[Vwoolf] A Woolf quotation? Probably not...

[Kristin Czarnecki]

Hello,

A Google search brings up several sites saying it's a quote from
the diaries. Here's a discussion thread from 2017 about the quote which
also mentions the diaries but doesn't come up with anything definitive:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?86494-Finding-the-Origin-of-a-Virginia-Woolf-Quote__;!!KGKeukY!22BKPo63GeJCgRilmgf9W9TwZ5-1IqIQgWHXmgC1PvP1O0DKRfuHJFPnc31HivQrQErN-nqHhpTkNyaVhFNQws26$ 

Drew Shannon, is this from the diaries?

Cheers,

Kristin

On Thu, Jan 2, 2025 at 2:19 PM Neverow, Vara S. via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Dear Woolves, Karen Levenback and I (and the IVWS and the VWSGB) have
> received an email from someone who indicates that she is working for
> Tiffany & Co and wants to find out about permission to use the phrase
> below. I am reaching out to
> Dear Woolves,
>
> Karen Levenback and I (and the IVWS and the VWSGB) have received an email
> from someone who indicates that she is working for Tiffany & Co and wants
> to find out about permission to use the phrase below.
> I am reaching out to inquire about obtaining permission to use the
> following quote, which is widely attributed to Virginia Woolf.
> *"In case you ever foolishly forget:  I am never not thinking of you."*
> Our client, Tiffany & Co, would like to incorporate this quote in their
> upcoming campaign and want to ensure we handle any necessary permission
> appropriately.  Could you kindly confirm if this quote is part of Woolf's
> works or if there are any rights associated with its use?
> As far as I can determine, the phrase, which shows up on Etsy and
> Goodreads and so forth, was invented anonymously and *might *be
> associated with something Woolf actually wrote (similar to Woolf's own
> phrasing that became "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman"). I
> suppose it could also have been drawn from the play or the film version of *Vita
> and Virginia *(or from one of the novels on Woolf). In a search on Google
> Books and Google Scholar and the Kindle version of *Virginia Woolf: The
> Complete Works *not one instance of the phrase appeared. (In the Kindle
> version, "Foolishly" shows up in Woolf's writing only 18 times--and not one
> instance is part of that phrase.)
> Regarding this search, I have alerted the person who has contacted the
> Woolf societies and the *Miscellany* that I am asking Woolf scholars and
> common readers to ponder the query. It would be interesting to know more
> about the origin and history of the phrase.
> Best,
> Vara
> Vara Neverow
> (she/her/hers)
> Professor, English Department
> Editor, *Virginia Woolf Miscellany*
> Southern Connecticut State University
> New Haven, CT 06515
> 203-392-6717
> neverowv1 at southernct.edu
>
> *I acknowledge that Southern Connecticut **State University was built on
> traditional territory of the indigenous peoples and nations of the
> Paugussett and Quinnipiac peoples.*
>
>
> *Recent Publications:*
>
> Lead editor, *Virginia Woolf: Critical and Primary Sources *(Bloomsbury,
> 2020; with Jeanne Dubino, Kathryn Simpson, and Gill Lowe); Editor, Volume
> One, 1975-1984, *Virginia Woolf: Critical and Primary Sources* (Bloomsbury,
> 2020); Co-editor, *The Edinburgh Companion to Virginia Woolf and
> Contemporary Global Literature* (Edinburgh, 2020; with Jeanne Dubino,
> Paulina Pająk, Catherine Hollis, and Celiese Lypka)
>
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