A Beckett Digital Manuscript Chronology: Linking the Letters to the Manuscripts

Pim Verhulst, Dirk Van Hulle, Felix Hermans

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to explore how digital research methods can help overcome the problem of accessibility and engage Beckett’s letters in closer dialogue with his manuscripts than has hitherto been the case. We will do so by first situating correspondence as a research object within the field of genetic criticism. We then go on to discuss some examples of how manuscript studies could enrich epistolary research, and how letters cannot always be strictly separated from drafts. In a next section, we focus on the aspect of dating and broaden the scope to an interplay of archival materials, illustrating how their combination allows for a detailed study of ‘creative concurrence’. This emerges as a driving force of Beckett’s work and combines activities such as reading, writing, translating or directing with various types of events. We conclude with a brief overview of the work-in-progress Manuscript Chronology, in order to explain its rationale and digital architecture, as well as to argue its pivotal role in a genetic complete works edition of Beckett’s oeuvre, where corresponding is highlighted as a central creative activity alongside fictional composition.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCorresponding with Beckett
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

Publication series

NameNew Interpretations of Samuel Beckett in the 21st Century
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan

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