As subject librarian for Drama, working within the context of zine creation for the Beckett Beyond module brought a new, refreshing way for me to engage in teaching library skills. As zines by nature document a personal response, I felt drawn to bring more of myself to the class. It was a joy to share with the students my interest in collage, typography, the materiality of the book and graphic design, before addressing the more usual topics: how to search library catalogues, select databases and comply with copyright restrictions. Acquiring these skills unlocked a wealth of research material for students and they had my ongoing support in using the tools if they needed it.
At a time when much research material provided by the Library is digital, I was glad to participate in a project where undergraduate students are encouraged to interact with physical archive material. I saw too that the requirement to express their findings in a non-linear form boosted students’ creativity and resulted in a deeper engagement with their research topics than I might have anticipated.
It is a pleasure for the Library to host the zines exhibition. It stimulates thinking about Beckett’s work and brighten our journeys through the Orientation Space of the Eavan Boland Library. Beyond the exhibition, the legacy of Beckett Beyond will continue as a testament to the quality and potential of undergraduate research. The zines have been catalogued and form part of the Library’s permanent collection, to be consulted by future readers.
Supporting Beckett Beyond involved a collaboration from across the Library, with invaluable input from the Conservation Dept, Research Collections, Outreach and Events, and the Periodicals Dept; and with expert assistance from Estates and Management to install the exhibition.
Helen Bradley, Subject Librarian for Drama and Film
As the paper conservator in the library at Trinity College I was asked to assist with the preparation and installation of this Beckett zine exhibition. The exhibition of modern colour printed booklets was just as much a challenge to prepare as my more usual material from the Long Room and Manuscripts and Archives collection, though undoubtedly there was no cleaning or repair to do! My main role is the creation of display mounts that support the materials for the duration of the exhibition, often recycling or creating supports. All the materials we use are archival, and no glues or adhesives are attached to items so it can be tricky to ensure everything stays where it should especially in public spaces, where the cases might be knocked about. It’s always enjoyable to work with different groups across college and, in this case, the students themselves, and be a part of showcasing their final year work.
Clodagh Neligan, Senior Paper Conservator
Students from the Beckett Beyond module visited Research Collections to consult primary source material from the Samuel Beckett Collection. The collection was established in 1969 when the author presented Trinity with four notebooks, and it has grown steadily since.
Students consulted one of the notebooks, L’Aigle, which highlight elements of Beckett’s early creative process such as the difficulty he had in completing work and the self-translation that he often felt kept him from other work. It contains fragments from letters and his novel Malone Meurt.
Students took a close look at drafts of his short prose texts Imagination Dead Imagine and All Strange Away. They were able to compare his draft of All Strange Away with a letter he wrote to Barbara Bray, 22 Sep 1964 Paris, which includes on the verso a diagram Beckett drew for the position of the bodies in All Strange Away. Another letter, from Beckett to Alan Simpson, discusses the English translation of Waiting for Godot and The Pike Theatre in Dublin’s rights to produce the first uncensored English language production of the play in 1955.
Students examined a signed fragment of ‘Epilogue’, an abandoned draft of dramatic work autographed by Beckett in Tangier 1981. Finally, they perused photographs of Beckett at rehearsals for Endgame played in the Abbey Theatre, which makes it the only Beckett play, performed in Ireland, for which the author took part in the rehearsals.
Beckett's autograph, his handwriting, and photos of him work to inspire students who are already passionate about his creative output. They are thrilled with the chance to engage with the materiality of the items, which provides and organic interaction with different stages of his creative process. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and I was delighted to assist in giving them the chance to work with this priceless archive.
Maggie Masterson, Services & Liaison Librarian, Research Collections
My name is Ella O’Neill, and I am the author of the zine Beckett, the Radio & the Mind. My research examines Words and Music and All That Fall, two of six original plays that Beckett wrote for radio. Researching those plays with the Library resources, I identified that a lot of early criticism discusses theories of the mind and visual imagination, so this was a natural path for me to go down with my research. After receiving feedback on the first draft of my zine, I also incorporated more recent theories of the mind into my research. This contemporary criticism contained critiques of these earlier theories and allowed me to present a more well-rounded introduction to Beckett and theories of the mind to readers of my zine.
I am a third-year student in English Literature, and I took this module as an Open Module: one of the things I enjoyed most about it was the introduction and practice of new research methods, such as creative writing and embodied performance. It was great to step outside of my usual methods of study, and my comfort zone, to gain new skills I can use to complement more traditional forms of research. This legacy is traceable in the participatory research method that I used to test how visual imagination is activated by the two plays under study. I surveyed some friends, asking them to describe and draw images they “saw” in their minds while listening to excerpts from the plays I researched. As zines can accommodate visuals, I could incorporate those responses in the dissemination of my research, which complemented my research topic. The use of images provided another means through which I could analyse participant responses in the survey, as I could compare how their verbal descriptions compared to the images they drew.
This module also helped me to feel more comfortable interacting with the College’s academic resources. I feel better integrated within the academic culture at Trinity, something I had felt relatively outside of, or simply unaware of, up until this point. I learned about different research materials and databases and accessed some of the archival materials in Early Printed Books for the first time. We also had lectures from different professors from within the Department of Drama and beyond, which connected the cohort to a wider community of research.
Overall, researching, writing, and creating the zine was, within itself, a rewarding experience, but the skills and practices I have learned in the process will outlast just this project and serve me well into the future of my time studying here.
