My head is, as expected, filled with ideas after my Field Museum visit on Thursday, and I got started that very evening drafting bits of something that I think will be promising. I initially went in with a vague idea of writing about extinction and dinosaurs and the earth over time, but of course got distracted by the birds (it happens) and then the maze of mammals, which had me mulling over taxidermy techniques and the work of diorama artists and the whole points of museums, the houses of the muses, and preservation, particularly when it comes to extinction (even our own). And then of course, from my last visit, Audubon and his giant book. And somehow, a kernal of sense-making came into being and I think I might have something.
And of course, the Field is such a nostalgia filled place for me. It was the site of the 9th grade field trip that touched off a desire to live in this big, bustling city perched on the lake. And other visits were always with my parents, and far too infrequent, but always memorable. But its somehow so familiar, even when they move things around and add rotating exhibits. I stuck mostly to animals and the dinosaurs since I got a late start to the day, but there was much I wanted to wander through, but stuck steady to my material interests re: animals and evolution.
And of course, I've written about the museum before. The title poem of in the bird museum is inspired by the Field's and other similar museums' bird specimen collections. And there is a line in my first book, in the poem "How to Tell a Story in a Dead Language" specifically about the Egypt exhibit. (another fave, but I didn't have time for it Thursday.) All of which, was perhaps why I am especially excited about this endeavor and the reading (which is looking to be happening in October at this point--they are still working out details.) Already I have three drafts that look promising--I'd love to get a chap or a segment of another longer book from all this.
