James Salter’s All That Is (Knopf), his first new novel since 1979, is a reflective work, a reconsideration of many of the themes he has explored in his earlier fiction. Looking back at Salter’s prior novels through his archive at the Harry Ransom Center, one can see the artist at work and better understand the sentiments that guide his craft.
Some notebooks from Salter’s archive can be seen on The Daily Beast.
Learn more about what Salter’s notebooks reveal about his creative process.
Paper Conservator Jane Boyd recently completed a treatment of the 1819 manuscript for Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “The Battle of Marathon,” which was recently digitized. Browning’s method of revising involved sewing pieces of paper containing handwritten notes directly into the manuscript, which had to be removed and preserved during the digitization process.
The J. M. Coetzee papers are now open for research at the Ransom Center. Coetzee writes about his ties to The University of Texas at Austin and what it means to have his papers housed here.
Caption: April 1, 1965, letter to J. M. Coetzee from C. L. Cline, Chairman of the Department of English at The University of Texas.
T. C. Boyle, whose papers are housed at the Ransom Center, will give a reading Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Avaya Auditorum in an event organized by the Michener Center for Writers.
See how you can enter to win a signed copy of “The Tortilla Curtain” by Boyle.
Learn how a scholar used the Norman Mailer papers to research the career of boxer Floyd Patterson.
Norman Mailer’s notes for the Liston-Patterson re-match in Las Vegas on July 22, 1963. © Norman Mailer Estate.
Samantha Pinto came to the Ransom Center as a fellow from Georgetown University to work on her project “Africa, (Re)Circulated: Cosmopolitan Performances of Mid-Century Modernity.”
Pinto’s research, which focuses on the United States’s perception of Africa, involved documents and multimedia components from the Transcription Centre archive. The materials from the archive related to Africa are in their own finding aid, which Pinto says will make the Ransom Center a destination for students and scholars in the field of African and African Diaspora studies.
Pinto’s work was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research Fellowship Endowment. Read her related article “Africa and the Archive: Researching the Transcription Centre.”
A researcher explores “How to Revise a True War Story” in the Tim O’Brien papers at the Harry Ransom Center.
Photo: Snapshot of Tim O’Brien in Vietnam. Unknown date and photographer.
In honor of Tarzan’s 100th birthday this year, the above books are various Hebrew editions of Tarzan books from the Harry Ransom Center’s collections. Some are translations of books written by creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others are inspired by the original series.
Tarzan be-mikhleʼot ha-ʻavadim (1954 or 1955) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by B. Gila’i.
Ṭarzan ṿe-taʻalumat ha-aṭom (1962) by Yariv Amatsyah.
Milḥemet Ṭarzan ba-Germanim ( or Tarzan Fights the Germans) (1944) by Gedalyahu Amitai.
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1946 or 1947) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by Gedalyahu Amitai under the pseudonym of G. Ben-Ḥanah.
Tarzan the Invincible (1945) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by Gedalyahu Amitai under the pseudonym of G. Ben-Ḥanah.
Tarzan of the Apes (194-) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by Gedalyahu Amitai under the pseudonym of G. Ben-Ḥanah.
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (195-) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by Gedalyahu Amitai under the pseudonym of G. Ben-Ḥanah.
Tarzan and the Ant Men (1953 or 1954) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, adapted and translated by B. Gila’i.
O. Henry’s illustrated comic verses for his daughter, Margaret, not dated.
To celebrate the 150th birthday anniversary of American writer William Sidney Porter—better known by his pen name of O. Henry—Cultural Compass has compiled a slideshow of images from the O. Henry manuscript collection. The Ransom Center holds two boxes of materials that include letters and manuscripts.
Writer Iain Sinclair, whose papers are housed at the Ransom Center, tours the campus at The University of Texas at Austin during a visit in April 2010. Photos by Anthony Maddaloni.
Ghost Milk: Recent Adventures Among the Future Ruins of London on the Eve of the Olympics (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012), the latest work by British writer-filmmaker Iain Sinclair, explores the changes in East London as the city prepared for the 2012 Olympics and concludes with his visit to the United States, including his April 2010 trip to the Ransom Center.
Sinclair, whose archive resides at the Ransom Center, delivered a public talk, met with students, and worked with archivists cataloging his papers. Long walks in urban areas are a frequent topic of Sinclair’s writing, and Sinclair agreed to tour the campus, including the 307-foot-tall Tower, and offer his insights.
Ghost Milk was published in July in the United States and was recently profiled in the Los Angeles Times.
