Collection search - Alice Van Wart collection of Elizabeth Smart's papers [multiple media]

Record information – Brief
1
Alice Van Wart collection of Elizabeth Smart's papers [multiple media]

Hierarchical level:

Collection

Date:

n.d.

Reference:

R12429-0-X-E, LMS-0165

Type of material:

Sound recordings, Textual material, Art, Photographs, Objects (including medals and pins)

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

3720987

Context of this record:

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Alice Van Wart collection of Elizabeth Smart's papers
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Record information – Details

Date(s):

n.d.

Bilingual equivalent:

Click here

Place of creation:

Canada

Extent:

6 boxes containing textual material, photographic material, and objects
1 audio cassette
2 Promotional photograph/posters

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Elizabeth Smart gave Alice Van Wart some of her papers, including journals, notebooks, correspondence, writings, artwork and other memorabilia dating from 1928 to 1985. The National Library acquired these papers for its Literary Manuscript Collection in 1990. The materials in the collection complement and add breadth to those of the Elizabeth Smart Papers.

The strength of this collection is the glimpse it provides into Elizabeth Smart's early adult life. School notebooks, letters, diaries and poems show her developing personality and intellect within an affluent environment that included an active social life, international travel and education in London. The researcher will find of interest, as well, journals from her later years.

The writings found in the collection are important to students of Elizabeth Smart as they offer insight into "the formative writing of the critical period leading up to the composition of the first book (and only one for 32 years)".2 Of special interest is the manuscript of "Dig a Grave and Let Us Bury Our Mother", written in 1939 and foreshadowing "the style and sensibility that [later] distinguish By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept as a literary classic".3 In addition, the collection contains many early jottings and poems.

Alice Van Wart points to the importance of the correspondence between Elizabeth Smart and her parents as "providing insights into the condition out of which Elizabeth, and her writing, grew, and the bohemian malaise toward which she gravitated".4

All quotations are taken from the foreword to "the alice van wart collection of elizabeth smart's papers" (Toronto: letters, [n.d.]).

The researcher should also read "Introduction to the Collection" in the Finding Aid for the Elizabeth Smart Papers (MSS. 1983-5/1987-9).

Provenance:

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Van Wart, Alice, 1948-

Biography/Administrative history:

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Van Wart, Alice, 1948- : Scholar and poet Alice Van Wart was born in New Brunswick in 1948. After receiving a PhD in Canadian Literature from the University of Alberta, she remained there to teach.

In 1983, Van Wart met Elizabeth Smart, a writer whose work she had studied, who had come to the university as writer-in-residence. Their meeting resulted in the eventual publication of Elizabeth Smart's journals, edited by Alice Van Wart: "Necessary Secrets: The Journals of Elizabeth Smart" (Toronto: Deneau, 1986; Toronto: Grafton Books, 1991); "Juvenilia: Early Writings of Elizabeth Smart" (Toronto: Coach House Press, 1987); and "On the Side of the Angels: The Second Volume of the Journals of Elizabeth Smart" (London: HarperCollins, 1994).

Van Wart now lives in New Brunswick.

Additional information:

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General note:

The researcher should consult the finding aid for more information on objects and photographs.

Container note(s):

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CASS 109 : 1990-03
1 : 1990-03
2 : 1990-03
3 : 1990-03
4 : 1990-03
5 A : 1990-03
5 B : 1990-03
6 : 1990-03

Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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LMS-0165

Other accession no.:

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1990-03 LMS
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Sound recordings

[Consultation90 Open]

LMS container [LMS-0165] CASS 109

[Consultation 90 Open]

Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

LMS container [LMS-0165 1990-03]

[Consultation 90 Open]

1--4;

[Consultation 90 Open]

6;

[Consultation 90 Open]

5 A--5 B;

[Consultation 90 Open]

Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]

Graphic (photo)

[Consultation90 Open]

Object

[Consultation90 Open]

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Date modified:: 2024-07-04