The Boundaries of the Literary Archive: Reclamation and Representation

Citation

Sally Irvine-Smith (2015), "The Boundaries of the Literary Archive: Reclamation and Representation", Library Review, Vol. 64 No. 3, pp. 268-269. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-12-2014-0140

This book takes as its theme the conceptual boundaries of the archive. The individually authored papers are concerned with how archival material may cross the boundaries of the collection to inform literary scholarship; how archival processes can construct, or break down, barriers for the researcher; and how boundaries between scholar and archivist are overcome.

The central theme of the volume is to foreground the archive in telling the story. In times when archivists and librarians are constantly required to justify the resources necessary to maintain their original collections – perhaps even their very existence – these papers may give them some reason to take heart. The 12 papers amply demonstrate why we collect, maintain and access original documents.

However, this work is far from an archival textbook; only two chapters deal specifically with archival themes. Hodson investigates the issues of ethics and privacy surrounding collections of personal papers – issues which impact on the basic archival premise of free access to all. In a study of the papers of Canadian author Douglas Coupland, Jennifer Douglas questions not only the applicability the principle of original order to personal papers, but also the imposition by the archivist of a logical order in the form of a series structure. She concludes that the archivist is unable to add any value to personal papers in terms of making the identity of their creator more accessible. Many archivists and librarians would argue that this is simply not their job: they exist to preserve the collection and make it accessible. It is for others to undertake the analysis of the texts and it is, indeed, to this task that the majority of the chapters are devoted.

Van Mierlo’s archaeological dissection of William Wordworth’s Prelude, Smith’s detailed analysis of drafts of Ted Hughes’s collection Cave Birds and Bailey’s comparison of the French and English drafts of Samuel Beckett’s Ill Seen Ill Said not only demonstrate the added detail and texture an original archival collection can bring to the literary study, but provide original insights into the work of their subjects. Barker outlines his attempts to reclaim the disparate archive of John Galsworthy, at least in a virtual sense, and in doing so reclaim his reputation. He argues that Galsworthy’s reputation may have fared better if his archive had not been dispersed and diminished.

Baker’s interesting comparison of a manuscript copy of an Elizabeth Gaskell story with the final version published in Dickens’ All the Year Round reveals the latter’s editorial practices and influence. Dowson’s investigation of the private papers of Elizabeth Jennings and Cosgrave’s analysis of the use of original letters in the Victorian biography of Amelia Opie may help to bring these less well-known figures to a wider audience.

And while Kukil shows how the letters of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath are used to introduce budding scholars to the importance of primary sources, Stead leads us to question the concept of originality in these sources. In the only chapter not devoted to literary individuals, Stead uses letters published in fan magazines from the era of silent films to remind us that original material comes in many forms.

This book will have an immediate appeal to the archivist or curator of personal papers, but its attraction is broader than this. It will appeal to all those who have an interest in the writing – and writing practices – of the literary figures included.