PHOTOGRAPHY|WRITING|CREATIVE WRITING
Shooting London
The British Library: the place I need no “Persuasion” to hang out in
Sorry for the lame pun, Jane Austen, but it had to be done (smiles).
I’ve been frequenting this building since autumn 2019. Whereas before my visits were rare and child-motivated (both my kids came to half-term and holiday programmes here), four years ago the British Library became the place where I pored over the manuscript and put the final touches to what became my first book, Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner.
It’s easy to be familiar with a landmark without fully understanding the importance of it. I’d always thought that the British Library had long been a presence near St Pancras Station. But the building was only formally opened between 1997 and 1998.
Holding over 170 million items and listing more than 13 million printed and electronic books in its archive, the BL is a colossus. Architecturally speaking, the institution also stands for boldness and risk-taking. This is one of the features I’ve come to appreciate more whenever I sit in its courtyard.
I took the photo above whilst parking my bicycle. The day had turned grey all of a sudden and one could feel that rain was on its way. The striking, dominant…
