The Archiving “I”: A Closer Look in the Archives of Writers
Abstract
In 2009, in this journal, Heather MacNeil and I published “Arranging the Self: Literary and Archival Perspectives on Writers’ Archives.” Drawing on the critical literature on life writing, the article introduced the concepts of the “archiving ‘I’” and of “coaxers and coercers” to talk about the various agents that shape an archive over time, and to argue that the creation of an archive is a type of performative act. Here, the concepts are examined in more depth, drawing on research in the archives of eight Canadian and American writers, to show how the work of the archiving “I” and of coaxers and coercers affects the development of writers’ archives and to suggest the implications for the development of theory for personal archives.
RÉSUMÉ
En 2009 Heather MacNeil et moi-même avons publié dans cette revue l’article « Arranging the Self: Literary and Archival Perspectives on Writers’ Archives ». En s’inspirant des écrits scientifiques au sujet du récit de vie, notre texte a introduit les concepts du « "je" qui archive » et des « cajoleurs et des contrôleurs » pour aborder les divers agents qui façonnent les archives au fil du temps et pour déclarer que la création des archives est un type de performance. Ici, les concepts sont explorés davantage, en s’appuyant sur une recherche conduite dans les archives de huit auteurs canadiens et américains, à la fois pour montrer comment le travail du « je » qui archive et des cajoleurs et contrôleurs affecte le développement des archives des auteurs et pour avancer des idées sur l’implication que cela peut avoir pour l’élaboration de la théorie sur les archives personnelles.
Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication retain copyright in their work. They are required to sign the Agreement on Authors' Rights and Responsibilities that permits Archivaria to publish and disseminate the work in print and electronically. In the same agreement, authors are required to confirm that "the material submitted for publication in Archivaria, both in its paper and electronic versions, including reproductions of other works (e.g. photographs, maps, etc.) does not infringe upon any existing copyright." Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication retain copyright in their work and are able to publish their articles in institutional repositories or elsewhere as long as the piece is posted after its original appearance on archivaria.ca. Any reproduction within one year following the date of this agreement requires the permission of the General Editor.
