There was a flurry of excitement when someone at the Scottish Poetry Library spotted this note in their guest book:
"Hopefully next time I'll be able to linger longer - I've left a
little something for you near Women's Anthologies X. In support of
Libraries, Books, Words and Ideas...."
A quick dash into the library led to the discovery of another gift.
The tag on this read:
"To @ByLeavesWeLive.......
THE GIFTS "Gloves of bee's ful,
cap of the Wren's Wings......."
Norman McCaig
.... maybe sometimes impossible things...
In support of LIbraries, Books, Words
Ideas...."
And with the suspicious addition in the corner reading 10/10.
So here we have a cap made of a wing.
A wing, of course, made of exquisitely crafted paper feathers.
And with it a pair of paper gloves...
... made in the texture of a bee.
And an explanation!
"It's important that a story is not too long ......does not become tedious .......'You need to know when to end a story,' she thought.
Often a good story ends where it begins. This would mean a return to the
Poetry Library. The very place where she had left the first of the ten.
Back to those who had loved that little tree, and so encouraged her to try
again .......and again.
Some had wondered who it was, leaving these small strange objects. Some
even thought it was a 'he'! ....... As if!
Others looked among Book Artists, rather good ones actually.......
But they would never find her there. For though she does make things, this
was the first time she had dissected books and had used them simply be-
cause they seemed fitting....
Most however chose not to know..... which was the point really.
The gift, the place to sit, to look, to wonder, to dream..... of the impossible
maybe.......
A tiny gesture in support of the special places.....
So, here, she will end this story, in a special place ... A Poetry Library .....
where they are well used to 'anon.'
But before exiting ...a few mentions. There could be more, because we
have all colluded to make this work....... Just a few though.
- the twitter community who in some strange way gave rise to the idea in
the first place
-@chrisdonia who gave the story a place, a shape and some great pictures
- and not least @Beathhigh whose books and reputation have been shame-
lessly utilised in the making of a mystery ........
...... But hold on. Someone's left behind a pair of gloves and a cap..........?
Cheers Edinburgh It's been fun!
X
A wonderful end to a wonderful story and a lovely mention for a humble photographer! But talk of ten sculptures had everyone a-flutter. There were only eight we knew of, what of the remaining two? Could they have been lost? stolen? or worse, thrown away by someone who didn't realise what they had found?
Mercifully the answer was forthcoming the next day. The National Museum of Scotland had received a gift, found on the plinth under a skeletal stag. A consciencious member of staff had found it and passed it to his supervisor, thinking it might be something more than average lost property. It soon made its way up the chain of command until it came to rest in the Director's office for safety.
Meanwhile the museum staff were abuzz with the imminent arrival of their millionth visitor since reopening (which was a surprise as that wasn't really expected until about August 2012) so they didn't have time to tell the world about it until that had died down.
And so another is unveiled!
A Tyrannosaurus Rex, bursting from the tattered leaves of a book. And what book could it be other than Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World?
The tag here reads:
"For @NtlMuseumsScot A Gift
Your friends at @edbookfest
suggested you might like this.
.... In support of libraries,
books, words, ideas and those
places that house our treasures......"
And in the corner, 9/10.
Hidden amidst the tattered leaves of the book are tiny men with weapons that probably wouldn't do much damage to the beast, as its bloodstained jaw seems to prove.
The museum hope to exhibit this to coincide with the 26 Treasures series.
And what of the last?
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