The inspiration for this essay was the act of unpacking his library after its twoyear storage. A talk about book collecting, in illuminations, translated by harry zohn, edited and with an introduction by hannah arendt. Its a small book, perfect gift size, about 5 34 inches high by 8 inches in wide, and 201 pages. Stunning photographs provide full views of the libraries and closeups of individual volumes. The readers are taken into the world of the artists and shown their book shelves. This is a case of everincreasing circles, a nexus of shapes in which the magic moves around the geometry. This elegy for his library, including digressions on citizenship, dictionaries, gods speech, and creativity, shows a profound appreciation for the shibboleths and affinities of the bibliophile. From a stricter marxist point of view, it is of course easy to criticize this. During my visit, i bought a small pile of booksprobably 4 or 5, maybe half a dozenbut my memory of what they were is hazy. Illuminations unpacking my library summary course hero. In walter benjamins talk on book collecting, occasioned by a relocation of his own library, he notes the kinds of knowledge that preoccupy the collectortrivia, statistics, facts.
The essay was first published in 1931 in literarische welt. A talk about book collecting and his intimate relationship with his library and of course, i can relate. He talks about inheriting a whole collection of books being the soundest way to acquire books. Unpacking my library is a collection of interviews on the bookish habits of thirteen contemporary writers, accompanied by pictures of their libraries. I read it in a collection of benjamins essays and reflections called illuminations that i purchased primarily to read his more famous essay, the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. A talk about book collecting and continued on with studies by susan m. But the book i know i bought there is one by georges perec titled life. Nov 30, 2009 what does the collecting of books have in common with the practice of architecture. I cannot march up and down their ranks to pass them in view before a friendly audience. We began with reading walter benjamins 1931 essay, unpacking my library. A collected book is therefore the synthesis of a dialectical relationship. A talk about book collecting, in walter benjamin, illuminations new york. They embody the places i have been, people i have known, classes i have.
During my undergraduate training, i majored in print making with an. Benjamins dictum is that a collectors passion borders on the chaos of memories, a curiously moving history which argues that collecting is. Nov 01, 2012 in 1931, walter benjamin wrote a brief essay entitled unpacking my library. Unpacking my library walter benjamin on collecting books notes from somewhere bizarre blog walter benjamin on book collecting. In this preface to ellen landwebers book, the passionate collector, benjamin discusses book collecting by way of the conceit of unpacking his library. Or, rather, that unpacking my library can be unpacked, at least in the sense of explaining it. Writers and their books spotlights the personal libraries of thirteen favorite novelists who share their collections with readers. Its been a comfort ever since to obsessive bibliophiles. A talk about book collecting included in the collection illuminations 1968. We will contextualize them within culture, politics, industries, and economics. I often think about walter benjamins essay unpacking my library. Of course, working in a library, we also see all manner of weird bookmarks left in books. This keepsake, suggested by professors martin jay and catherine gallagher, has been designed and printed at the arion press in an edition of 300 copies for presentation to members of the roxburghe and zamorano clubs at t. He is a true collector, more specifically a book collector.
Oct 21, 20 by encouraging their readers to sit down and read, city lights is placing a much heavier emphasis on the substance of the book, rather than its thingness within their collection. The emergence of blues culture temple up 1989 and stephen calt and gayle wardlows somewhat slanted biography king of the. With a title like unpacking my library you knew i couldnt resist. My music library began when i started reading blues writing such as robert palmers deep blues. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order. One of prices better questions asks what books are. Seeing what titles and authors influenced the artists allows the reader insight. I spent my winter break this year packing up my office and moving to a new building. Freed from their bounds, the books spill onto the floor or pile up in unsteady columns, waiting for the places that will later be assigned to.
I frame this attempt through the work of walter benjamin, whose unpacking my library essay serves as the foundation for my initial attempts to discuss and document my archival process of a digital collection. Artists and their books is exactly what you would think it is. Syllabus course calendar of readings, assignments and. Unpacking my library by jo steffens yale university press.
The early weeks of the class focused on how collecting has been defined by various authors and scholars in the field. All that to introduce this little book i picked up on the way out the library the other day. In his essay unpacking my library he takes a serious if not. Books, nooks, and looksunpacking your library pam webb. Photographs of bookshelves displaying wellloved and. An inspiring crosssection of notable libraries, this beautiful book celebrates the arts of reading and collecting.
I read it in a collection of benjamins essays and reflections called illuminations that i purchased primarily to read his more famous essay, the work of art in. A talk about book collecting, 1931 effective democratization can always be measured by this essential criterion. This is an edited extract from unpacking my library. Unpacking the bookstore giving meaning to organization and. Unpacking my library provides an intimate look at the personal libraries of fourteen of the worlds leading architects, alongside conversations about the significance of books to their careers and lives. Arippa a book of the dead coursepack accompanying context pages for agrippa unpacking my library. Thirsty, weary, dissatisfied in this sultry life, come as you are.
Taking its inspiration from walter benjamins seminal 1931 essay, the unpacking my library series charts a spirited exploration of the reading. These, he observes, are a kind of defense mechanism, a dam against the spring tide of memories that surges toward any collector as he contemplates his. Of course benjamin admits to being a collector and therefore. Each time i move offices, i read walter benjamins essay unpacking my library.
What i did get out of the book was the delicious lookeylooks at about dozen different private libraries. Belting hans art and art history in the new museum the search for a new from arch. In his essay unpacking my library he takes a serious if not humorous look at the act of collecting and the relationship between the collector and his or her possessions. If there is nothing to connect the book or place to the past, could it ever be sacred or a home. Publication date 2010 note originally published as a chapter of his illuminations. We will consider the moving image and sound recording media as material objects, as technologies with histories. An elegy and ten digressionsthe title evokes walter benjamins famous 1931 essay on book collectingmanguel has arrived at the ideal format for his divagating thoughts. I think thats where i bought the screenplay to apocalypse now, one of my favorite movies at the time. A talk about book collecting coursepack empoword chapter 4. Architects and their books features the libraries of. Walter benjamin belongs to a group of people who he feels is becoming extinct. Course catalogue the cultures and politics of display.
The opening and arranging of the leporello is a handson activity. George watermans passion for collecting visual art books is one of the many measures of this man. Reflections on walter benjamins unpacking my library on the. The idea behind unpacking my library is that we can get to know writers better by peeking at their bookshelves and hearing them talk about their attitude toward book collecting, or maybe book owning is a better term. This collection grew into my more developed personal bedroom library, which i am dedicated to building upon.
With the exception of unpacking my library, spectors works in the books on books collection fall into the category of ephemera. To a book collector, you see, the true freedom of all. This classic essay meditates on the book collectors connection to his library through ownership and memory. Apr 30, 2009 he is a true collector, more specifically a book collector. A talk about book collecting pdf link, my goal is personal rather than intellectual. Reflections on walter benjamins unpacking my library on. In keeping with the subtitle, a talk about book collecting, benjamin announces his intention to talk about the activity or process of collecting itself, rather than speaking specifically about his own collection or library. A musical and cultural history of the mississippi delta penguin 1981 and then william barlows looking up at down. A talk about book collecting, in illuminations, trans. Lit 3400 syllabus fall 2008 3 of 8 benjamin, walter. This graduatelevel course introduces and contextualizes aspects of the archiving and preservation of film, video, and new media.
Pearce, russell belk, jean baudrillard, and stanley cavell, among others. Chapter 2 unpacking my library how i write some of my books. Nov 01, 2011 unpacking my library is a collection of interviews on the bookish habits of thirteen contemporary writers, accompanied by pictures of their libraries. Unpacking benjamins collection by pil and galia kollectiv, coelacanth journal, london. Volume v, revolution 9, written by dcc professor of english joe allen, as part of wax poetic archives. Unpacking is essentially an expansive and untidy activity. Jul 21, 2014 during my visit, i bought a small pile of booksprobably 4 or 5, maybe half a dozenbut my memory of what they were is hazy. Taking its inspiration from walter benjamins seminal 1931 essay, the unpacking my library series charts a spirited exploration of the reading and book collecting practices of todays leading thinkers. A talk about book collecting 1931 o baudrillard, the system of collecting in john elsner and roger cardinal, the cultures of collecting harvard university press. Like benjamin, i focus on the process, seeking to reanimate my experience of archiving, and interacting with my own archive of flash mobs. Writers and their books edited by leah price yale university press. Nov 12, 2011 this is an edited extract from unpacking my library.
Thumbing through the bookplates and marginalia left by other. Writers and their books from the worlds largest community of readers. Walter benjamins unpacking my library illuminations. In 1931, walter benjamin wrote a brief essay entitled unpacking my library. In it, he narrates the experience of pulling the many volumes of his personal library out of the crates in which they had been inaccessibly stored for the previous two years. In unpacking my library, the essay by walter benjamin to which this video alludes, benjamin identifies himself as a genuine collector who appears to speak of his books, but who on closer scrutiny proves to be speaking only about.
A talk about book collecting every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collectors passion borders on the chaos of memories. To speak of george as a great and true collector and lover of art books is to admit him in the pantheon of what walter benjamin in his essay unpacking my library. Walter benjamins essay on collecting, published in 1931 under the title unpacking my library. Of course, however, the owner of the leporello form of unpacking my library does not experience this fiction as directly. In 1931, walter benjamin wrote an essay called unpacking my library. A talk about book collecting, 1931, calls great physiognomists a physiognomist is someone who can discern inner. On book collecting, city lights and the beat museum. Unlike much other ephemera such as invitations, broadsides and the like, however, these items have that selfreflexiveness so characteristic of book art. In packing my library, manguel continues his celebration of the book as object, conduit, and talisman. Although the title of this blog is taken from walter benjamins wellknown essay from illuminations, unpacking my library. Drawing on walter benjamins essay unpacking my library. This keepsake, suggested by professors martin jay and catherine gallagher, has been designed and printed at the arion press in an edition of 300 copies for presentation to members of the roxburghe and zamorano clubs at the joint meeting in san francisco on october 16, 2010, and to arion press subscribers.
Mar 17, 2012 unpacking my library was a grab and go and admittedly it proved a bit disappointing since i did not recognize any of the featured writers. Nov 26, 2009 nothing is further from my mind than to shake either your conviction or your distrust. As i have previously said benjamins essay unpacking my library, a talk about book collecting 66. A reading from unpacking my library by walter benjamin a talk about book collecting i am unpacking my library. This essay, first published in 1931, begins with a cheerful series of remarks from the author to his audience. There is nothing wrong with being in the moment, but can we really learn or enhance our experiences if we lose that connection with the past. This book shows us another side to the artists in a lovely way. Benjamin, as a writer collecting books, finds that the. In the course of walter benjamins short and wandering life.