Register 20 Seats Remaining

Keeping a Commonplace Book

Session one will be an introduction to keeping a commonplace book. Session two participants bring in their commonplace books and discuss their processes. Registration is encouraged.

In its simplest form, a commonplace book is a place to record and organise all those quotes, stories, and ideas from other people so that you can recall them to inspire you in the future. 

In fact, if you’ve tried (and failed) at keeping a journal or diary in the past, a commonplace book might be a good alternative. But even if you’re an avid journaler, a commonplace book is something quite different and complementary. They’re something like a scrapbook for your thoughts, a place to collect notes, quotes, poems, and facts that you may wish to refer back to in the future. 

Commonplace books have been kept since antiquity and were quite popular through the 19th century.  Intellectual women, who were often excluded from formal education, kept them and might include quotes and proverbs as well as recipes, etiquette, and housekeeping advice that would have been relevant to them. Scientists even used them as early forms of databases.