This afternoon, I read the poetry of Robinson Jeffers while relaxing in the bath. An hour later, I arrived at Tor House, the stone home he built by hand here in Carmel. It’s the inspiration for some of his poems. I thought I’d sit in the garden and write a few.
That wasn’t allowed, but I was lucky enough to join a tour because a couple who’d reserved online did not show on time. The docent showing us the stone cottage and tower read Jeffers poems as we walked. Great! I had but one complaint, but to me it’s an important one. I was not allowed to capture my memories with my camera.
Another needlessly walled garden! What’s the point? I walked to the rocky shore below Tor House, shot a photos of the spectacular coastline, and summoned my inner poet:
No Photos Allowed
Salt air,
The rustle of waves,
Shimmering sea of kelp,
Rugged boulders standing sentinel,
Cormorants drying outstretched wings
in the ocean breeze
This is the very beach
where poet Robinson Jeffers
gathered massive stones
and rolled them up the embankment
one-by-one
to build his magnificent
Tor House.
The great poet reveled in the wildness and beauty of this place.
Words were his camera.
Hand-crafted Tor House,
where the poet read Yeats and Shelley
(and Robert Louis Stevenson!)
to his family by candlelight
lives on in the poet’s word portraits.
His poetic snapshots rekindle the spirit of
this coast, this ocean, this house, this tower, this time.
Wild, untamed, bedrock: miracles all.
I will revisit the boulders, kelp, and cormorants
captured by my lens this afternoon but the magic of
Tor House is already growing dim in my mind.
I doubt that the poet
(a friend of Edward Weston!)
posted the signs at Tor House saying
“Photography Not Allowed.”
Wouldn’t the poet want me to enjoy his monument again and again?
Sadly, you keepers of his flame
deny me a touchstone for my memories.
I emailed my message to one Vince Huth, president of the Tor House Foundation, mentioning…
As long as you don’t use flash, that’s no longer the policy at the Smithsonian, the Met, MOMA, the four major art museums in San Francisco, the Prado, the Louvre, the new Tate, the Deutsches Museum, Berlin’s Museuminsel, and many others I’ve visited. Museum boards are realizing that sharing the wealth is good for all — and costs nothing.
I’ll note it here if Vince responds.
If Internet Time Blog’s seeming to get edgier, it’s because I’m re-arranging the furniture here in my Personal Learning Environment. More to follow. Soon.
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The president of the Tor House Foundation emailed me, explaining:
“Delighted you enjoyed you tour of Tor House. Thanks for the poem. We do allow photographs during our Spring Garden Party—usually the first weekend in May. Also, you may take pictures from the driveway into the garden. With six folks on a docent guided tour guests taking photos during the tour is disruptive, often ruins the “tour mood” and slows the tour. Guests taking photos, texting, talking on the mobile is very distracting to docents. If you want to book a special individual tour, and take photos, give me a call next time you are in town. I am usually in the office Monday & Thursday AM.”
I replied:
“Thanks for your offer. Like most of your visitors, a trip to Carmel is a once-a-decade luxury, so I’ve missed my opportunity to take memorable photos.
I can understand texting and taking phone calls being disruptive to tours. Perhaps you should post a sign to that effect. But these are different activities than taking photographs.
Let me explain why I consider taking photos important.
My calling in life is helping adults learn better and lead more fulfilling lives. For many people, having the opportunity to take snapshots heightens their sensitivity to their surroundings. I pay more attention to details when I’m mentally framing everything I see as a potential shot. Then, after the fact, photos that I have personally taken retrieve and reinforce memories in a way that photos by others cannot.
Your visitors (some of us, anyway) would take more away from visiting Tor House and keeping Robinson Jeffers in their lives were they permitted to take photos. Perhaps you could change the sign to read “You may take non-flash photos during the tour if you are discreet about it and don’t disrupt the docent.”