Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Phase Four: Gordimer

I have been working with the Gordimer collection all along, and have developed a question that I would like to turn into my essay.  I wrote down three possible things to explore, and I will share them with you since you might have more feedback and may persuade me to change my mind. 
1. How did Gordimer affect/change apartheid in South Africa? 
This would involve a lot of historical research about how it was before she began writing and what it is like now.
2. How were Gordimer's writings about apartheid influenced by other South African writers?
She began so early that there must have been someone who influenced her as a writer
3. Which piece from Gordimer's collection most greatly influence her winning the Nobel laureate prize? Why was it so effective?
I feel a little iffy on this question, but it would be interesting to know if there was one particular work that stood out and why it did. I could gather critics essays on her as well. 
After talking briefly with Dr. Graban, I believe I will try to elaborate on question number two. Obviously Gordimer is a leader in the field of writing, but some of her early works were from when she was 12. Prodigy yes, but someone somewhere influenced her writing then, and I am sure now as well. I know this from the correspondence I found between her and another playwright in South Africa whose manuscripts are also in the Lilly. Fugard had a wife who was an actress who performed in many plays about apartheid as well. They were not merely acquaintances but good friends--which you can see from the letters. She thoroughly enjoyed his work, and was equally upset when it was not given the attention she believed it deserved. She wrote one play that I read, and wonder if this was influenced by the playwright. 
Gordimer also wrote (for a class I believe) about all the things she read in a particular year. She was quite young and read  many things. She rated them, and I think it would be interesting to take a look at what she was reading. Maybe those are the clues to how she was influenced, and to also see if she had any types of relationships with those authors as well. 

*Gordimer is still alive and when this is all over I am writing her and telling her about it!

2 comments:

  1. AJ, I'm still stunned by that Fugard find--it seems to be allowing you to ask a question that no one else could ask because it relies on a unique combination of texts that you stumbled upon at the Lilly. Your question 2. compels me because it can't be easily answered and seems to give you the opportunity to build a theory about who influenced Gordimer and how. I wonder if any other boxes in the Gordimer collection contain diaries she kept as a writer?

    -Dr. Graban

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  2. Alex,
    I really like #2 for your paper as well, I wonder if there are any recent articles that have surfaced about her work. That would be interesting to incorporate a modern source since she is still alive. The information on our class website for some awesome sources.
    -Good Luck Alex!

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