For the last couple of years, the literary establishment has been simultaneously puzzled and delighted by the occasional delivery of literary-themed sculptures by mysterious artist. All we know about the sculptor is that it’s a woman who loves books. Now she’s left another surprise gift at the offices of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust whose director, Ali Bowden, found the modest brown paper-wrapped parcel inscribed with the dedication “in support of libraries, books, words and ideas”.
Ali Bowden
Director of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust
She says she was stunned by the beautiful discovery. “I really couldn’t believe,” she said, “that something as delicate and irreplaceable as a book sculpture would appear so quietly in the post. It was incredibly exciting. We huddled round, opened it and inside found a lovely travel chest with a glorious paper sculpture inside. We couldn’t believe our eyes. The message inside about literacy in the request ‘let’s keep shouting out about libraries and how other special places in which our lives’ is one we feel really strongly about.”
The parcel contained a World Book in the shape of an old-fashioned travelling trunk complete with hinged lid and travel stickers. Inside was a set of delicate paper feather wings, a safety helmet and goggles. These were included “to provide some protection throughout journey”. There was also a handbook (a tiny copy of Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds and Other Stories) along with a route map in the shape of an embroidered map with threads radiating out from Edinburgh.
Detail of the wings, box and cap
Ali said that this had been the second book sculpture the organisation had received. “We feel so proud and humbled,” she said “that someone has taken the time to create such a beautiful thing for us. We’re intrigued by the message of ‘Free to Fly’ and will be ‘looking to the skies’ as instructed to see how the adventure unfolds.”
These anonymously produced tiny book sculptures first appeared in 2011 when a series of them appeared in several venues connected with the city’s literary heritage. All of the original 10 sculptures carried the same inscription “in support of libraries, books, words and ideas”. 50 paper flowers were left around the Edinburgh International Book Festival and five sculptures were commissioned anonymously for the inaugural Book Week Scotland last year. They were released with cryptic literary online clues guiding people to their location.
This latest sculpture also contains an “information sheet” which reads: “literacy is about more than reading and writing – it is about how we communicate in society. It’s about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Literacy finds its place in our lives alongside other ways of communicating. Indeed literacy itself takes many forms: on paper, on the computer screen, on TV, on posters and signs. Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of “literacy as freedom”.” This is a quotation from UNESCO’s statement for the United Nations Literary Decade which ended last year.