Moses on Writing

            Now that I have finished my second box of digitizing I feel like I have the hang of things and am indeed- as one of the other interns said- becoming a robot.  I am at over two thousand digitized items and nearing halfway through the first step of my third box.  As my internship starts winding down, I become more and more intent on finishing as much as possible before I leave to graduate back in Florida.  The idea that I have digitized and found the metadata for so many letters alone isn’t the main source of work I have encountered.  It is reading all of those letters and picking out what is important in them, as I may have mentioned before.  Finding gems are one of the best parts of the job especially when I can relate to them.  That’s one of the best parts about digitizing.  You can find things to relate to that you never knew existed.  

Property of the Ralph Rinzler Archives, Smithsonian

               This is one of the letters that caught my attention.  In a letter to Nancy Brown, Moses Asch shows a very human side of himself that is ordinarily difficult to find.  Asch was so driven towards his goal that oftentimes that is all that could be seen in his letters and his work.  Like I talked about in my last post, sometimes people forgot that he was a human who had human problems and emotions.  (Maybe they thought he was a robot, too!)  

               The discussion about writer’s block and the “creative artist” was something I had never seen Asch talk about before.  It was almost sentimental and he was exhibiting a lot of personality.  In a way it was a pep talk.  This was a wonderful change from the other letters where he had to defend the contracts his artists had signed.    He was supportive of Nancy Brown and her creativity, even if it meant delving away from the children’s music that was so popular in the 70s.  

               Though I must warn, what is digitized is not always all that is there.  There is more out there than what the internet can show you.  Never stop looking just because you think the internet and digital mediums are good enough.  Digital resources should NEVER replace physical contact and the desire that curiosity produces.