Clark Blaise Papers First Accession and Second Accession: An Inventory of the Archive at The University of Calgary Libraries

R.G. Moyles is a professor of English at the University of Alberta.

This is a catalogue of Manuscript Collection 41 in the University of
Calgary’s impressive series of Canadian author archival acquisitions.
In addition to Blaise, the series includes such writers as Wiebe, Van
Herk, Richler, and MacLennan. It is for these archives that the
University is justifiably gaining a reputation as one of our foremost
research centres. This particular collection is both large and
comprehensive, including not only 2045 manuscript items (of novels,
short stories, essays, speeches, etc.), but some 4600 pieces of
correspondence, 86 photographs and more than 300 items belonging to the
artist Bharati Mukherjee, Blaise’s wife. The catalogue, which
inventories this substantial archive, is a model one. The logical
arrangement of material within self-evident categories (correspondence,
manuscript, etc.), the identification of individual items by accession
number, an alphabetical list of titles, and a general index all make
this an eminently accessible reference tool. A “Biocritical Essay”
on Blaise by Catherine Ross and an “Archival Introduction” by the
compiler offer lucid and informative introductions to both the writer
and the collection. All in all, it is an excellent inventory, with the
added appeal of being visually attractive. Whatever one may feel about
the nature of the material (are wedding invitations important?), there
can be no doubt about the University of Calgary’s expertise and
dedication—its archival collections are being preserved with
professional care and promoted in a thoroughly scholarly fashion.