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An Outstanding
Collection, A Remarkable Woman
By Trinity Peacock-Broyles
Virginia Woolf, one of the greatest writers
of 20th-century literature, wrote in a 1921 letter to a friend
that she wanted all women to learn to write. Those sentiments inspired
Frances
Hooper ’14 to give her collection of Woolf manuscripts and correspondence
to the college in 1986, in the hope that Smith students could
improve their writing techniques by studying the documents. So began
the outstanding
collection that turned the Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith
into a primary research site for Woolf’s original letters and manuscripts
as well as illustrations and rare copies of her work.
Smith students pursue
many of the issues that Woolf tangled with her entire life:
women’s education, class and money, feminism, pacifism and family life.
Woolf would probably be pleased to know that many Smith students enhance their
education by using the original materials that she labored over.
When they look
at original drafts of Woolf’s essays and books, Smith students
have a unique opportunity to see how her revisions shaped what thousands of readers
have enjoyed. Because of Hooper (and the gifts and bequests of such alumnae as
Bloomsbury scholar Elizabeth Power Richardson ’43 and noted bibliophile
Ann Safford Mandel ’53), Smith now has significant and unique collections
of materials from Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group -- a collective of writers,
artists and intellectuals who lived in the Bloomsbury district of London in the
early 20th century.
As Karen Kukil, associate curator of Smith’s Mortimer
Rare Book Room writes in a recent essay (Smith College News from the Libraries,
spring 2002), “Most
academic institutions have special collections, but few integrate them into the
curriculum as successfully as Smith.” Although many of the Woolf documents
have been published, much more can be learned from being able to hold the actual
manuscripts in your hand. For example, at a recent conference on Woolf,
scholars wondered about what implements Woolf used. Kukil
was able to report that Woolf
did indeed use pencil, because
Smith owns two of Woolf’s letters written in pencil. She could also discuss
the kinds of paper that Woolf experimented with. Working with these primary
documents, Kukil says, “is one of the great advantages of being at Smith.”
Smith
students, writes Kukil, “learn to appreciate the value of revision
after examining two of the 15 known drafts of Woolf’s short story ‘The
Searchlight.’ They also trace the first draft of her essay ‘The
Patron and the Crocus’ through its various printed incarnations in
The Nation and The Common Reader. The one substantive revision in the proofs
for
this essay
states that ‘a writer has no gender.’ This emendation by Woolf...always
sparks spirited discussion, especially in women’s studies classes.
In addition to the annotated page proofs of Woolf’s first collection
of essays, The Common Reader, the Hooper collection includes proofs of Orlando.
This fictional
biography of Woolf’s lover, Vita Sackville-West, is often the focus
of gender studies research, since the main character changes sex several
times
in the narrative.”
By studying some of the 140 letters written
between Woolf and writer Lytton Strachey, a member of the Bloomsbury
Group, Smith
students learn about the
power of correspondence
and effective editing. As Kukil points out, “Even though a selection
of the 140 letters [...] was published by the Hogarth Press in 1956, students
discover
new information when they examine the originals.”
Virginia Woolf’s
manuscripts and correspondence are not the only unique aspects of the Woolf and
Bloomsbury collections. Woolf scholar Stephanie Schoen ’91,
also associate director of stewardship in Smith’s advancement office, says
a highlight of the Bloomsbury Iconography Collection is the photograph album
compiled by Woolf’s father, Leslie Stephen; it was bequeathed to the Rare
Book Room in 1985 by alumnae Elizabeth Richardson and Phyllis Cooley Paige ’80.
Kukil says the album was “compiled in 1895 to mourn the death of his wife
[and] includes early pictures of his youngest daughter, Virginia Woolf.” The
album is labeled in Leslie Stephen’s handwriting. Kukil writes, “The
Stephen family album along with annotated page proofs of To the Lighthouse (Woolf’s
novel about her parents) are often used in history and comparative literature
courses to examine everything from Victorian mourning to sexual politics.”
For
interested art history students, the Smith College Museum of Art houses original
paintings by Bloomsbury artists, particularly those of Virginia Woolf’s
sister, Vanessa Bell. In addition to paintings and drawings by the Bloomsbury
Group, Smith owns a number of their original illustrations and designs, many
of them commissioned by Woolf for her book covers. Altogether, the Woolf
and Bloomsbury collections offer a unique perspective on a fascinating writer
and
her connection to a prolific group of authors and artists.
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Casual readers
and scholars alike will gather at Smith College for
the Thirteenth Annual Conference on Virginia Woolf: “Woolf
in the Real World” from June 5 to 8.
Since
a significant collection of Woolf’s work is
housed in the Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College
is a logical location for the 2003 international
assembly on Woolf. The collection of Virginia Woolf documents, including drafts
of Woolf’s short story “The Searchlight,” proofs of Orlando,
annotated page proofs of To the Lighthouse, and a family photo album, provides
an extraordinary resource for the conference.
Woolf led a multifaceted
life as a writer, journalist, publisher, teacher
and feminist. In cooperation with the
International Virginia Woolf Society, the conference
will concentrate on these “real world” aspects of Woolf’s
life. As Karen Kukil, associate curator of Smith’s Mortimer Rare Book
Room, says, “The
point of the conference is that Woolf is still influencing the real world.”
Woolf
conference steering committee member Stephanie Schoen ’91 states, “The
conference is a way to bring attention to the Woolf and Bloomsbury collections
at Smith, which are truly unique.” Woolf and Bloomsbury materials from
the Mortimer Rare Book Room and the Sophia Smith Collection will be on display
at the conference. The Botanic Garden will also present an exhibit on the gardens
of Virginia Woolf and other members of the Bloomsbury group. More than three
hundred international scholars are expected to attend. In addition to highlighting
the Woolf collection, the conference will feature special panels addressing
such topics as Bloomsbury iconography in photographs and film; the material
reality
of book arts, printing and publishing; Woolf’s influence on Sylvia Plath;
and electronic and primary resources for research and teaching.
Among the many
renowned plenary speakers on the program are Smith College President Carol
T. Christ and former president Jill Ker Conway. More
information can be
found at www.smith.edu/woolfconference.
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