Table Of Content

Pew**<r^x Digitized by the Internet Archive 2013 in http://archive.org/details/literaryworldsilOOyoun Literary Worlds: Mind Illumination ofthe LTomPernSpecialCollections | HaroldB.LeeLibrary | BrighamYoungUniversity| 2010 U' Prologue hstartswithalittlesparkintheauthor'smind.Perhapsitissomethingthe)experienceorread,or aletterfromafriend,orasuggestionfromaneditor.Maybeitcomesfromcurrenteventsorafacet ofdaihjculture.Soman)possibilitiesexist.Buttheseideasmarkonlythebeginningoftheprocess. Writingmustbedoneandthenredone.Thereareeditorstoconsultbeforethefinishedcop) emerges.FinalKcomestheprintingandbinding.Whenallofthesestepsproduceapublishedcopy, thecreationbeginstoilluminatemainmoremindswithnewideas,epiphanies,andamusement. LiteraryIIbrlds:IlluminationoftheMindfocuseson24poetsandnovelistsinvariousstages oftheircareersandtheircreativeprocesses.Allareorwerepartofacommunit)ofwriters,and otherauthorsinspiredthemduringthecourseoftheircareers.Thedisplayedmanuscripts,letters. drawings,andartifactscomefromBernSpecialCollections.The)provideglimpsesintofavorite authorsperhapsnotconsideredbefore.Thiscatalogsharesthesparkofcreativityandindividual personalitywhichshapedaselectgroupofauthorsrangingfromVictoriantimesuntiltoday. ExpressionthroughWriting TheevolutionintheWesternworldtowardindividualswhoexpressthemselvesthroughwritinghas beenalengthyproeess.Beforethearrivaloftheprintingpress,thenumberofMedievalpeoplewho couldsharetheirvoieesthroughwritingwasseverelylimited.Onlytheeducatedeliteeouldread andwrite,meaningroyalty,nobility,andcourtandreligiousofficials,thevastmajorityofwhom weremen. Thenumberofreaderswasevenmorelimitedbecauseofthescarcityofbooks.Scribes,usually monks,laboriouslycopiedbooksoutbyhand,takingyearstocompletethelongestones.These bookswereenormouslyexpensive,eachexistingwithonlyahandfulofcopies.Or,alltoooften therewasonlyonecopy. forthesereasons,writingasameansforindividualstoexpressthemselveswasrare.Common peoplewhochosetolivebytheirpen—andwhoknewhowtowrite—usuallysoughtrichandnoble patronstosupportthem.Suchwasthecaseol'Ccol'f'rcvChaucer,sonol'arich\intnerwhocould pav lorhisson'seducation.ChaucerenjoyedthepatronageoftheEnglishDukeJohnofGaunt,son ofKingEdwardIII.InthedreampoemTheBokeoftheDuchesse,writtenaround 1368,'Chaucer praisedtheduke'sbelovedwileBlanche,whohaddied.ItssuccesswiththeDukehelpedChaucer tocontinuewriting.InthelasttenyearsolhislifeChaucerproducedtheenduringEnglishclassic. TheCanterburyTales.Itstimclessnessisdueingreatparttohoweachtaleilluminatesthelivesof commonpeopleasChaucersawthem. \erj lewwomenfoundthemeansandthelibertjtowrite.Ofthosewhodid,somewerenuns.Some wereroyaltyornobility.ChristinedePisan.however,wasacommonwoman,daughterol'acourt astrologerinFrancewhoprovidedherwithaneducation.Whenherhusband'sdeathleftheralone withthreechildren.Christinesupportedherselfasascribe.Atthesametimeshewrotepoetrjand prose,mostnotablyproducingTheBookoftheC'ityofLadies,oneoftheearliestendeavorsinto whatwouldlaterbelabeledasfeministthought."1Shedescribedthelifeofwomeninseveralsocial groups,intheprocessilluminatingherintellectandwell-trainedreasoningabilities.Ilowever, becauseChristinedePisandiedtenvearsbeforetheinventionofmovabletype,everythingshe wroteanddistributedhadtobemadeavailableinhandwriting. Withthearrivaloftheprintingpresscirca1439,3bookproductionbecamesosimplifiedthatit monumentallyincreasedthenumberof"unofficial"peopleabletocontributetheirvoicestowritten culture.Theupsurgefirstappearedinacademic,political,andreligiouswriting.Eventually it spreadtoothergenressuchaspoetrjandfiction,availableformerlyonljtotherichexceptinthe caseol'storvtelling•frommemorv.