For this brief take on the 'Write Cut Rewrite' exhibition at Oxford’s Weston Library, we’re going to look at the latest of late amendments made by two eminent authors to their manuscripts.
Bruce Chatwin
The ‘Foldings and Gatherings’ constitute the book just before it’s bound, after the author has made corrections to the proofs. Printers don’t like sharing these with authors in case they take the opportunity to make last-gasp changes. However, somehow Bruce Chatwin got his hands on the F&Gs for 'In Patagonia' and simply couldn’t resist:
James Joyce
Unhappy with the first edition of 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man', James Joyce requested a change be made for the second edition. Can you spot what it is?
The exhibition’s curator points out that while it may seem a whim of an overly fussy author, it does make stylistic sense: Joyce tried to write the opening scene to reflect the way a young boy thinks.
The Write Cut Rewrite Bodleian Exhibition is on at the Weston Library, Oxford, until January 5, 2025.
Admission is free, there’s also an excellent café adjacent to the well-stocked Bodleian Shop. Let’s face it, who doesn’t need a Bodleian fridge magnet that calls for ‘Silence’?
Next: How the master of hard-boiled American detective fiction went about his business.
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