Ilga's Knitting World

Friday, February 10, 2012

Opening a Door

It always fascinates me to observe how by opening one door, one is led to another....and so on.

A couple of days ago a friend--not a knitter, either--dropped off a copy of an essay from this book, Best American Essays 2004, edited by Louis Menand.

The essay is entitled "Yarn" by Kyoko Mori. More about how it was chosen is here. This essay appeared first in the Harvard Review, No. 24, Spring 2003. You can get a taste of it (the first page) here.

There are a number of reasons why this is noteworthy. One, this is an article about knitting--in the Harvard Review? Truly, it is about knitting, beginning with a story about her first knitting project when a child in seventh grade, a pair of yellow mittens, that went terribly wrong.

Kyoko goes on to explore the history of knitting, interspersing it with personal anecdotes and observations. This is a charming read. Beautifully, gracefully written.

Then to have been chosen as one of the the best essays in 2004--that is remarkable.

Like any good (former) librarian, I decide to research this further. What do I discover? Kyoko Mori has written a book about yarn: Yarn: Remembering the Way Home.


Needless to say, I am planning on reading this as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

And what's more, she has written a number of other interesting-looking books: a couple of novels as well as a text on the cultural issues related to being Japanese and adapting to life in America.

Now I have a whole new list of interesting reading, by an author new to me. I can't wait.