Stephen Graham was a British traveler and writer largely responsible for shaping British and American perceptions of Russia in the early twentieth century. He later traveled throughout Europe and North America, writing many novels and biographies that established him as an important author during his lifetime. Graham’s work, however, is… read more
Articles
Unpublished David Foster Wallace story donated to the Ransom Center
The Ransom Center’s extensive David Foster Wallace collection was recently enriched by a donation of the original manuscript of a little-known, unpublished story, titled “Shorn.” Wallace wrote the two-page story, about a boy having his hair cut by his mother, while a graduate student at the University of Arizona. The… read more
A graduation diploma: “The Eviction Notice Written in Latin”
![Spalding Gray’s “The Graduation Speech I Never Made” reads like a warm-up exercise created by an anxious speechwriter. Its concluding sentences, which include strikeouts and misspelled words, read: “I’m sorry to say I have no advice to give. How could I deign [sic] to give advice when my life is held together like an ill-made birds nest, and I am still surprised as well as shocked by each new dawn?”](https://sites.utexas.edu/ransomcentermagazine/files/2014/05/GrayS_15_9_001-768x982.jpg)
This week, The University of Texas at Austin prepares its podiums and fireworks for Saturday’s commencement ceremony, the 131st in the school’s history.
Acclaimed writer Ian McEwan’s archive acquired
The Harry Ransom Center has acquired the archive of writer Ian McEwan (b. 1948), one of the most distinguished novelists of his generation. The archive documents McEwan’s career and includes early material from his childhood and adolescence, as well as his earliest abandoned stories dating from the late-1960s and early… read more
Tomorrow in the theater: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Tomorrow, May 15, the Ransom Center will screen All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), the second film of the World War I Film Series, held in conjunction with the current exhibition, The World at War, 1914–1918. The film will be shown in the Ransom Center’s theater at 7 p.m.… read more
Sebastian Barry’s newest novel “The Temporary Gentleman” now available
Sebastian Barry, whose archive resides at the Ransom Center, has written a new novel, The Temporary Gentleman, the latest of six distinct yet related books based on the characters and events of Barry’s own family. The Irish poet, novelist, and playwright is the author of the critically acclaimed play The… read more