HARDY FORUM ARCHIVE HO3023 4/11/03 "ELINA TAUBE NEWS UPDATE"
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Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 17:20:30 -0400
From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu>
Subject: Elina Taube
Greetings all-- to those who have been writing to me about Elina Taube please
note the following letter which will be published in the May edition of the
Hardy *Journal*:
Dept of English,
Yale University,
Linsly-Chittenden Hall
63 High St,
New Haven 06520-8302
April 11th 2003
Dear Editor,
Most members of The Hardy Association will already know the inspiring
story of student-pioneer Elina Taube, but for those Hardy Society members who
have not been following her saga on TTHA’s Forum
(http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/Welcome/Forum/forum.htm) here is a brief
outline.
Elina, who lives in Latvia (which recently gained independence from the Soviet
Union) wrote to TTHA’s Forum a few years ago to ask for help. She was a
student
at Latvia National University studying literature and specialising, for her MA
thesis, in Hardy -- with only three Hardy books available!
As far as I can recall, Elina first wrote with a question or two about
some
aspect of her Hardy studies (which is precisely what TTHA’s Forum invites),
but
when I discovered she was struggling along with only three books by Hardy I
started a Book Drive. TTHA team called this project Books For Latvia. Within
six months Elina had already received a couple of dozen books from kindly
scholars around the world; later, when I realised she was in some cases
receiving duplicates I had her agree to donate these to the National
Library so
other students could benefit from them.
There were various protocols involved in getting these books through
Latvian customs for, just as the US Government censors and prohibits certain
items and certain people entering the US (Dariel Fo [sp?] was one such!) so
too
in Latvia. Luckily we managed to get Hardy through Latvian customs after some
paperwork but I’m still not certain whether all our copies made it. We are
still in the process of checking this out with Elina.
The poignancy of this story lies in Elina’s determination to pursue her
work on Hardy even though her own supervisor had fewer books than she and
despite the fact that Books for Latvia was operating with random, uncertain
deliveries. You and I can research in libraries, on the internet, and with the
marvellous aid of interlibrary loan. Not Elina. Her research had brought
her to
TTHA which was wonderful -- but not even TTHA can provide all the resources
required by an aspiring PhD student. However, Elina did gain her Masters last
year with Honours and as a result of her great endeavour was offered a
teaching/research position, at her college. I believe it was an interim or
temporary position but it expressed the pride and admiration her college
colleagues and faculty felt for her.
Our next plan is to raise sufficient funds to bring her to the next Hardy
Conference. Elina lives on a State minimum income of approximately $120 a
month. Clearly she would never be able to finance this trip herself. I have
already received some donations, although at this point I don’t have the costs
of airfares etc to hand. I will post this information on the internet -- on
the above Forum -- and in the next Journal, when I get it.
Please help Elina! Attending a Hardy Conference would be a momentous
occasion for her. Imagine it! Real Hardy Country. Real Hardy Scholars. And not
least to be able put faces to the names of her benefactors.
Would those outside the UK please mail dollar cheques and money orders to
me: Rosemarie Morgan, 124 Bishop St, New Haven , CT 06511, and those in the
UK,
to Helen Gibson, 21 Abbot’s Walk, Cerne Abbas, Dorchester DT 2 7J. The Gibsons
and I talk by email most days of the week so we can easily co-ordinate this
project.
Thanking you in advance, for your generosity and goodwill. I know we will
be able to make this happen for Elina!
With every good wish,
Rosemarie Morgan
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Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 09:11:48 -0400
From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu>
Subject: Re:Changes: Elina Taube
Ooops! sent off prematurely-- sorry!
_____________________________
Greetings all--
Longstanding TTHA member, Lisa Cacicia has offered to take on the "Elina
Taube Appeal" (with Helen Gibson in the UK: 21 Abbot’s Walk, Cerne Abbas,
Dorchester DT 2 7J.)
So please send your contributions to:
________
Lisa Cacicia
77 K Street
Johnstown, PA 15906
_________
Lisa's email is: Lcacicia@wmconnect.com
Please make cheques payable to Lisa NOT to TTHA (if you have already mailed
cheques to me I'll bank them and send alternative cheques to Lisa)
Grateful appreciation to Lisa-- (who better for the job? -- Lisa is a
writer, TV producer and News Anchor)
Many thanks in advance for your support and generosity.
With every good wish,
Rosemarie
________
Outdated contact below-- please erase.
> Would those outside the UK please mail dollar cheques and money orders to
>me: Rosemarie Morgan, 124 Bishop St, New Haven , CT 06511,
> Thanking you in advance, for your generosity and goodwill. I know we
will
>be able to make this happen for Elina!
>With every good wish,
>Rosemarie Morgan
>
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From: "Michael Barry" <michaelj.barry@talk21.com>
Subject: Re: Re:Changes: Elina Taube
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 02:48:53 +0100
In the case of books for deserving students, have you thought of the e-book
approach? viz making the works available by e-mail/ file transfer? Hardy is
out of copyright after all, and this is a cheap and easy way to disseminate
works to those "without". I'm happy to volunteer (over a period of time!)
the scanning and OCRing of a volume.
Michael B
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Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 16:42:51 -0400
From: Robert Schweik <schweikr@localnet.com>
Subject: Re: Re:Changes: Elina Taube
Michael's offer is a generous one, but I'm not sure whether Elina has
access to the web.
If so, the TTHA Links provides access to an enormous range of e-texts
of Hardy's poetry and prose. Just check the index under the "E"
heading.
I mention this to save Michael time scanning texts already scanned--
very much of the Hardy canon. There are problems with these
texts--for which see the "GENERAL CAUTION" part of Links--but they
are certainly better than nothing.
However, as I said, I'm not sure Elina has access to the web.
Bob Schweik
schweik@fredonia.edu
schweikr@localnet.com
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Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 14:00:17 -0400
From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu>
Subject: Re: Re:Changes: Elina Taube
Thanks Michael--
I'd need to find out from Elina if this is practical. I know that students in,
say, India, have internet access rationed and the rations are short. It may
well be the same in Latvia. I have a feeling that Elina gets to use a computer
for internet purposes about once a month and then, for minutes only, not
hours.
Alternatively, some students have to pay for usage (and this can sometimes
make
the internet prohibitive for some) .Would these limitations affect use of the
e-texts you have in mind?
Having said all of that-- all of that most dispiriting stuff (I'm sorry for
that) -- if we can pursue your ideas, given the above contingencies, please
don't be deterred (I know you won't be!). I have another idea. If you can
produce copies of the TH texts why not go ahead with this, set up a website
(or
give the texts to TTHA to set up, although I'd much rather YOU did it,
given my
already staggering workload), and then we can simply direct students et al to
the "TH" site and tell them to help themselves? Alternatively. you could give
the texts to the Members' Research page to be accessed by members only - my
misgivings about this are that the idea you have is to make things much
simpler
and cheaper --? Hence, to have to pay $35 in annual membership to access this
resource among other resources might not be simpatico.
It is for ever a conflict-- to work at sharing (with the disadvantaged) what
one has reaped, to give to those who haven't been lucky enough to have been
recipients, yet to have to struggle with time, work and funding to make all
these good things actually happen.
Besties,
R
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From: "Michael Barry" <michaelj.barry@talk21.com>
Subject: Re: Re:Changes: Elina Taube
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 03:18:34 +0100
An alternative is to post a floppy with texts on it - if web access is not
in fact synonymous with e-mail access. Either way I'll happily start on a
text in near future - but if some have already been scanned and made
available, and if some are in more demand than others, can anyone advise on
which would be a good practical first step - for the dispossessed? (I
personally own paperbacks of all the short stories, and have a copy also of
some, maybe most, of the novels - no poetry though). Presumably as long as
footnotes and prefaces are erased, then "edition" copyright falls by the
wayside?
Michael B
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Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 17:57:14 -0400
From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu>
Subject: : Elina Taube
Greetings All:
I have the sorry task of telling you all, especially the generous donors
among you, that Elina cannot leave Latvia due to circumstances beyond her
control.
Your cheques will be returned to you. Thank you again for your kindness.
Elina was deeply touched by the Appeal and looks forward to the day when
she'll be able to tell you so in person.
With every good wish,
Rosemarie
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