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Archive for May, 2009

Big BenIn honor of its 150th birthday, celebrated today, Big Ben is undergoing a spring cleaning.

Maintenance of the London timepiece involves winding it three times a week and keeping it oiled.

The bell was cast in April 1858 and was first rung in the clock tower May 31, 1859.

As readers know, the chimes of Britain’s favorite monument are featured in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.

Watch the news video of the noteworthy birthday.

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A portion of the Woolf library reassembled by Andrew McCarthy and Nora Wiechert, doctoral candidates in English literature at WSU

A portion of the Woolf library reassembled by Andrew McCarthy and Nora Wiechert, doctoral candidates in English literature at WSU

Sorry, but after reading an e-mail from Trevor James Bond of Washington State University, I can’t get a 1979 Peaches and Herb song out of my head.

The song is “Reunited,” and its chorus starts out like this, “Reunited and it feels so good. Reunited ’cause we understood.”

The song applies because Bond’s message shares the news that the collection that once made up Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s library, which was interspersed with WSU’s other rare book collections and shelved by Library of Congress Subject Headings in 1978, will be reunited and grouped together in its own space at WSU this summer.

The move will make it easier for researchers to browse the volumes once owned by the Woolfs. You can read more about the collection here.

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Virginia Woolf lookalike?

Virginia Woolf lookalike?

In a review of the film Easy Virtue, Martin Murrow says actress Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays the role of Mrs. Whittaker, looks like Virginia Woolf.

What do you think?

Take a look at the accompanying photo. Then take the poll.

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writing-2Ah, yes. Once again we are shown Virginia Woolf’s relevance to our 21st-century world. Gretchen Rubin quotes Woolf in her Huffington Post piece “Thirteen Tips for Actually Getting Some Writing Done.”

Here’s the Woolf quote Rubin shares: “The way to rock oneself back into writing is this. First gentle exercise in the air. Second the reading of good literature. It is a mistake to think that literature can be produced from the raw.”

Okay then.

  • Exercise to get the endorphins flowing. Check.
  • Fresh air to get the oxygen flowing. Check.
  • Reading the excellent words of another to get the creativity flowing. Check.

Sounds like a good plan to me. 

For more inspiration read the whole post.

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auctionUp for auction in West Sussex this Sunday is a rare 19th-century photograph of Virginia Woolf’s mother, Julia Stephen, the former Julia Jackson.

It was taken by her aunt, the celebrated photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

Bids are expected to fall between £1000-£1500.

Read the full story and view the photo on the BBC Web site.

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