{"id":58223,"date":"2023-01-19T03:35:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T03:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/tentaclii\/?p=58223"},"modified":"2023-01-19T04:32:24","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T04:32:24","slug":"romances-of-the-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/tentaclii\/index.php\/2023\/01\/19\/romances-of-the-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Romances of the Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"

I stumbled on a rare book listing, which made me aware of a book of possible interest. Romances of the Archive in Contemporary British Fiction<\/em> (2001) was claimed to have something on Lovecraft…<\/p>\n

Authors addressed in this collection of academic papers extend beyond the British canon despite the subtitle, among them H.P. Lovecraft, Umberto Eco.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I then found the TOCs for the book, which revealed more. The book is a general survey written by a single author, and obviously written from the American academic left as it was at the end of the 90s (expect Foucault, et al<\/em>). Several of the fiction authors are slotted into themed chapters, and I imagine there must be quite a few plot-spoilers. The author knows enough to consider that Lovecraft can effectively qualify as British, which is encouraging.<\/p>\n

There’s since been an explosion in ‘critical archival studies’ in academia, focused on institutional gate-keeping, erasure and memory, the making of art-chives by artists, technological impacts on presenting the past, etc. But I can’t say I’ve ever heard of this early book on the topic.<\/p>\n

The first half of the book looks interesting as a set of informative surveys useful for anyone writing on the theme of archives and libraries in the weird. Specifically tales featuring archival access and deep research as a key feature of the plot. Here are the main items in that part of the contents-list…<\/p>\n

Romances of the archive, identifying characteristics : A.S. Byatt and Julian Barnes.<\/p>\n

Wellsprings : Edmund Spenser, Henry James, H.P. Lovecraft, Josephine Tey, Umberto Eco.<\/p>\n

History or heritage? : Penelope Lively, Barry Unsworth, Peter Ackroyd.<\/p>\n

Time magic and the counterfactual imagination : Kingsley Amis, Lindsay Clarke, Lawrence Norfolk, Nigel Williams.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book is not on Archive.org, as yet.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Reading Room, Boston Public Library. The room opened in 1895, and was likely visited by Lovecraft when he encountered the city some 25 years later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I stumbled on a rare book listing, which made me aware of a book of possible interest. Romances of the …<\/p>\n

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