Emma’s Favorite Things: Books & Spaces & Cardamom Buns

 

 

 

It’s been nearly a year of remembering Emma. Among the most recent were in Glasgow and Paris. They were about ideas, where they come from and how they make their way into the world. They were about places, where Emma created her own special moments, and the people she spent them with.

The first moment was the launch of the Residency for Ideas in Glasgow at the Mackintosh School of Art on Nov. 16. (See this for details.) About 100 of us met in the Vic Bar, a space little used since Covid for many reasons. So firstly, thank you to Emma for reviving that space to mix and mingle! After the introductions, we all grabbed a drink and segued into talking about some intriguing thoughts. Even after a long day of review in the studio, students appeared energized by the prospect of creating their own project. 

John and I enjoyed meeting the students, now in stages 3 and 5, who knew Emma. We felt we were connecting with her through them. As I write this, the proposals are coming in. And the deadline has been extended to Jan. 15 in response to feedback from students. We are honored to be members of the selection committee and already looking forward to seeing the final manifestation of the project in September. 

The second moment was on Dec. 27, where a small group of us visited the Anne Frank garden in Paris, in a fairly hidden alcove near Beaubourg. We learned that she would go there to relax or sketch in her last year of high school, squeezed by the vice of more than a dozen baccalaureate written and oral examinations. We enjoyed freshly made cardamom buns and tea as we looked at her private sketchbook and took inspiration from the space and her drawings. 

The third moment was on Jan. 5 at the American Library of Paris, where about a dozen of Emma’s Paris friends came to dedicate a small plaque in her honor to be placed in the young adult section. We celebrated not only the life of Emma at ALP, one of her favorite third places, but also the joy of reading. Reading and libraries were integral to her being. One thing she did in her short time in Glasgow was become a member of the local Langside library, a way of joining into the life of the community. There is so much to say on those topics, but we hope the epitaph for the plaque sums it up: “Words make the souls of readers stronger, brighter, deeper,” paraphrasing one of Emma’s favorite authors, Ursula Le Guin. 

As that terrible anniversary approaches, on Jan. 27, we hope you take solace in a way that connects and has meaning for you: whether it’s in books, in ritual, in lingering at one of Emma’s favorite places, in being with each other. Where good ideas may arise. 

Photos: Top, Friday teen night, spring 2014, at the American Library of Paris. Yes, Emma is the tall one … and yes that is a slingshot, part of a “literary reaping” event. (Credit: ALP) Middle: Emma’s June 7, 2017, sketch of a trellis in the Anne Frank garden, 3eme arrondissement. Post-ECE refers after one of a battery of tests of the French baccalaureate at that time. Bottom: Rose's second try at cardamom buns (thanks to José for the Guardian's receipe.)