Airplane for the Mind

Jan. 20, 2023

This was a one of my favorite places to write. The NYC Public Library on 42nd Street. The big, stimulating quiet of it: something between silence and a steady thrum. In other words, an irregular noise of humans being present, but each chair screech, pencil drop, cough, briefcase snap, zipper rip, although amplified, spread out over space and time, a sonic blur, a prod to keep you awake but also a mantra to keep you focused. Part of it’s power as a place to work was the presence of so many fellow thinkers. And being surrounded by books. And knowing this place was dedicated to the practice of literature, and had been for generations. Not perfectly still or perfectly silent, which would have put me to sleep: but active enough, turned to a far reach of the mental spectrum, where you have to breathe slowly and pay close attention to hear what’s being broadcast. And feeling like it was a mile or so above the everyday. A grand airplane for the mind.