During its 11-year history, the journal "transition," published by Eugene and Maria Jolas between 1927 and 1938, was one of the most influential literary magazines. It featured the work of such noted writers as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Gertrude Stein, Hart Crane, Archibald McLeish, William Carlos Williams and Erskine Caldwell, among others, as well as translations of works by leading European writers, ranging from Kafka to Saint-John Perse. The journal will be the focus of an international conference being held on campus Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19.
In connection with the conference, which is sponsored by the Whitney Humanities Center and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, noted French composer Betsy Jolas will visit Yale to talk about her famous parents, and all issues of "transition" will be on a view in a library display.
Titled "The avant-garde in transition," the conference will explore the influence of the Jolas' journal, which is also famed for publishing 16 installments of James Joyce's "Work in progress," the future "Finnegan's Wake." It will take place Friday, 3-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. at the Whitney Humanities Center (WHC), 53 Wall St. The public is welcome to attend, free of charge.
Conference speakers from Yale include Vincent Giroud, curator of modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke Library, and Tyrus Miller, assistant professor of comparative literature and English. Other participants are Denis Hollier of New York University, Alice Yeager Kaplan of Duke University, Andreas Kramer of the University of London, Marjorie Perloff of Stanford University, Jean-Michel Rabaté of the University of Pennsylvania, Lawrence Rainey of the University of York and Raimer Rumold of Northwestern University.
Memories of her parents
"Remembering Eugene and Maria Jolas" is the title of the talk by Betsy Jolas, which will take place on Friday at 5:15 p.m. at the WHC. Betsy Jolas will recall her years growing up in France among her parents' literary and artistic friends, among other memories. The Jolases were among the closest friends of James Joyce and his family during the last decade of Joyce's life, and also had friendships with Beckett and Calder, as well as André Masson, Henri Matisse and Nathalie Sarraute.
Betsy Jolas was born in 1926 to Eugene and Maria Jolas. Her father was one of the principal contributors to "transition." Marked by his trilingual upbringing, Eugene Jolas advocated a "revolution of the word," and he experimented with multilingual poetry. A collection of Jolas papers at the Beinecke Library includes drafts of Eugene Jolas' autobiography, "Man from Babel," which will be published this year, for the first time, by the Yale University Press.
In addition to her work on "transition," Maria Jolas founded a bilingual school in France. Considered one of the finest literary translators of her time, she was also a political activist, supporting the French Resistance during World War II and serving on the Paris American Committee to Stop War during the Vietnam War.
Betsy Jolas lived in France with her parents until 1940, when the family returned to the United States. She graduated from Bennington College, and returned to Paris after World War II to study music with Plé-Caussade, Messiaen and Milhaud. She worked for national French radio 1955-70, and later taught composition with Messiaen. She is known especially for her vocal scores and for compositions that probe the relationships of text and music and of voice and instruments.
'transition' on display
Throughout Friday and Saturday, the Beinecke Library will have on display all issues of "transition." Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Ferdinand Léger, Joan Miró and Kurt Schwitters are among the prominent artists who designed covers for the literary journal.
The Beinecke Library, located at 121 Wall St., is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
For further information about the conference, special talk or exhibition, contact Vincent Giroud at 432-2872 or via email at vincent.giroud@yale.edu.