The Collecting of Twentieth-Century Literary Manuscripts

Abstract

It is meet and right that the Preconference with this year’s theme, “Collecting the Twentieth Century,” should be held here in Austin, in the shadow of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas, for this, in the vernacular, is “where it’s at”; for if you want to know what collecting the twentieth century is all about, look in this catalogue. It is entitled No Symbols Where None Intended and it is the best possible catalogue of the best possible collection of Samuel Beckett material. It illumines the life and the work in a way which justifies . . .