Inside the Providence Athenaeum

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

LOCAL FIND by GoLocalProv Lifestyles Team

Is it the change in the weather this week, or is it back to school season? Either way, suddenly there seems no better place to explore, hide out, and discover both old and new than at the Providence Athenaeum, the capital city's most venerable storehouse of books, culture, and literary life. For those who've already made the climb up the worn, granite steps, past the busts of statesmen and authors, and up the iron stairs into the narrow stacks of books old and new, the Athenaeum is a treasure possessed. If you haven't made your way to 251 Benefit Street, here are five reasons why it's time.

1. A card catalog. A real card catalog. Sitting proudly in the center of the Athenaeum's central room, a broad and in-use cabinet of real curiosities: hundreds upon hundreds of paper cards with notations on books in the Athenaeum's collection. Some cards are typed (odd enough to young eyes), but many are handwritten in script that reveals 19th century style and pens. Every child who has

grown up Googling needs to be taken to this spot and discover the art of peeling back cards and reading the alphabetized march of texts.

2. Poe. Yes, it's true. Edgar Allen Poe really did live in Providence for a time, he really did fall in love with Sarah Whitman, a free-thinking transcendentalist who lived at the north end of Benefit Street, and he really did court Whitman in the summer of 1848 on the steps of the Providence Athenaeum. The two were even engaged, but broke off the engagement over Poe's lack of promised sobriety. He died in Baltimore (she is buried in Providence's North Burial Ground).

3. Programs. Some of Providence's most inspired, interesting, and fun cultural evenings uncork (along with wine) on select Friday evenings in the Athenaeum at the beloved Salon series (which resumes in October). It's worth the annual membership (from $35 for students to $195 for a household) just to get access to these incredible evenings.

4. Proust. This may be the most dedicated, ambitious book group in America, and it began (and meets every month) at the Providence Athenaeum. Making its way slowly through Marcel Proust's sprawling, seven-volume "Remembrance of Things Past," (albeit in a three-volume translation), The Proust Reading Group headed by the Athenaeum's Christina Bevilacqua personifies the mission of the Athenaeum. New readers may join in at any point.

5. Public. While the Athenaeum is indeed a private library, and in fact is one of the oldest in America, its doors are open to the public. You can enter, read, and enjoy the nooks and crannies that 18th century poetry as well as modern detective novels. And the children's library is one of the best resources in the city for families.

Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit St, Providence, 421-6970. For more information on programs and membership, go to the Athenaeum's Web site, here.

Photos Stephanie Ewens

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