[Vwoolf] Virginia Woolf’s Bloomsbury bust put on racism list - The Times 17 February 2022

[Alice Keane]

Marielle, echoing Danell's thanks -- it is interesting to watch as press
coverage develops around this story. The latest is from the London-based
Eastern Eye (which was first published by The Guardian in 1989 and is now
an independent newspaper). The article doesn't appear to be paywalled:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.easterneye.biz/mahatma-gandhi-virginia-woolf-statues-on-racism-review-list/__;!!KGKeukY!mYbpk6MLBpXdpDbkLLGmqHz9miOlZxmuALIMl8MFW1QOo_KnabXjs6M7sNO63adz6us$ 

All my best,
Alice

Alice Keane
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of English
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11367

On Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 10:51 AM Danell Jones via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Marielle,
>
>
>
> I so appreciate being able to read these articles, Marielle. Thank you for
> taking the time to share them with us.
>
>
>
> Danell
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986__;!!KGKeukY!j6kwFSnGq-x4U9uMDhi2fUoLHPqO7wxiOEFbojJ9z_xlUbNtSPUA5G7EXK7ifBPk4aY$>
> for Windows
>
>
>
> *From: *Marielle O'Neill (1806529) PHD via Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>
> *Sent: *Thursday, February 17, 2022 1:08 AM
> *To: *vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> *Subject: *[Vwoolf] Virginia Woolf’s Bloomsbury bust put on racism list -
> The Times 17 February 2022
>
>
>
> Dear Woolfians,
>
>
>
> Another article on this topic; again behind a paywall.
>
>
>
> Warm wishes,
>
> Marielle
>
>
>
> *Virginia Woolf’s Bloomsbury bust put on racism list*
>
>
>
> A statue of Virginia Woolf is to be included in a council review of how to
> make its monuments more “inclusive”.
>
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> The bronze bust outside the author’s former home in Bloomsbury, north
> London, will be assessed by Camden council, which is trying to address
> links to racism, slavery and imperialism.
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>
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> Results from the review of the memorial to Woolf — claimed by some to have
> held racist views — will go into a project to ensure an “accurate, thorough
> and inclusive” approach to monuments.
>
>
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> Other statues said to be included in the Labour-controlled Camden review
> are of Mahatma Gandhi, Karl Marx and Matthew Flinders, the colonial
> explorer of Australia.
>
>
>
> Oliver Cooper, leader of the Camden Conservatives, said: “These plans to
> rewrite hundreds of years of history are being cooked up behind closed
> doors without discussion. If these decisions are being made for public
> benefit, they must have public consent and involvement, and with political
> consensus.”
>
>
>
> Woolf’s novels includes *Mrs Dalloway*, *To the Lighthouse* and *Orlando*.
> Her works have been translated into more than 50 languages and she is
> commemorated on statues, including the bust in Tavistock Square and a
> building at the University of London. She killed herself in 1941.
>
>
>
> Some extracts from Woolf’s work have been criticised for the use of racial
> epithets and her diaries include remarks labelled as racist. She dressed in
> “blackface” in 1910 as part of a elaborate prank by the artists and writers
> known as the Bloomsbury Group.
>
>
>
> Ilona Bell, an American academic who wrote a biographical essay on Woolf
> and who has taught her novels at Williams College, Massachusetts, defended
> the author. She told The Times: “Having lost her mother and been sexually
> abused during adolescence, Virginia Woolf could have defined herself as a
> victim.
>
> “Instead, she wrote some of the most brilliant, experimental novels and
> bold, path-breaking feminist critiques of the 20th century. Nothing she may
> have said or done, off the record, in her private life or journals can or
> should detract from the enormous impact she has had and continues to have.”
>
>
>
> Camden council’s audit eventually may result in QR codes being attached to
> monuments so that people can scan them with their phones and be told about
> the potentially fraught legacies of the people the statues represent.
>
> A spokesman said: “We want to help our communities and visitors to develop
> a greater understanding of statues and memorials in Camden.”
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