Elaine Showalter: "The Vintage Book of American Women Writers"

Summary

The speaker, reflecting on their early career as a PhD, shares their experience editing a pioneering feminist anthology titled *Women's Liberation and Literature* in 1970. They discuss the challenges of securing permissions to reprint works, especially poems by Sylvia Plath, and the financial constraints they faced. The narrative highlights how literature intersects with commerce, and the complexities of producing anthologies in today's market. The speaker also outlines their work on a later anthology, emphasizing the struggles and bureaucracy involved in obtaining rights and permissions from various copyright holders.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker edited their first anthology in 1970 titled 'Women's Liberation and Literature', which was one of the first textbooks for feminist criticism.
• 👩‍🎓 As a new PhD and assistant professor, the speaker felt a sense of responsibility in creating the anthology, even though they had limited knowledge of available texts at the time.
• 💵 The speaker encountered the financial realities of literary publishing, including paying for reprint permissions, which was unexpected.
• 📝 The speaker originally wanted to include Sylvia Plath’s poem 'Daddy', but due to the high cost ($100), they settled for another poem, 'Lesbos', at a lower price.
• 💡 This experience taught the speaker that literature is a business and that works of art are commodities in the marketplace, impacting how they view literature ever since.
• 🔖 In 2003, the speaker signed a contract with Knopf to write 'A Jury of Her Peers', a literary history of women writers in America, which led to the creation of a new anthology to accompany it.
• 📖 The speaker aimed to create a portable, economical anthology that reflected the diversity of American women’s writing, avoiding the exhaustive, textbook-like nature of many large anthologies.
• 🔍 With the help of a Mellon Foundation grant, three graduate assistants helped the speaker research and uncover lesser-known works by American women writers.
• 💰 The permissions process was a major challenge, with vintage allowing $20,000 for permissions fees for works published after 1922, a small fraction compared to larger textbook publishers.
• 🤯 The speaker was surprised by the bureaucratic obstacles and lack of enthusiasm from copyright holders, who often didn’t see the value in having lesser-known works reprinted in the anthology.

Q & A

What was the first anthology the speaker edited?

The first anthology the speaker edited was titled 'Women's Liberation and Literature,' published by Harcourt Brace in 1970.

Why did the speaker feel a sense of responsibility when editing her first anthology?

The speaker felt a sense of responsibility because it was her first assistant professorship job, and she was conscious of the importance of the book for her projected readers.

What challenge did the speaker face when trying to include Sylvia Plath’s poem 'Daddy' in the anthology?

The speaker faced the challenge of an expensive permission fee to include Sylvia Plath’s poem 'Daddy.' The fee was $100, which was costly for her as she had limited funds.

How did the speaker’s experience with Sylvia Plath’s poems change her view on literature?

The experience made the speaker realize that literature is a business, where poems and other literary works are products in a marketplace, with market value playing a significant role alongside critical reception.

What alternative poem by Sylvia Plath did the speaker choose for her anthology, and why?

The speaker chose Sylvia Plath’s poem 'Lesbos,' a long and magnificent poem, because it was less expensive ($50) than 'Daddy' and fit within her budget.

What was the speaker’s goal for her anthology 'A Jury of Her Peers'?

The goal of 'A Jury of Her Peers' was to create a literary history of American women writers, covering a wide range of writers and showcasing their significant works.

What was unique about the speaker’s anthology compared to other anthologies on the market?

The speaker’s anthology was unique because it aimed to be a more accessible, portable, and economical collection for general readers and undergraduates, without the heavy apparatus or high costs of typical multivolume textbooks.

What financial limitations did the speaker face while creating her anthology?

The speaker had a financial limitation of $220,000 in permissions fees, which was far less than what larger textbook publishers had available. This restricted the number of works she could include.

Why was the speaker surprised by the reactions of some copyright holders?

The speaker was surprised that many copyright holders were not excited about having long-forgotten works republished in a significant anthology, as she had expected them to be.

What lesson did the speaker learn from the process of securing permissions for her anthology?

The speaker learned that securing permissions involved dealing with bureaucracy, inefficiency, and resistance from copyright holders, which was a frustrating and eye-opening experience for her.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Early Experiences in Anthology Publishing

The speaker reflects on their first experience as a new PhD in 1970, editing an anthology titled 'Women's Liberation and Literature', which they believe was the first textbook for feminist criticism. They felt a strong sense of responsibility towards their readers. The process of selecting texts was straightforward, but they encountered a significant financial hurdle when seeking copyright permissions to reprint works, particularly Sylvia Plath's poem 'Daddy'. The cost was prohibitive, leading them to choose a less expensive poem, 'Lesbos', instead. This experience was a pivotal moment in their career, teaching them that literature is a business where market value plays a crucial role alongside critical reception. Despite the financial constraints, they found a wonderful poem that they could afford, highlighting that sometimes such limitations can lead to discovering hidden gems. The speaker also discusses their more recent work on a new anthology, which includes two poems by Sylvia Plath, expressing that they still cannot afford 'Daddy' due to its high cost.

05:00

💼 The Business of Anthology Publishing

The speaker discusses the current state of anthology publishing, dominated by large publishers with the resources to hire skilled editors and pay high permissions fees. They note the trend towards more elaborate, expensive textbooks, often packaged with additional materials. The speaker's goal was to create a more accessible anthology for general readers and students, without the constraints of textbook committees. With the help of a grant and graduate assistants, they researched and selected works for their anthology, aiming for a diverse representation of American women writers. They faced challenges with copyright permissions, needing to secure rights for works published after 1922, which varied by country. The publisher, Vintage, provided a budget and page limit, which the speaker found frustrating as they had to negotiate with copyright holders. The speaker was surprised by the resistance from copyright holders, who were not always supportive of reprinting lesser-known works, despite the potential to introduce them to new audiences. This part of the script provides insight into the commercial and bureaucratic challenges of compiling an anthology.

Keywords

💡Anthology

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. In the video, the speaker discusses their experience editing their first anthology, 'Women's Liberation and Literature,' which was a pioneering feminist textbook. The concept of anthologies ties to the theme of preserving and showcasing important literary works, especially those by women.

💡Feminist Criticism

Feminist criticism refers to the literary critique that focuses on women's roles, experiences, and representation in literature. The speaker's first anthology was significant as one of the early textbooks in feminist criticism, reflecting the emerging movement of feminist literary analysis in the 1970s.

💡Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was a celebrated American poet whose works often explored themes of death, identity, and mental illness. In the video, the speaker wanted to include Plath’s famous poem 'Daddy' in the anthology but could not afford the permissions fees. This highlights the market value of literature and how commercial aspects influence the accessibility of certain works.

💡Copyright Permissions

Copyright permissions are legal authorizations needed to reprint or reproduce someone else's work. The speaker describes the challenges and expenses involved in obtaining permissions for reprinting works by various authors. This concept is critical to the theme of how literary works, despite their cultural value, are governed by financial and legal constraints.

💡Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes was a British poet and the estranged husband of Sylvia Plath. The speaker mentions his sister Olwyn Hughes, who managed Plath's estate and demanded high fees for reprinting Plath's work. This reflects the complex legal and personal entanglements that affect literary rights and access.

💡Market Value of Literature

The market value of literature refers to the financial worth assigned to literary works in the commercial world. The speaker's surprise at the price of reprinting poems like 'Daddy' underscores how literature is both a creative product and a commodity, with its value dictated by market dynamics.

💡Anthology Publishing

Anthology publishing involves compiling and editing a collection of literary works. The speaker contrasts their experience of producing a small-scale, affordable anthology for general readers with large textbook publishers, who dominate the market with expensive, multi-volume anthologies aimed at college students.

💡Permissions Fees

Permissions fees are the costs associated with obtaining legal rights to reprint copyrighted works. The speaker shares that their anthology had a budget of $220,000 for permissions, but this was still a fraction of what large textbook publishers can afford. This highlights the financial barriers in creating accessible anthologies.

💡Women Writers

Women writers are the focus of the speaker's anthology and broader literary history. The speaker aimed to create a collection that showcased diverse works by American women from 1650 onward, reflecting their varied styles and contributions to literature. This reinforces the importance of gender representation in literary anthologies.

💡Literary History

Literary history refers to the chronological study and analysis of literature and its development over time. The speaker’s work, 'A Jury of Her Peers,' is a literary history of American women writers. This history serves as a foundation for the anthology, providing context and background for the selected works.

Highlights

In 1970, the speaker edited their first anthology, 'Women's Liberation and Literature,' which is considered one of the first textbooks for feminist criticism.

The speaker, as a new PhD and assistant professor, felt a great sense of responsibility when assembling the anthology.

Obtaining reprint permissions was a shock for the speaker, as they encountered financial hurdles when trying to include Sylvia Plath’s poem 'Daddy.'

The speaker could not afford to include 'Daddy,' which was priced at $100, and settled for Plath's poem 'Lesbos' at $50.

This experience introduced the speaker to the commercial aspects of literature, realizing that poems and works are also products in a marketplace.

In the speaker's new collection, they included two of Sylvia Plath’s poems but still could not afford to reprint 'Daddy.'

The speaker’s realization: financial constraints can sometimes lead to discovering lesser-known, yet equally powerful, literary works.

In 2003, the speaker signed a contract with Knopf to write 'A Jury of Her Peers,' which was more of a literary history than an anthology.

The speaker aimed to create a portable, economical anthology reflecting the diversity of American women writers without the overwhelming apparatus of a textbook.

The anthology includes diverse works—stories, poems, and essays—by American women writers, intending to provide a partial canon of significant writers.

The speaker comments on how anthologies today are dominated by large publishers who can afford to pay high permission fees and cater to the textbook market.

Large anthologies aimed at the college textbook market have become extensive, often spanning multiple volumes with additional supplements like maps, pictures, and audio/video.

The speaker started with a list of ideal works but had to narrow it down due to the constraints of page count and permission fees.

They received a $20,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to hire graduate assistants to help research additional overlooked writers.

The speaker faced challenges with copyright permissions for 48 of the 100 writers they selected, learning about the bureaucracy and inefficiency in the process.

Transcripts

back when I was a a new PhD in in 1970 I

edited my first Anthology I don't even

think Barbara knows about this this is

it this worn out little red covered book

called women's Liberation and literature

and it was published by harcord brace

and I think it was the first textbook

for feminist criticism that had ever

been published I got to do it uh I was a

new PhD I was in my first assistant

professorship job and I felt a

tremendous sense of responsibility doing

this book to my projected

readers when I did it putting together

the list of texts that I wanted was

really not very hard especially because

in those days I didn't even know of that

many but I got a real shock when I sat

down to write to copyright holders for

permission to reprint the author's work

I had wanted to include Sylvia class

celebrated poem daddy you probably all

know that poem and I wanted to include

two other poems by pla I was really

going for for broke but when I wrote to

OLN Hughes who was pla's executive and

also the sister of her estranged husband

Ted Hughes and who was rumored to be

somewhat of a ferocious person OLN

responded that to reprint daddy would

cost me

$100 now I was paying for the permission

fee out of the pittance that I got for

doing the book and as a beginning

assistant professor with two kids I had

not very much money of my own and OLN

said that the other two poems I had

asked for were $50

each uh that was the beginning of my

literary career and I will tell you that

I settled for a $50 poem

um I struck a bargain and I bought a

poem called Lesbos which is really quite

a long poem it's a magnificent poem uh

about enmity between two women in spite

of the title It's a Wonderful poem which

was a cheaper poem than Daddy for

reasons that we can speculate about well

that was my introduction to the business

of the literary Anthology and as an

idealistic young scholar it had never

occurred to me that poems could be rated

by their ticket price as well as by

their quality but that experience really

changed my perceptions of literature

forever and from then on I really

understood I think that literature has

always been a business that poems

stories essays and novels are products

in a Marketplace as well as acts of the

creative imagination and that

professional writers depend on their

market value as well as their critical

reception in this new collection I have

two poems by Sylvia Plath and I have to

tell you I still can't afford daddy and

you know of course those $100 boy that

was an unbelievable bargain if it had

been a stock now I mean of course Daddy

has

escalated um so I still can't pay for it

and I've chosen two of pla's other poems

very powerful poems written in the last

few months before her suicide and I

realized that sometimes Financial

constraint forces you to look beyond the

conventional and find something really

wonderful uh not all the time but in

this case so fast forward to the

present uh in 203 I signed a contract

with knof to write a jury of her peers

which has many women writers in it but

it's a literary history more than an

anthology and my editor at knop

suggested to me that it would be a good

idea to put together an anthology to go

with it and to be published in paperback

by vintage and that's the book I'm

talking about today it was an extremely

welcome suggestion I know that many of

the works I talk about in jury for peers

are out of print they are very hard to

find and readers said to me where can I

get hold of these texts how can I uh now

that I'm interested in them I'm curious

about them where can I read them and I

knew from the beginning that it was a

given I could not possibly include all

the important work by American women

writers since

1650 in a single volume that that I knew

from the start on the other hand before

before this there has never been a

single volume anthology of American

women's writing from the beginning which

seemed to me kind of a you know

staggering Omission in the 21st century

and I knew that I wanted to make an

anthology I wanted to put together a

book that was portable that was

economical that wasn't weighted down by

all of the apparatus of a textbook that

brought together stories and poems and

essays by American women writers as many

as possible that would reflect their

diversity of subject and style works

that were beautiful or tragic or funny

or satiric or inspiring or all of the

above and the Anthology overall was

intended to offer kind of mini Canon a

partial list couldn't be a full list but

a partial list of who I think are the

most significant women writers in the

American uh literary tradition and to

provide a kind of map of their relation

to each other and to American Literature

in general so those are my aims now all

of us know uh I think that today the

Anthology is a

genre very much dominated by a few large

and Wealthy Publishers who can afford to

hire the knowledgeable editors and

researchers required to put a good book

together and who have the bottomless

Pockets to pay the Staggering

permissions fees for reprinting work in

copyright most of the important and

wide- ranging anthologies are aimed of

course at the textbook Market mostly the

college textbook Market they're

multivolume Works uh of over 5,000 Pages

they have vast budgets they have vast

sales they have something of a student

captive market and we can talk about

there's been quite a discussion recently

about the the price of textbooks for

college and university students and over

the past 15 years they have been getting

big

they have been getting more elaborate

they have been getting more expensive

they are packaged now with maps pictures

teaching manuals and in some cases audio

and video supplements so you are buying

really an entire experience when you buy

one of these anthologies now that's not

what I was trying to do or what I have

done I wanted to put together a book for

the general reader as well as the

undergraduate and to do it without the

orous committees and the consultations

of the big texts so I started out by

making a list of all the works I would

like to include in a utopian publishing

world and then with the help of a grant

from the melon Foundation I was able for

a year to pay three graduate assistants

two from Princeton and one from Harvard

to help me go through the libraries to

see if there were works and writers I

had

overlooked vintage had established a

rough guideline I'm going to going to

let you in on all of the oops there goes

my earring I was going to let you in on

all of the the uh statistics financial

statistics of putting Anthology together

vintage had established a rough

guideline of8 800

pages and they were willing to pay about

$220,000 in permissions fees which is uh

probably about a tenth or less than what

a big textbook publisher has available

this is huge business the Tex book

Anthology market now those are my

perimeters $800 Pages

$20,000 copyright law some of you may

know is different in every country the

guidelines in the United States that I

was given by my publisher were to get

permission for everything published

after

1922 uh they figured that would cover

everything Canadian law is different and

I had to get some Canadian rights as

well British law is also very different

but no British publisher was willing to

put up the money to produce an anthology

of American women writers and I think

that's a shame so that gives you a bit

of the

background however even with my

realistic even cynical view of the

commercial and financial aspects of

Anthology publishing and with the

encouragement and backup from my very

patient and endlessly optimistic editor

at vintage Diana secer Teesdale I was

really unprepared for the nightmare of

getting

permissions I cut my list to a 100

writers and I had to write for

permission copyright permissions for 48

of them 48 of them whose work was still

uh under copyright protection I started

a year before the publication date and

the year that followed a year ago in

other words was an education for me in

deenan

bureaucracy G need control freakery

inefficiency outright lying and the

blindness of copyright holders to the

circumstances of readership in the 21st

century I thought naively that many

executors and copyright holders would be

happy to have some long forgotten story

or poem by a writer that nobody had

talked about in 30 years 40 years 50

years I would come and say I'm going to

reprint this and it's going to be called

the vintage book of American women isn't

that wonderful not a bit of it