During her US state visit, Queen Camilla delivered an address at the New York Public Library, highlighting the importance of literacy, the imaginative power of Winnie-the-Pooh, and the role of the BBC’s Letter From America in fostering cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and the United States.
A Historic Cultural Exchange
Exactly 85 years ago, British journalist Alistair Cooke fell in love with New York City and became a US citizen. For 58 years, he hosted the radio programme Letter From America, aiming to explain American life to a British audience. Cooke, a genuine wordsmith with a profound passion for books, once quoted Donald Hall: “When we read great literature, something changes in us that stays changed.” Queen Camilla noted that if this is true, then the New York Public Library, through its own alchemy, changes its visitors for the better.
The Enchanted Library and Literary Crossings
The Queen compared the library to an enchanted place, similar to the 100-Acre Wood where Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends lived before their pilgrimage to the library. She acknowledged the literary giants who crossed the Atlantic in the opposite direction, including Henry James, TS Eliot, and Sylvia Plath. More recently, Bill Bryson listed his loves about the UK: Marmite, village fetes, country lanes, and beans on toast. The Queen added that another necessity is literature, quoting Joan Didion: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
The Power of Books
Queen Camilla credited her father for inspiring a lifelong passion for reading. She recalled the first Americans she knew and loved were characters from children’s novels like Little Women, What Katy Did, and Charlotte’s Web. Five years ago, during the global pandemic, she launched an informal book club on Instagram called The Reading Room, recommending books she enjoyed. The club grew beyond her wildest dreams, featuring 12 American authors, including Paul Gallico, Bonnie Garmus, Ann Patchett, Min Jin Lee, and Donna Tartt. Three festivals welcomed Harlan Coben, Julia Quinn, and Kristin Hannah.
Impact and Charity Work
The Reading Room’s online content now reaches over 12 million people in 183 countries. Three years ago, it became a charity, encouraging the joy of reading and providing books to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Research by the charity found that even five minutes of reading fiction daily can reduce stress levels by almost 20% and enhance mental wellbeing. The Queen emphasized that books bring people together and transcend barriers. She expressed a desire for her Reading Room to join the grand tradition of cultural exchange between the two countries, spreading the message that, as Alistair Cooke and John Steinbeck said, “There are never enough books.”
