Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song
November 6, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: no weeding

In Wellington they’re weeding books – what a term. Words are not beasts. There’s no need to cull. Nurture and grow and build instead – create space for them and that creates need. If you’re gonna talk gardens how about watering with thought all of the people craving knowledge; leave books in the places where they should be – build more sheds to house them and watch them take root. What’s the worst that could happen? You could create some new jobs. What’s the worst that could happen? A few more researchers are able to keep up. What’s the worst that could happen? Books galore and more and more
and suddenly we’re interested in something beyond profit-margins; that alone is reason to invest. Albeit ironically. We need a way to move past profit and loss. We need a home for the things that matter – and not more measurements for if and when and how they matter in any financial sense. In second-hand bookstores every customer is grateful. They almost completely cannot believe their luck. They are finding something they believed lost to time. They are finding something they believed no longer existed. That’s something special. I’ve been there to see their faces. I’ve had my face do the dance of joy upon discovery. Just
last week I found a book I was sure was long gone and forever buried. I rushed right home and read it twice. That special way with a book is something we need to teach forever. We need people to know what it’s like to hold words. To have that power in their hands as it transfers through body to mind and soul. That’s a process that needs no weeding, no pruning, there’s always something magical in a book. Just take a look!

Posted in Blog, Miscellany and tagged with no weeding, Poem, Poem: no weeding. RSS 2.0 feed.
« Tori Amos: Ocean To Ocean
The Soundtrack Makes You Want To See The Film (Again) »

Popular

  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • Sweetman Podcast: Episode 73 – Janna Lapidus Leblanc
  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • Nope: Film
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 11 – Lindsey Buckingham
  • How We Listen To – and Collect – Music Has Always Been Changing
  • Neil Peart Was The World’s Most Overrated Drummer
  • R.I.P. Ronny Jordan
  • Take Two Woodstock 99 Documentaries And Make One Dark Reminder of Misogyny (And Shit Music)

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Blog Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ Drums DVD EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Poetry Record Records Short Story Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2022 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press