it, we try to instill a love in reading.

I've always loved books, from the time I was a kid. My parents used to bring me into the library every Saturday. I went and got an armful of books. We didn't have many books in the house but my parents created an environment that encouraged us to read and enjoy books.

Are you thinking of an audience when you write, or is this just something you need to write?

I write to be read. I make no bones about that. I mean no disrespect to academic writers that write scholarly and inaccessible books and papers for a few hundred of their peers to read.

I write the kinds of books that I like to read. I am keeping in mind the good, intelligent reader. The stories I write involve a lot of research in libraries and on the internet. There's still no substitute for the library and interviews. Everything I write takes the form of a narrative. It's storytelling. When people ask me, "What are you writing about?" and I say, "book collectors," you see their eyes turn in boredom. However, if the story is good they will come and they will read it.

If I do it well and fulfill my job correctly I'll find my readers. All of my books are still in print and have made it to paperback additions as well.

If I start writing something and it bores me then I'll quit. If I can't interest myself in it, then there's no point to continue writing. I don't want people to be bored.

You mentioned all of your books being in print. That reminds me of visiting the New England Book Exchange outside of Boston. I was thrilled at finding the books that I did at such cheap prices but saddened by the fact that this was the end of the line for the books that had not been marketable enough to stay on the shelves in the regular stores.

My favorite place is second hand book stores. Because of my work, I know everything that is new, but sometimes at a used book store I'll discover something I didn't know about. So much of the material that I gather for my books is something I get from second hand books and library sales. I find them for chump change when they are one step away from the landfill.

I've now written seven books about books and their libraries, collection, and destruction. I just finished the seventh for Yale University Press. My next book takes me on a bit of a diversion. I'm writing for Alfred Knopf on paper and papermaking. How paper developed and migrated around the world. It's a ubiquitous product.

I spent three weeks in China with the help of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to work on this book. I'm really excited about this grant because it gives me the chance to investigate in depth. It allowed me to go to China where I visited villages and met people still making paper the same way they have for 2,000 years. It will contain stories about origami, paper making, and stamps. The Stamp Act was all about paper and taxes on paper. I'll be spending the rest of the year working on writing this book, while continuing to write some columns for magazines and the LA Times as diversions.

What will you share with our local bibliophiles (or book lovers) this coming Saturday?

I'll be sharing my 2005 book, Every Book Its Reader. It's not so much about how books changed the world, but how they impact the reader and cause change.

If a book only has one reader, then it has a reader. The title came from one of the cardinal rules of librarianship from Ranganathan. In 1931 Ranganathan set out "Five Laws of Library Science" the third being: every book its reader.

One of the essential things I do as a writer is the interview. The core of writing this book was to create a "dream team" of great readers who have impressed me over the years such as Harold Bloom, Christopher Ricks, Elaine Pagels, and two time Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner David McCullough. I identified twenty people I would like to interview about books and then took their profiles and pulled these together into a narrative.

For example, Elaine Pagels reads Coptic manuscripts in their original language and then writes her own books as a Gnostic journalist.

Dr. Robert Coles has pushed reading and a course of literature for medical students. He recommends using storytelling as a way of improving patient and doctor relationship. He's a Pulitzer Prize winner as well for his work as a psychiatrist writing the stories and moral testimonies of children dying from leukemia in 50's and 60's.

Perri Klass is a pediatrician whose work connects back to your question about teaching a love of books. Klass' program Reach Out and Read is focused on teaching babies to read. She supports a feeling that reading is as important as milk, shelter, and food in nurturing children.

Hear more about these noteworthy readers this coming Saturday at the book discussion and signing with Nicholas Basbanes. The program will start at 11 a.m. in the Polk County Community room at the library's Columbus Branch. Call 894-8721 for more information.