Issue 26 ! !!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! April 2017!

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Issue 26 ! !!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! April 2017! 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,)
Recommended publications
  • Katherine Mansfield – Assessment Task
    Katherine Mansfield – Assessment Task Engaged in the real world of the 20th century, modernist writer Katherine Mansfield depicts her short stories and her strong beliefs on feminism, social issues and relationships through the voice of characters contained in her ‘Collection of Short Stories.’ With narrative anthologies exploring a vast range of dysfunctional relationships, Mansfield argues they should be a matter of personal choice. Her experiences growing up in New Zealand heightened her awareness of the discontinuities, lacunae, and constrictions of 20th century life. Following with her journeys around the world, where she absorbed the condescending ethics of social class around a patriarchy society, which she demonstrates throughout her narratives. The concept that relationships should be a matter of choice is portrayed by the views of multiple characters in Mansfield’s ‘Prelude’. ‘Prelude’ is the first story in the collection and is an essential reading, like its sequel, ‘At the bay.’ Initially, the Burnell family are moving from the city to the country. The three children are neglected by their parents, Linda and Stanley and are predominantly raised by their grandmother, Mrs Fairfield. The Burnell’s being ‘upper class’ use language primarily to establish control over their environment, “we shall simply have to cast them off.” This contrasts with the linguistic style of the Samuel Josephs who are ‘lower class’ and the reader assumes to be less educated, “you come and blay in the dursery”. Mansfield writes with such strong descriptive language that the story is played out visually for the reader, “she had a comb in her fingers and in a gentle absorbed fashion she was combing the curls from her mother’s forehead.” Through this technique we know Linda is unhappy in her marriage and ironically her envious sister Beryl Fairfield contrarily wishes she was in one.
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