This week we will discuss concepts of the palimpsest, noting references to tablets, weaving, and various writing technologies in HiE. Is all writing palimpsestic? How does the concept of palimpsest operate as feminist writing practice in this long poem?
1.H.D. Helen in Egypt
2. Amy Elkins “A Stitch in Time: H. D.’s Craft Modernism as Transhistoric Repair.” The Space Between Journal Vol 12. 2016 http://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-space-between-literature-and-culture-1914-1945/vol12_2016_elkins
Invited Guest: At 9:00pm Dr. Elkins (Assistant Professor, Macalester College) will join us over webex for conversation. Please prepare your reading responses as culminating in a question for Dr. Elkins. I will relay these to her in advance of Thursday.
Supplementary (not required) Reading: For exposition of H.D.’s long poem Helen in Egypt, see Christina Marie Darling’s “H.D’s Helen in Egypt: Myth, Symbol, and Subjectivity” (2010). For an in-depth analysis, see Brian Glaser’s “H.D.’s Helen in Egypt: Aging and the Unconscious” (JML 2005). This essay treats a number of H.D.’s texts, so you are more than welcome to just read the parts that are useful.
Textual Practice: Travis on cross stitch. Travis may ask you to try this tool that bridges the material and the digital: https://www.pic2pat.com . On this site you can upload an image you have selected that tells a narrative through pictures or an image of words that you would like to stitch–use the tool to convert it into a cross stitch pattern. Here is a link to Travis PT Cross-Stitch 2
Travis writes, “Is Cross-stitch a humble art or a subversive medium? A simple practice or a complex craft? The simplest definition is a form of embroidery, more specifically needlework, which does not have a clear date or location of origin. The primitive elements (needle, thread, even weave fabric) necessary for cross-stitch are often deceitful to the observer as the complex results bear more meaning and value than its individual components. This craft uniquely merges author and reader into one while not limiting each role to just one person. This complexity gives rise to its versatility, which is evident in many current uses.”