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

Thu Jan 2 16:55:28 EST 2025

It does not appear in any results on a search of the Woolf CD-ROM. There
are so many bogus quotes floating around now that it is likely impossible
to put this one back in the bag. I do have a set of pretty cards with that
quotation on them attributed to VW, a gift from someone...!
Perhaps Tiffany, who have admirably attempted to track down permission,
could say "attributed to Virginia Woolf"!

On Thu, Jan 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM Danell Jones via Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>
wrote:

> For what it’s worth, I got zero hits for “foolishly forget” on Kobo, VW
> Complete Works, which includes the diaries. Are we leaning toward an
> invented quote? Danell From: Vwoolf <vwoolf-bounces@ lists. osu. edu> On
> Behalf Of mark. travis---
>
> For what it’s worth, I got zero hits for “foolishly forget” on Kobo, VW *Complete
> Works*, which includes the diaries.
>
>
>
> Are we leaning toward an invented quote?
>
>
>
> Danell
>
>
>
> *From:* Vwoolf <vwoolf-bounces at lists.osu.edu> *On Behalf Of *mark.travis---
> via Vwoolf
> *Sent:* Thursday, January 2, 2025 12:45 PM
> *To:* Neverow, Vara S. <neverowv1 at southernct.edu>; Kristin Czarnecki <
> keczarnecki at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* vwoolf listerve <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>;
> info at virginiawoolfsociety.org.uk; vwoolfsociety at gmail.com
> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] A Woolf quotation? Probably not...
>
>
>
> FWIW, it would seem to me that this would have come from a letter, not
> from a diary entry. Possible to Vita Sackville West or any number of people
> that Woolf corresponded with. Mark Scott Common Reader On Thursday, January
> 2, 2025 at 11: 24: 50
>
> FWIW, it would seem to me that this would have come from a letter, not
> from a diary entry.  Possible to Vita Sackville West or any number of
> people that Woolf corresponded with.
>
> Mark Scott
> Common Reader
>
>
>
> On Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 11:24:50 AM PST, Kristin Czarnecki via
> Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> 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: //www. online-literature. com/forums/showthread.
> php?86494-Finding-the-Origin-of-a-Virginia-Woolf-Quote
>
> 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!2x6KzicmfQ2jlC0yEza6P7w0KJM1U52V1KeeKvtTQA0_OCOAlHJKsojVIGkF7RZ4_-Ywx_EaLKgk19rTnR4D$ 
> <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)
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osu.edu/pipermail/vwoolf/attachments/20250102/7404286e/attachment-0001.html>