A Legacy

[poliphilo]

My Great Aunt Enid bequeathed her papers to her favourite great niece who left them to her daughter who deposited them with me. Enid was an interesting person but not, I'm afraid, as interesting as she thought she was- and if we're playing pass the parcel with her literary and artistic remains it's because it's hard to see the point of them. Her diaries are unilluminating, her drawings undistinguished. None of us is going to resort to the bonfire (because- family piety forbids) but I could wish Enid herself had.

My cousin (the one who passed me the stash) says she feels responsible for it- and I say she shouldn't- but actually I feel the same- as if I should be sharing it or promoting it in some way.The dead hand weighs heavy. But who should we share it with?  It's not our fault that Enid is unpublishable.

Comments

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

kind of think maybe some enterprising writer might
add the unwritten parts the "ur words" in pratchett style
and make them interesting?
might not be factual but I bet it could be fun

is there a lot of writings and drawings?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's a lifetime's worth of diaries and a portfolio of art work.

was thinking a bit. You have a gold mine.

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

there are libraries that would kill
to add that to their archives
or a historical society.
they are not judgmental about quality.
its a way of preserving the past
there's no better way to get those details
than diaries of the mundane.
the sketch books would be considered a bonus.

I know there's even places dedicated to
collection just journals and diaries.

writers flock to such places as a source
for projects like Dalton Abby.

there's piles of them at the Ashmolian Museum.

they might not pay for them
but if your place does write offs
you'd get credits for the donation
from a credited non profit.
I'd look for somewhere close to where she lived
a historical society maybe...

Re: was thinking a bit. You have a gold mine.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You have a point. The diaries are out on loan at the moment- to a distant relative who thinks they may be able to do something with them. When they come back- if they come back- we'll see.

Re: was thinking a bit. You have a gold mine.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

What faunhaert said. In fact, I'm involved in just such a project. See The PACSCL Diaries Project. Please don't share the link as the site is still being worked over.

(Edited to add: the diaries on our site, loosely defined because some are project logbooks and other diary-like manuscripts, range from those of anonymous 19th century nursing students to the only eyewitness testimony to the Lincoln assassination taken down while the President lay dying in the next room.)

(Edited again to add: echoing your commenter's recommendation that you seek a historical society near where your g-g-aunt lived, or perhaps her alma mater if she has one.)

Re: was thinking a bit. You have a gold mine.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

She lived locally- so approaching local libraries etc shouldn't be a problem.

At the moment the diaries are out on loan to a distant cousin who expressed interest.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

So you'll just let them stay with family until someone dies and the executors have cleaners come in and they junk the stuff? You might as well burn them.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have the heart to burn them myself. I just wouldn't.

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

Her diaries are unilluminating, her drawings undistinguished. None of us is going to resort to the bonfire (because- family piety forbids) but I could wish Enid herself had....It's not our fault that Enid is unpublishable.

This sentiment is one of my nightmares about what future generations will say of my own journals and art.