The recent publication of The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume I, 1907-1922 has re-ignited public interest in Hemingway’s personal life and documents. In the introduction to the book, editor Sandra Spanier writes: “Hemingway’s letters constitute this autobiography in the continuous present tense. They enrich our understanding of his creative processes,… read more
Articles
Denis Johnson papers open for research
Since July 2011, Harry Ransom Center archivist Amy Armstrong has been processing and cataloging the Denis Johnson papers, which are now available for research. Armstrong shares her insight about processing the Johnson materials. “Guess what collection I just started processing?” I asked my husband in a voice that implied he… read more
Tom Stoppard’s "Arcadia" opens this week in Austin
Playwright Tom Stoppard wanted to incorporate ideas of chaos theory and thermodynamics into the intricately structured plot of his play Arcadia. His archive shows how he consulted with his son, a physics graduate student at Oxford University, and with his son’s colleagues to get the details just right. The play… read more
Book chronicles “Postcards From America” road trip with Magnum photographers
In May 2011, five Magnum photographers and one writer hopped on an R.V. at the Harry Ransom Center and launched a two-week road trip from Texas to California. 1,750 miles and thousands of photographs later, the result of the “Postcards from America” road trip is a limited-edition book that was… read more
Scholar discovers missing bassoon line in Ravel manuscript
While studying the 1911 manuscript of Maurice Ravel’s “Mother Goose” ballet suite, housed at the Ransom Center, scholar Arbie Orenstein discovered the largest error in all of Ravel’s scores: a bassoon line that’s been missing from the published edition for the last century. Orenstein’s discovery comes just in time for… read more
Anita Desai’s latest book now on shelves
Anita Desai, whose archive is housed at the Ransom Center, recently published The Artist of Disappearance, a collection of three novellas that ruminate on art and memory, illusion and disillusion, and the sharp divide between life’s expectations and its realities. Born in India, Desai often explores themes related to her… read more