The destinies of literary manuscripts, past present and future

Abstract

This essay reviews the ways in which literary manuscripts may be considered to be archivally unique, as well as valuable in all senses of the word, and gives a cautious appraisal of their future in the next 10 to 20 years. It reviews the essential nature of literary manuscripts, and especially the ways in which they form ‘split collections’. This leads to an assessment of the work of the Diasporic Literary Archives network from 2012 to 2014, and some of the key findings. The essay closes with reflections on the future of literary manuscripts in the digital age – emerging trends, research findings, uncertainties and unknowns.