No peace for the wicked

I am spending Christmas in the library. Well, that’s not quite 100% true. The whole family is taking today off work for the ritual turkey, presents and inebriation. But that’s as far as it goes.

I should say that I can think of many more exciting ways of spending the festive season (I’m not that sad). But I have an unmissable deadline on 2 January, which can only be “un-missed” if I get to work for a regulation eight hours or so, on most days between now and then. (OK that trip to Egypt didn't help!)

I realise that my blog may give the impression that a don’s life largely consists of whirlwind tours to exotic foreign locations. But most of what I do is infinitely more humdrum, and much less blog-worthy. Right now, it involves putting on my fingerless mittens and “checking references” in the Classics Faculty Library, whose heat has been firmly turned off until the beginning of January.

I feel a bit like the academic equivalent of Tiny Tim.

The unmissable deadline in question is from Harvard University Press. I finished writing my book on the Roman Triumph back in late September. It’s now been to the referees chosen by the Press and been formally accepted. But I am very keen for it to be published in 2007 (because that’s the only way it will count towards the national Research Assessment Exercise, the government’s sledge-hammer which divides funding between UK universities on the basis of the quality of their research – don’t get me started!). And to be sure of that, I have to get the absolute final, final version in on 2 January.

It’s tedious work. There’s not much thinking left to do. The big job is to make all the references in the foot-notes consistent. So, where now I sometimes refer to “Cicero’s In Catilinam”, sometimes to” Cicero’s Cat.”, and sometimes to his “Against Catiline”, I have to pull everything into line. It sounds simple, but actually it 's one of those simple problems that take forever.

There are all kinds of tricky decisions. Take the English or Latin dilemma. It’s confusing for any reader to have some titles in English, some in Latin -- so you want to opt for one or the other. But then “Ovid’s Fasti” sounds a bit silly if you call it “Ovid’s Calendar Poem” (which is the correct translation) – and equally “Livy’s History” sounds horribly pedantic when rendered as his “Ab Urbe Condita”. You can see how you can make a huge meal out of the task.

All this was keeping me pretty busy and I had got through three chapters out of nine, when late on Christmas Eve I had a sinking feeling. I was working off a print-out of what I thought was the last version of the text, exactly as it had been sent off to the publishers. But I kept coming across errors that I was sure that I had already corrected. In particular I was absolutely convinced that I had corrected the date of the reign of Edward VIII from 1937 (wrong) to 1936 (right).

Indeed I had. The horrible truth turned out to be that I was working off the print-out of an earlier draft. It could be worse; it is rectifiable. But this evening must now be spent transferring all the hand-written corrections from that version to the final one.

All the same, I feel eternally grateful that I work in a university that allows me access to one of the best classical research libraries in the world, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, even when it's closed to the rest of the world. You can keep all those Cambridge posh dinners; most of us don’t have time to go to them anyway. The libraries are the thing. It may be cold, and getting colder, but at least I can get to the books.

Anyone who think academics are a lazy bunch of lay-abouts should come and take a peek at the intellectual activity here over Christmas week. I’m not the only one among my colleagues beavering away. And even if I am giving it a break today, I am confident that if I were to go over to the library, I’d find some company.

Dedicated or mad? You choose.

Comments

[Travel Guy]

I'm glad you had time for turkey and inebriation! I say dedicated. Love your blog, thanks. :- )

[mary]

Little did Mark know how prophetic his remark about mojitos was to be . . . .

[mark ferem]

Hi Mary,
Congrats on the book! Just a cultural spirit passing thru. Don't forget to take a mini-mojito break.
Feliz Ano Nuevo! cheers,
Mark

[Peter Green]

It rings a bell, Mary. It definitely rings a bell. But you're having it comparatively easy. Next time try doing all that AND an analytical index for a 20 Dec. deadline before you've started your Christmas shopping. . . I do so agree about libraries, though. By one of those nice historical quirks, the University of Iowa has the best holdings in classics and the humanities, especially in serials and periodicals, stretching unbroken right back to the mid-19th cent., that I've met since leaving Cambridge. It almost makes up for Mid-West winters.

[Jane Fraser]

Sounds bliss - a lovely escape from eating and drinking too much and feeling rather brain-dead. And Ab Urbe Condita doesn't feel "horribly pedantic", it just feels right! I am writing these comments having just learned of the death of my old classics teacher, Brenda Thompson. She would definitely have approved of your industry. Ave atque vale.

[Roy Roebuck]

Cromwell would approve.

[Candadai Tirumalai]

At the University of Pennsylvania many years ago the Professor who wrote a classic History of the English Language, which went into several editions, was once asked why he chose to live so close to the University when so many of his colleagues planted themselves in the quieter suburbs. He replied that he needed immediate access to a large library at late hours when he was in search of references. Prof. Albert C. Baugh would have readily understood the spirit of your blog.

[libraryslave]

Just in case anyone disbelieves Mary about the slaves in the library over Christmas, let me confirm that 4 of us were there at 12.45 on Boxing day (inc. Prof Beard herself).
But actually it was as warm as toast...

[Marian Keall]

Hi Mary, I'm reading this with our mutual godmother and my aunt Joyce Davies who is delighted to learn what a blog is and to have your recent photograph and card.
She wishes you a very happy Christmas and forthcoming birthday!

[Monica]

Now I'm jealous! I can't even get back into my undergrad university's library until after the first!

Good luck with the editing! I certainly don't envy you that part.

And Merry Christmas!

[Jackie]

Neither, just doing to the very best of your considerable ability what you enjoy doing. The exotic trips are just a bonus. The one certainty is that the deadline will be met, come hell or high water! I look forward to reading the final result sometime in 2007.