The Sophian

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Features

Adeline Virginia Woolf was one of the most well-renowned English writers of the 20th century. She was also a member of the Bloomsbury Group, an assortment of well-known artists, writers and intellectuals in England at the time.

This spring semester, Professor Robert Hosmer from the English language and literature department will offer a unique English course called "Reading and Writing with Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group," under the title "Crafting Creative Non-fiction." Hosmer, who earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from UMass-Amherst, specializes in the works of 20th century women writers. He has been researching the subject of Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group for years.

In the course, students will work closely with primary materials from the Mortimer Rare Book Room and the Smith College Museum of Art. The Mortimer Rare Book Room has an extensive collection of Woolf's works.

According to the Rare Book Room, "Woolf's papers include correspondence, reading notes, drafts of essays and short stories, corrected page proofs of novels and collected essays, printed ephemera and photographs." Karen Kukil, associate curator of Special Collections at the college, said, "This is going to be a very interesting course."

The first section of the course will focus on Virginia Woolf and her writing. Students will study Woolf's autobiographical writings, biographies and her prominent novels such as Orlando, Moments of Being and To the Lighthouse. Students will also work closely with her manuscripts in the Mortimer Rare Book Room, review Woolf's first drafts and see how the writer revised her works.

A major collection of Virginia Woolf photographs in the library will enable students to learn about Woolf in her early years. Hosmer said that, "the purpose of this class is to know her [Woolf] as a person and as a writer."

The second section of the class will take place during an exhibition called "A Room of Their Own," which will be held in the Museum of Art from April 3 to June 15. The exhibition will feature the works of the four famous Bloomsbury members: Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant and Dora Carrington.

Students in Hosmer's course will study the famous paintings, sculptures, drawing and sketches during classes. Each student will be required to write a paper introducing one of the four artists at the end of the course and students will present their understanding and their works on the exhibition, to the public.

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