Reckoning with the Unforgettable: Taking Stock of the ‘Recovery’ of Modern Scottish Women Writers

• Published in: Scottish literary review Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. xi - xv
• Main Authors: Burke, Lois, King, Gemma, Lauder, Charlotte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Glasgow Association for Scottish Literary Studies 22.03.2022
• Subjects: 19th century; 20th century; Archives & records; Burgess, Moira; Careers; Childrens literature; Collaboration; Conferences; Consciousness; COVID-19; Essays; Feminism; Literary criticism; Pandemics; Research methodology; Researchers; Social media; Women; Womens literature; Writers; Writing; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1756-5634; 2050-6678

For the most part, the digital age has encouraged a wider approach to the process of recovery through access to online catalogues, databases, archival finding aids, document surrogates, digitised magazines and periodicals, and research connections made via social media.3 These approaches are also defining the current generation of researchers: discussions about recovery and representation that stem from feminist and decolonising priorities are redefining the parameters of recovery. [...]self-reflective research approaches in which the researcher considers their positionality and bias in their work has brought renewal to postcolonial, eco-critical and queer approaches to recovery, as well as the inclusion of more diverse forms of women's writing, such as political tracts, periodical literature, children's literature, and life writing. [...]this need has increased since March 2020, and the shared responsibility to ensure that fellow students, researchers and colleagues are encouraged and supported has demonstrated the necessity for collaboration and cooperation. Since the 'Unforgettable, Unforgotten?' conference, several of the presenters have written entries for Juliet Shields's website Scottish Women Writers on the Web, and some were involved in organising a public event to mark the publication of Juliet s new book on nineteenth-century Scottish women writers which was hosted online by the National Library of Scotland in November 2021? Since the pandemic began, the sororal generosity of sharing information and research findings has increased and strengthened our collaborative relationships and we hope that these connections continue to be fruitful.