LOOSE ENDS: Among the greats, somewhere …

The theme of Princeton Public Library’s Centennial Gala: ‘100 Years of Words, Ideas and Community’

By Pam Hersh Special Writer
    No one asked me. Maybe the reason for being overlooked is because the most original thing I have ever said or written — without any profanity, that is — is “Life is a crapshoot.” According to a Google search, “Life is a crapshoot” yields 221,000 not-so-original references.
    The roll of the dice played no role in my NOT being included among the 35 Princeton notables who were asked to handwrite, sign and date an original passage of their work on special paper that would be framed and then auctioned off to benefit the Princeton Public Library on the occasion of its 100th birthday. Extraordinary talent, world renown, a connection to Princeton and being alive (nothing from Albert Einstein in this auction) were the criteria.
    The Friends of the Princeton Public Library and the library’s trustees and foundation will be holding the library’s Centennial Gala on Saturday, Oct. 9. It will feature an “In Their Own Hands” auction of written treasures, as well as a talk by National Public Radio commentator Terry Gross, also internationally famous for words.
    The theme of the gala is “100 Years of Words, Ideas and Community.” Despite the fact that my words will not be auctioned off (I’m just grateful that I can get someone to listen to me over a cup of coffee), I think this literary auction is simply the last word, a piece of intellectual property that no one else in the world will have. We can thank two Friends past-presidents, Pam Wakefield and Claire Jacobus, for coming up with this brainstorm. In addition, they used words of persuasion most effectively when asking participation from the famous individuals — mostly writers, plus a few visual artists who have used words and sketches to make their marks.
    Having the equivalent of a Ph.D. in attending fundraisers, I think the key to a successful fundraiser is establishing a theme that connects to the mission of the organization. Words are the heart, mind and soul of a library. Thus, an auction of verbal gems is a gem of a fundraiser for the Princeton Public Library.
    As of this moment, the artists represented in the auction are Mary Chapin Carpenter; Pete Carril; Freeman Dyson; Jeffrey Eugenides; Richard Ford; Emmet Gowin; Michael Graves; Dan Halpern; Bob Hillier; Sam Hynes; Edmund Keeley; Gina Kolata; Jean Hanff Korelitz; Paul Krugman; Chang-rae Lee; John Lithgow; Emily Mann; Ann Martin; Henry Martin; John McPhee; James McPherson; Toni Morrison; Paul Muldoon; Bebe Neuwirth; Bryan Singer; Peter Singer; Evan Thomas; Shirley Tilghman; Colm Toibin; Robert Venturi; Cornel West; Edmund White; CK Williams; Sean Wilentz, and Michael Wood.
    I have been extremely fortunate and honored to have a connection with many of the above individuals, thanks to interviewing them during my days as a reporter and editor or working with them in my subsequent jobs at Princeton University and Princeton HealthCare System. In addition, I can claim a quirky contact with a few.
    For example, at the “old” crowded Carousel breakfast restaurant (corner of Nassau and Pine Streets), I often had my eggs and coffee as I sat next to and sometimes conversed with former Princeton University basketball coach Pete Carril, known as America’s best Ivy League basketball coach. James McPherson, Emeritus Princeton University history professor, Civil War authority, and Pulitzer Prize winner, bought for his granddaughter the “Bling” birdhouse I made that was auctioned off at a Princeton Community Housing auction. Film director and producer Bryan Singer, a West Windsor native, created the television medical series “House” that features not only Dr. House, but also “Princeton- Plainsboro Hospital.”
    Unbeknownst to him, Mr. Singer is responsible for two oft-asked questions about the new University Medical Center at Princeton being built in Plainsboro: “Will it be called Princeton Plainsboro Hospital?” (No, it will be University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.) “Will Dr. House have a parking space there?” (Perhaps.)
    The hardest question I have gotten recently came from auction co-creator Pam Wakefield who asked me (after I had read the submissions) if I had a favorite quote. All of them resonated, but one set of words reverberated just a little bit longer than the others — Cornel West’s:
    “There is a price for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie.”
    My favorite recent quote from someone not represented in the auction originated with Borough Clerk Lea Quinty, who announced in an email: “Mercer Road is OPEN.” Not particularly elegant, eloquent, or exotic, her words were music to my ears and the ears of thousands of people who use that road weekly. Now arriving on time to work, meetings and fundraisers, including the Princeton Public Library Centennial Gala, will be less an a crapshoot.
    For more information about the Centennial Gala, visit www.princetonlibrary.org/ friends or write to Mary Wisnovsky, [email protected].
A longtime resident of Princeton, Pam Hersh is vice president for government and community affairs with Princeton HealthCare System. She is a former managing editor of The Princeton Packet.