I'm sitting in the New York Public Library typing away. Thought I'd get free internet access in one of the world's great libraries. Good to know the world's great libraries appreciate the pilgrimage I made with Anna and Paul to Canberra last year, when we slept outside the National Library and got into the "Treasures of the World's Great Libraries" exhibition at 3 am!

Nothing much happened Thursday, except the flight. Of course, with the first strike on Wednesday night, security at the airport the following morning was insane. After checking in (in the wrong lobby - the girl at the counter took pity on me and quickly put me through) I had to line up for security, and say a confused, rushed goodbye to Cassie. Had to take off: my hat, my scarf, my belt, my two sweaters and my shoes in order to go through the security checks. Decided, after redressing, to get into a New York kinda mood with a bagel on the other side of the security barriers. Five hour flight. Nothing interesting there. Listed to: Doris Day, Edith Frost, Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith and Gaslight Radio on the flight.

Managed to negotiate the subway and get to my hostel. Bought a metropass for the week - $17, unlimited transport. The subway is fantastic - trains so frequent, running all night, and going everywhere.

The hostel is nice - though tiny, Upper East Side, East 94th St, between 3rd and Lexington. A couple blocks from the park, with a nice cheap diner on the corner, and a farmer's supermarket nearby, which sells, among other things, amazing hommus and REAL (non-orange) cheese.

Yesterday went to the Guggenheim on 5th. Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle is basically taking up the whole museum - OI studied a little Barney last year, but everyone kept saying how it was inadequate to study other work, when the Cremaster cycle is the thing that makes him major, and, at the time, there wasn't really anyway to see the films - I think there are something like 8 sets of the cycle. So I sat in the cinema at the bottom of the museum and watched the first film, then wandered around the museum at all the installation that went with it. Amazing still photographs and sculptural objects. A crazy installation. I didn't really get a lot out of the work of Barney's I saw last year, but I found this exhibition amazing. If I had have been staying in New York longer I would have spent the whole day in the cinema and watched all five films. As it was, the world seemed very different when I emerged from the museum.

Went to the Whitney - wasn't so impressed with the current exhibitions, though some of their pieces from the permanent collection were great. Then to St Marks bookstore down in the East Village, and wandering around Midtown. Saw the Chrysler building, almost by complete accident!

TodayI'm off to the Internation Centre for Photography and then to a poetry reading, and, if the nice weather holds, I think I'lll ride down tot he Brooklyn Bridge this evening.

New York