The Joy in Something You Weren’t Seeking

Do you ever find yourself researching something so strange that you stop and wonder what brought you here? I find that it’s almost a daily occurrence for me: whether it’s finding a stack of books on the history of various astrologies (what’s more surprising, that I needed it or that it’s a surprisingly well-covered field?) or trying to find out which British restaurants in the 90s were both hip to celebrity culture and well-respected by chefs (surprisingly difficult to find, and I will be deferring what I did dig up to my client), I often find myself in a number of strange and marvellous places consulting with the guardians of knowledge that it had never occurred to me that I was missing.

I live in a world dominated by research: as a book editor, my clients expect that I can find everything from the grammar rules of capitalisation (spag bol or Spag Bol?) to when World War II hit Malaysia and caused British people to flee. Oftentimes it’s a simple google, but without the impetus to search for something, I don’t suppose I would ever know. Occasionally I find great wellseams of knowledge – discovering a wiki that tried to document every touring theatre show in the UK dating back to the music hall era, for example – that feel exciting even outside the context of my work, that feel like I have found a true guardian of knowledge. It’s the moments where I’m checking memories or hearing new perspectives on information I already held that I feel lucky to have the job I work in – lucky to be privy to people’s private thoughts and recollections, lucky to be paid to read, structure and archive them, presenting them beautifully in hardback; it‘s especially wonderful when it’s something unexpected. Several times a week I am stopped in my tracks by the diverse wealth of information crossing my desk.

Alongside my editing, I’m a PhD researcher. By definition, a PhD is something that requires you to care about sources and strange knowledge, and when I find myself reading a Schopenhauer‘s mother’s diary about her travels to Georgian London I feel a moment of pride in what I do, often reflecting on the things that brought me here – what is it that’s unique about my path, or the paths of others who’ve crossed this way before I have? As a PhD student I am not simply the finder of forgotten knowledge, I am its guardian. Like the people who run wikis or archives on the peculiar things I seek every day, my job is to re-tool my findings, re-contextualise for them for a new audience, and validate information across multiple sources to assess its resonance, relevance, and accuracy – and then, one day, it will leave me, like a swallow flying south for the winter; forever with a home in my heart and my head, but taken to new places by different people with different spheres of influence and knowledge, brought here by a different path of inspiration, but whose exploration within this knowledge is no less valid than mine. I feel like part of a bigger world in these moments, and it makes my life feel valuable.

Working like this, with these regular little pauses for ‘huh’ moments, is a blessing. Knowledge is power, knowing where to FIND something is a skill, and knowing that you can always learn more is the Socratic ideal that I strive for. Please, give me something you learned or remembered that excited you – it is the greatest currency in the world.

On This Topic:

• My clients are truly fascinating, though not all of them publish. Consider this a placeholder until I find out if I can link the ones who have done here.
• Want to know about Byzantine, Roman, or Renaissance astrology? Nicholas Campion is a great source, but Al-Quabisi is very poetic and honestly doesn’t get enough credit in this field.
• Learn more about the Socrates way – I am not sure it’s fully applicable for modern life (how could something from 3000 years ago be?) but it is an interesting way of looking at things

To-Do:

• Empty freezer before travelling
• Return: LK Bennett shoes, dress, misc package
• Budget revamp – just because you bought a summer wardrobe doesn’t mean you should keep going!!

Today’s Culture:

• Fruit tea and fizzy water – I’m trying to kick caffeine and sugar out of my diet, and these are incredibly helpful tools
• Maison Margiela memory colognes – I have my favourites, but I won’t tell you what they are…
• Single-hue outfits – that’s what I’m taking from the Met gala fashion! Mine are more likely to be navy than neon, though – I’m not a trendy person!