Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

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In Memoriam: Simon Gray (1936-2008)

British playwright Simon Gray, author of Butley, Otherwise Engaged, and Quartermaine’s Terms, died in August at the age of 71. Gray’s papers are housed at the Ransom Center. Gray was known for his biting comedies on stage, which chronicle British middle-class characters, and for his memoirs, The Smoking Diaries, The Year of the Jouncer, and The Last Cigarette.

Through January 4, 2009

The Mystique of the Archive

Drawing from the Harry Ransom Center’s extensive modern literature collections of Julian Barnes, Don DeLillo, Anne Sexton, and many others, the exhibition describes what constitutes an archive, documents the evolution of creative works from first draft to first edition, and maps an archive’s journey from the writer’s home to the scholar’s desk, revealing acquisition intrigues, preservation challenges, and cataloging puzzles along the way. VIEW slideshow and video preview.

A Cabinet of Drawings

This survey or “cabinet” of more than 100 drawings from the Ransom Center’s diverse collections features book illustrations, designs, illustrated letters, landscapes, and portraiture by such internationally recognized figures as William Blake, Jean Cocteau, Miguel Covarrubias, E. E. Cummings, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Miller, Pablo Picasso, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. VIEW slideshow and video preview.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, NOON
READING Poetry on the Plaza: The Mystique of the Draft

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 7 P.M.
TOUR Cathy Henderson, the Ransom Center’s Associate Director for Exhibitions and Education, leads a gallery tour of The Mystique of the Archive.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 7 P.M.
ARCHIVES FILM SERIES  François Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 (1966), starring Oskar Werner and Julie Christie.  Adapted from Ray Bradbury’s novel.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 7 P.M.
TOUR Peter Mears, the Ransom Center’s Associate Curator of Art, leads a gallery tour of A Cabinet of Drawings.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 7 P.M. JESSEN AUDITORIUM
DISCUSSION Julian Barnes, whose archive is housed at the Ransom Center, discusses his new memoir Nothing To Be Frightened Of. A book signing follows.

All fall events are listed on our online event calendar. You can also download a PDF of the calendar.

Sebastian Barry and Alan Furst read from new novels

With the recent publication of Alan Furst’s Spies of Warsaw and Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture, the two writers recorded excerpts from their new books. Furst and Barry, whose archives are housed at the Ransom Center, provide a brief introduction before each reading. LISTEN.

• :: Ransom Center on Facebook
• :: New Exhibitions
• :: Archives Film Series
• :: Readings from Furst and Barry

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