|
The James
Joyce material at The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library,
Special Collections is uniquely situated within the archives of a
number of people whose interest, commitment, and effort made
possible the work we are here to study and the creative life we
are here to celebrate. The great prose works, Dubliners, A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans
Wake, and the poetry, are not the products of solitary genius.
The creative and practical labors of his many friends, patrons,
publishers, readers and critics enabled and ensured the success
of Joyce’s art. The material on exhibit here is drawn from
several unique collections, libraries and papers: Harriet Shaw
Weaver’s, Joyce’s unparalleled proponent; Lucie and
Paul Léon’s, without whose friendship and assistance
Joyce’s final work may never have appeared; Edmund
Wilson’s and Cyril Connolly’s, two eminent literary
critics; Rebecca West’s, Joyce’s distinguished
contemporary; Ellsworth Mason’s, one of the first and most
significant critics of Joyce’s early works; and finally
Richard Ellmann’s, Joyce’s most influential critic,
his biographer.
This endeavor
was a collaborative effort from the start. Firstly, we would
like to thank those in Tulsa who worked with us on this project:
above all, Lori Curtis, Head of Special Collections, without
whose initiative, excitement and perseverance this exhibit could
not have come about; Milissa Burkart, who designed and prepared
the exhibit’s displays; Gina Minks, who produced the
exhibit website; and Sean Latham, of the English Department and
the James Joyce Quarterly, for making the exhibit a highlight of
this year’s symposium; and Israel Lopez and Leslie Cairns
of the Office of University Relations.
We would
especially like to thank our friends and colleagues who
“volunteered” to read and comment on this project as
it progressed: Laura Barnes Weldon, New York and Dublin; Daniel
Ferrer, Paris; Michael Groden, London, Ontario; Geert Lernout,
Antwerp; Sam Slote, Buffalo; and Robert Spoo, Tulsa.
Only because
we knew we could check our work at another exemplary Joyce
Collection were we confident enough to undertake an exhibit in
Tulsa from the distance of Buffalo. We would like to thank our
colleagues there, Robert J. Bertholf, Curator; Michael Basinski,
Associate Curator; and Dr. Melissa Banta, our fellow Joycean all
at The Poetry/Rare Books Collection, University Libraries, State
University of New York, University of Buffalo.
In the past
fifty years curators and librarians have accumulated, catalogued
and are making digitally accessible a wealth of primary archival
material. It is the task of bibliographers and biographers,
researchers and teachers in the next generation to interpret this
vast archive and shed new light on Joyce’s modernity. We
hope this exhibit contributes to that endeavor.
Luca Crispi
& Stacey Herbert
Buffalo – Tulsa – Buffalo, 2003
|