Beating the Lockdown Blues
Sitting at home with nothing to do – then it’s the ideal time to find out more about John Muir, his life and adventures. But where to start?
We’ve pulled together some of our favourite websites – they cover the gamut of ‘John Muir online’.
The first is us, of course: https://www.jmbt.org.uk/learn/factsheets/. Our factsheets cover many aspects of John Muir’s time in Dunbar, his family and other people in his life. We’re looking on the temporary closure of the Birthplace as an opportunity to refresh the factsheets, and add to them – watch this space for updates.Why not use the feedback section of this site to let us know if there’s a topic you would like covered in our factsheets?
Your next port of call could be the John Muir Exhibit, curated by Harold Wood: https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/. Harold has spent years putting together themed collections of Muiriana – it is, literally, all here! There are sections on Muir’s writing (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/books.aspx ) and directions to the Internet Archive where many different formats can be found – for Kindle, iPad, and more; just use the search box and scroll thru’ the results. Elsewhere there are Meditations (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/quotes.aspx ), and links to Film and Documentaries (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/bibliographic_resources/john_muir_bibliography/film_and_video.aspx ). Just note that many are off-site links and some may be behind firewalls or ask for a membership or a fee to access.
Muir’s role is often mentioned on the US National Park Service Website (https://www.nps.gov/index.htm ); it ought be, as it is John’s Legacy to us all!
Now, of course, we have our own National Parks (https://www.gov.scot/policies/landscape-and-outdoor-access/national-parks/; https://www.nationalparksengland.org.uk/) and the John Muir Trust (https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/ ) and even if we can’t go to these places at present, perhaps the information will be useful for planning ahead.
Finally, we can’t miss out the Special Collections at the Holt Atherton Library, University of the Pacific. They hold virtually all of John’s surviving manuscripts, letters and journals; and they’re all digitised; and most of them are transcribed and keyword searchable. Find it all here: https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections/john-muir-papers.html. There’s even a transcription project underway – you could help: https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections/online-transcription-project.html.
We hope that this selection will inspire readers to find out more about the life and legacy of John Muir. And, once we’re open again, we’d be delighted to see you in person, at the Birthplace, where the staff are always keen to answer questions and supply information.
