Earlier this month I had the opportunity to go to a retreat center for a few days, during which I also took a side trip to visit a library that promised to have primary records I hoped to use. Two important aspects of this:

First, I arrived at a very small local library in Coldwater, Michigan, where I met with a librarian I’d corresponded with about using their archives to research the Coldwater State Home. I can’t emphasize enough how important librarians are in the research process, far better than Google can ever be. Librarians know the sources and know other people who know more, and so on. So when I arrived in the archives room, the librarian met me with an arranged and sizable pile of materials she had pulled to help me out. I found some amazing images and documents, including coming to a much better understanding of what the population was really like when my grandmother was there. Disappointingly, I also learned that many things like rosters and ledgers had been sent to the official Michigan State Library and Archives in Lansing, the state capital. Then, as we were discussing this, a woman conducting her own research chimed in and asked me what I was researching. Turns out she not only had information about the hospital to share with me–anecdotal, admittedly–but also that she had attended school with my mom! From her, I heard stories about the impression my grandmother had made, and some hilarious stories about my mom. Small town life.

Second, the retreat center itself was nothing short of remarkable. I had a tiny cabin mostly taken up by a desk in front of a picture window overlooking the woods. I had no internet, no signal at all, just my mind and my research materials (and very good coffee). Though I completed much of my education way back before the internet, it’s been a long time since I had that kind of silence. It was uncomfortable and crucial. One day, I drafted nine or ten poems, the kind of work I can’t achieve in my daily life. My advice is to find times of NO interruption. Leave the phone, music, television, computer–just think and write. This obviously can’t happen in the research-gathering phase, but later it can be the key to figuring out your voice and angle. Think of it as being able to see from a new perspective.