Michael Ondaatje began his career as a poet but is best known as the author of the 1992 Booker Prize-winning novel The English Patient, which was made into a critically-acclaimed motion picture. He was born in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in 1943; he moved to Canada at age 18. [Read more…] about A nomad’s writing finds a home
As many readers of this blog will know, Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust’s Biblia latina (Mainz, 1454–1455) represents the first substantial book printed from moveable type on a printing press. Without question, it is a milestone in information technology. And yet, it is important to remember that [Read more…] about Instructions for reading aloud in the Gutenberg Bible
Coetzee’s global reputation rests on his literary output, for which he received a Nobel Prize in 2003. Before he embarked on a career as a scholar and writer, the South African–born writer was a computer programmer in the early years of the industry’s development (1962–1965). I believe that this experience, while short, was vital for the development of Coetzee’s writerly project. While visiting the Ransom Center on a research fellowship, I examined Coetzee’s papers, which offer tantalizing clues about his neglected “other career.” [Read more…] about The computer poetry of J. M. Coetzee’s early programming career
The English writer Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943) is best known for her lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness (1928). Pronounced obscene after a sensational and scandalous court case, it was banned [Read more…] about The silent novel in Radclyffe Hall’s ground-breaking The Well of Loneliness
“El problema es mío”, confesó García Márquez a un amigo por carta en julio de 1966, “que después de tantos años de trabajar como un animal, me siento agobiado de cansancio, sin perspectivas ciertas, salvo en el único terreno que me gusta y no me da de comer: la novela”. [Read more…] about “Una historia de Cien años de soledad a través de sus documentos”
The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin announces its appointment of Aaron T. Pratt as Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts. Pratt, who begins May 30, will provide curatorial support for the Ransom Center’s early book and manuscript holdings and participate in a variety of activities that promote their teaching and research use. [Read more…] about Harry Ransom Center appoints curator of early books and manuscripts
