Keeping (and Telling) the Past

Begin here, at this thought-provoking program with a welcome by Christina Davis, Curator, Woodberry Poetry Room, who speaks of the derivation of the word manuscript (among other words) and suggests thinking about “the relationship” of manuscripts within “our own digital era … to libraries and archives.” Next up is Kristen Case, who offers a beautiful introduction to Susan Howe, at the end telling of her many accomplishments, but in the beginning referring to “acts of attention we call poetry and scholarship,” and also – “the kind of love that haunts an archive.” Susan Howe then gives a stunning overview, a collage of slides from objects and manuscripts in many libraries. Presenting the images, she then considers how electronic technologies transform how people read, write, and remember today. The promotional text says, “The nature of archival research is in flux; we need to see and touch objects and documents; now we often merely view the same material on a computer screen—digitally, virtually, etc. While new and often thrilling possibilities are emerging for artists and scholars, “Spontaneous Particulars” is Susan Howe’s collaged swan song to the old ways.”