Whenever I read an old novel, it’s always a challenge to make a connection with the author. I mean, come on, some of them lived hundreds of years ago. Today, though, I was able to reach out and touch the greatness of some prominent American authors.

Within the Houghton library at Harvard, priceless meets incredible in thousands of pages. We started our tour in the “Emily Room.” Here we were able to view handwritten pages of
Dickinson’s poetry and see the tiny needle holes from the binding. The original hutch where her manuscripts were found is also in the room; how much more personal can you get?

We weaved through endless passageways and doorways to a small conference room upon leaving Emily’s room. Here, on a small table, sat some of the most priceless treasures for literature scholars. There was the original manuscript of Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables; one of Thoreau’s many journals was also on the table. There was a journal of Bronson Alcott; a Melville journal also sat among the treasures.

As I turned the pages filled with handwriting hundreds of years old, I could not help but finally feel connected to these great writers. Even though these manuscripts could not come home with me, I was bringing home something just as precious when I left the Houghton. Now, when I read Moby Dick or Walden, I am surrounded by the real spirit of these authors. Now, that’s priceless.