Tag: Yale University

Yale University has become an important literary laboratory for me since I found the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, visiting as an independent researcher.

During a number of trips, I’ve reserved work by writers whose literary legacies are decidedly important to the advancement of writing and criticism. My first archival foray introduced me to Edmund Wilson’s journals, Henry Miller’s Paris diaries, and letters and sonnets written by Petrarch (on parchment; in his own hand)! I’ve combed through Edith Wharton’s papers and explored a number of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s dossier, which includes her correspondences with Arthur Ficke Davison, Floyd Dell, Bunny—as Edmund Wilson’s friends referred to him, and others.

Each choice was significant to projects I’m working on, and each time I think about holding their words between my fingertips, I’m in awe that I have access to such important documents. I’ll be returning in just a little over a month to delve into Gertrude Stein’s papers, the ten boxes I’ve reserved contain letters passed between her and other writers, photographs of her travels and drafts of works she created along the way. I’m grateful that such a place exists and that it is open to me as I attempt to craft my own literary legacy.