Issue 26 ! !!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! April 2017!
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12 ISSN$2040!2597%%(online)! ! Issue 26 ! !!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! April 2017! Published by the Katherine Mansfield Society, Bath, England Contents" " Postgraduate"conference"by"Joe" Review:'D.'H.'Lawrence’s'The$Lost$ Williams"p."3" Girl!!by#Gerri%Kimber%p.%22" ‘The$Allure$and$Heartbreak$of$the$ ‘KM’s%Russian"Dream’!by#Victoria# Archives’!by!Todd$Martin$p.$7" Robson&p.&28" Review:'Gerri'Kimber’s'Katherine) Mansfield:+The+Early+Years!by# Hamilton)Gardens)update)by)Gay) Aimee%Gasston%p.13" Main!p.#32" ‘Miss$Brill$at$the$Performance$ ‘Tom$L.$Mills’!by#Richard# Cappuccio(p.(16" Arcade’!by#Sue#Jamieson#p.#34" Excerpt(from(‘Miss$Brill’s$Lament’!by# ‘Poem’!by#Jan#Kemp#p.#19" Jessica'Whyte'p.'35" Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2 2 ! Welcome'to'issue'26'of'the'Katherine'Mansfield'Society'Newsletter.!Many%of%our% members,' in' particular' those' from' North' America," celebrate" the" publication" of" Katherine)Mansfield!and$the$Bloomsbury$Group!edited%by%our%own%Todd%Martin."In" other&news&it"is"exciting"to"hear"that"Wellington’s!collection(of(Katherine(Mansfield( personal)and)literary)papers)has)been)added)to)the)UNESCO)Memory)of)the)World) New$ Zealand$ documentary$ heritage! register.( Less( fabulous( was( the( news( of# a# proposal! to# exhume# and# bring! back% KM’s" remains" to" the" same" city." Thanks" to" members&who&wrote&in&support&of&retaining(the(grave(in(Avon.! ! In#the#last#newsletter#we#reported#on#the#short#story#Miss#Brill#in#the#context$of$ Tyro% Heath’s% short% film.& In& this& issue& the& same$ story$ is$ considered$ as$ part! of# Wellington’s+ Performance+ Arcade+ and+ in+ turn+ as+ inspiration& for! Jessica' Whyte’s# essay% ‘Miss$Brill’s$ Lament’.!Thanks$to$ Gerri%Kimber!and$ Aimee$ Gasston$ for$ their$ book$reviews!and$to$Joe$Williams$for$his$report$on$the$postgraduate(conference(in( Oxford'which,'incidentally,'was$a$feast$of$$both%literary(discourse(and!Jamie&Oliver’s& food!%Thanks'also'to'Richard'Cappuccio'for'a'preview'of'his'latest'research'on#Tom# L.#Mills#and$to!Sue$Jamieson,$Victoria$Robson$and$Gay$Main$for$updates$from$New$ Zealand.! ! Inside'you'will'find'notices'of'several'inspiring'events'occurring'over'the'next'four' months' culminating' in' the' Annual' Birthday' Lecture.' Also' please' note' other' announcements* including# the# details# and# deadline# for# submissions# to# the# yearbook(:(Katherine(Mansfield(and(Virginia(Woolf(and(essay(prize((31!August).! ! Finally'thanks'to#Susan&Wilson&for&letting&us&reproduce&her&painting&Prelude!on#the# front& of& this& newsletter." Susan" Wilson" has" forthcoming+ solo+ shows+ at+ The+ Pah+ Homestead)in)Auckland,!New$Zealand$and$Browse$&$Darby$in$Cork$St$London$W1! in#2018.! I" am" pleased" to" announce" that" Andrea" Van" Poeteren" is" the" winner" of" our" prize," Pierce&Butler’s&book,%A"Child"of"the"Sun."Andrea'correctly'identified'James'Young'as' the$doctor$that$attended$KM$at$the$Prieuré$and$was$present$when$she$died.! ! To#enter#our#next#competition#answer#the#following:# What! was! the! name! of! little! collection!of!poems!that!KM!put!together!(and!illustrated!the!front!cover)!when!she! was!just!14!years!old?!The!winner!will!receive!a!copy!of!Sarah!Laing’s!Mansfield*and* Me:*A*Graphic*Novel.* 123 Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3 3 Postgraduate+Conference+at+Oxford" " by#Joe#Williams" About& a& kilometre& north& of& Brasenose& College—where% John% Middleton% Murry% studied—stands& a& tall& palladian& building& behind& a& grassy& forecourt& that& once& served& as& Oxford’s& first& hospital.& Quite& recently& refurbished,& the& Radcliffe& Humanities* Building* is* home* to* TORCH,* the* Oxford* Research* Centre* in* the* Humanities,+ our+ generous+ hosts+ for+ this+ year’s+ Katherine$ Mansfield$ Society’s$ postgraduate+conference.+Characteristically+infused+with+a+touch+of+Bloomsbury+ and$ New$ Zealand,$ the$ event$ brought$ together$ early$ career$ researchers,$ from$ master’s( students( to( recently( submitted( doctoral( students,( with( established( scholars'for'a'supportive'and'engaging'day.'! ! Elleke%Boehmer,%director%of%TORCH%and%Professor%of%World%Literatures%in%English% at# Oxford# University,# introduced# our# discussions# with# some# prefatory# remarks# on#the#recent#appeal#to#exhume#Mansfield’s#remains#from!Avon%in%France%to%her% birthplace+ in+ Wellington.+ Boehmer,+ perhaps+ spiritedly,+ invited+ the+ delegates+ to+ reflect' on' the' orientation' of' the' critical' responses,' such' as' the' Katherine' Mansfield* Society* committee’s) unanimous) disapproval* of* the* plan.* Introducing+ her$ new$ interest' in' ‘Southness’—a" collective(experience(of(the( global& south—Boehmer' suggested' that' such' positions'may'be'looking'at' the$ idea$ from$ a$ northernE hemisphere(perspective.(! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Elleke%and%Gerri%chair%the%discussion" ! Quoting(provocatively(from(Mansfield’s+poetry,+J.+M.+Coetzee,+and+the+final+lines+ of#Gerri#Kimber’s#new#biography#of#Mansfield’s#early#years,#Boehmer#reaffirmed# Mansfield’s+ home+ in+ the+ South+ as+ the+ spectre+ that+ continued+ to+ haunt+ and+ inspire'Mansfield’s'life'until'the'end.'These'thoughts&continued&to&reverberate& throughout'the'day.! 45 Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 4 4 Our$first$panel$saw$Sanna$Melin$Schyllert$argue$that$in$the$work$of$Elizabeth$ von$Arnim,$ whose$ cousin$ was$Mansfield,$ heroines$ usurp$the$conventions$ of$ classic& romances& through& their& sacrifice.& Helen& Saunders# demonstrated# Mansfield’s+shifting+appreciation+of+James+Joyce+and+pondered+the+reciprocity+ of# such# admiration,# examining# Joyce’s# ‘The# Dead’# and# Mansfield’s# ‘The# Stranger’) in) dialogue) with) one) another.) Moira) Mitchell) offered) a) new) and) exciting( psychoanalytic% reading% of% ‘The% Garden% Party’% to% complement% and% reorient'a'myriad'of'existing'readings.'! ! In# our# second# panel,# Valeria# Taddei# argued# for# the# unfixed# nature# of# Mansfield’s+epiphanies,+exploring+Mansfield’s+lifeEwriting'in'connection'to'her' creative(practice.&Karli&Wessale’s&talk&followed&neatly&on,&offering&a&reading&of& epiphany(in(‘The(Little(Governess’(that(forces(the(heroine(to(accept(her(gloomy( reality.) Louise) Edensor) then) explained) how) Mansfield’s) writing) developed) during' the' period' in' which' she' wrote$ for$ the$ New$ Age,$ and$ considered$ the$ affinity'between'Mansfield,'A.'R.'Orage'and'Beatrice'Hastings.'! ! Lastly,(Christina(Dodson(Castillón(powered(through(every(technical(difficulty(we( managed'to'throw'at'her'and'delivered'a'new'reading'of'madness'in'Mansfield’s( ‘Prelude’,*contextualising*them*in*a*socioEhistorical*environment.*My*own*paper* argued'for'seeing'the'revision'of'Mansfield’s'The$Aloe$to#‘Prelude’#as#an#attempt# to# remove# the# colonial# dimension# of# New# Zealand# life.# And# finally,# Lotta# Schneidemesser"took"us"back"to"the"Frankfurt"Book"Fair"in"2012,"and"examined" how$Mansfield$can$be$emblematic$of$New$Zealand$literature$when$she$is$taken$ from%her%context.! 678 Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 5 5 ! Our$ keynote$ was$ splendidly$ delivered$ by$ Gerri$ Kimber,$ Chair$ of$ the$ Katherine) Mansfield) Society) and"Visiting"Professor"at"the"University"of" Northampton.+Kimber’s+talk+envisioned+five+of+Mansfield’s+New+Zealand+ stories'as'comprising'their'own'cycle,'sharing'thematic'links'in'the'harsh' reality(of(colonial(life.(This(reading(challenges(received(understandings% of#Mansfield’s#brother’s#death# turning# Mansfield’s#attention#squarely#to# New$ Zealand,$ suggesting$ a$ sustained$ and$ coherent$ interest$ in$ writing$ New$Zealand$life$from$the$moment$she$arrived$back$in$London.$Kimber’s$ talk%was%punctuated%with%beautiful%photographs(of(Mansfield’s(early(life( and$ depictions$ of$ the$ original$ editions$ of$ these$ 1912E1913$ stories.$ A$ lively& discussion& soon$ followed,$ with$ Kimber’s) talk) bringing& together! the$ threads$ of$ discussion( and( responding* to* some* of# the# thoughts# offered& by& Boehmer" at# the# beginning# of# the$day.$! Alice& Kelly& chaired! our$ roundtable,$ which$ included$ Janet$ Wilson$ and$ Delia&da&Sousa&Correa&as&well&as&Boehmer&and&Kimber,&with&each&scholar& offering( insightful(summary( thoughts.( After(inviting(questions( from( the( floor,& those& who$ were$ able$ to$ come$ trekked$ across$ Oxford$ to$ Jamie’s$ Italian'restaurant,'where'no'one'was'as'excited'as'Louise'Edensor,'who' admitted'she'had'half'come'to'the'UK'from'Dubai'to'experience'a'Jamie' Oliver' restaurant.' It' was' a' wonderful' day' full' of' modernism,! postcolonialism,,psychoanalysis,,and,women’s,writing,,and,I,am,sure,all, involved—now$members$of$the$Katherine$Mansfield$Society—await%next% year’s'conference'with'great'anticipation.'! ! Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6 6 12 Issue%26!! ! ! ! ! ! ! April&20! 17! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7 7 The$Allure$and$Heartbreak'of'the'Archive1! " by"Todd"Martin" ! Spring'came'early'to'Chicago'this'year:'the'air'crisp'and'chill,'but'with'a'warming' sun.%Still,%when%one%heads%east%toward%Lake%Michigan,%where%tall%buildings%stand% aside&in&rank&and&file,&there&is&always&a&cold&bluster%of%wind,%one%I%imagine%would% have%made%Mansfield%feel%right%at%home,%though%the%air%is%missing%the%salty%tang.! ! ! In#the#month#that#I’ve#lived#here,#the#city#has#shrunk—a"surprising"turn"of"events" for$this$small$town$boy.$I$stay$mostly$within$the$eight!blocks'it'takes'to'walk'to'the' Newberry' Library,'a' stretch' along' which' I' buy' my' coffee,' my' toiletries,' and' my' groceries.)When)I)want)to)go)downtown,)I)walk)two)blocks)to)the)“El”)red)line,)