Blogging Woolf

Did you know that our beloved Virginia has her very own page on MySpace? I bet not. I just discovered it today.

I came about my discovery rather circuitously after reading the column “Searching for Heroes” by Tom Robotham, editor-in-chief of Portfolio Weekly. In it, he mentions that many of his friends list literary figures as their heroes on their MySpace pages. Those heroes include Dante, Tom Joad, Atticus Finch…and Virginia Woolf. 

Virginia Woolf. The name drew me up short. I never would have guessed she would show up as a hero on a notable number of MySpace pages. So I decided to take a look for myself.

I visited MySpace and searched for Virginia. That’s when I discovered that she is more than just a hero to MySpace users. Virginia is actually a MySpace user herself. Yes, Virginia Woolf has a MySpace page of her own.

“Virginia Woolf is back from the lethargy,” the page announces mysteriously. Then it goes on to share her personal details — including the fact that despite being shy, she would like to meet Marlene Dietrich.

Woolf’s 4,185 friends are listed, which seems a paltry number for someone of her stature. Among her buds are Chanel, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, and a 22-year-old from Marion, Ind., named Nicole. Her alter ego perhaps?

Woolf also shares a needy love note from Vita Sackville-West on her MySpace page, a move that seems glaringly out of character.

Woolfians everywhere will be happy to know we can now easily contact our beloved author via e-mail or instant message. Links to those methods of communication are on her MySpace page.

I have to admit, I didn’t try. Doing so would have necessitated that I set up a MySpace account and log in, so I demurred.

Sadly, though, Virginia has not posted any blog entries. You’ll have to come here for a blog of Woolf’s own.

Meanwhile, the shock of finding Virginia’s MySpace page distracted me from my original topic: Woolf as MySpace hero. That will be a post for a later date.