Re: Message from M. Ludwick, RE: editing
sm37 (Steven_F_MILLER@umail.umd.edu)
Thu, 31 Mar 1994 15:13:01 ECT
In response to Michael P. Ludwick's post about editing
techniques:
>
>
>Do I>create sentences by the context of the letter, capitalizing the first
>letter of the "sentence" and inserting punctuation, even though my
>soldier did not generally do so? Do I correct spelling and tense to
>make the letters more readable, if less authentic?
>
Most historical editors these days frown on excessive editorial
intervention. Nonstandard prose is usually perfectly understandable without
much monkeying around; what's gained in immediacy and authenticity more
than makes up for the little bit of extra work demanded of the reader.
"Correction" of spelling and tense--especially if done "silently," without
notice to the reader--actually compromises the sources you're editing and
detracts from their value: the way the soldiers expressed themselves--the
words they chose and the ways they spelled them--is part of what makes these
valuable sources, especially to linguists and other students of
language and literature. A good rule of thumb is: Intervene only when a
document is incomprehensible or seriously misleading without intervention, and
then make it clear that you're intervening (e.g., make corrections in italics,
and within brackets, or use footnotes to explain what you've done). Endings of
unpunctuated or unconventionally punctuated sentences can be inobtrusively
denoted with extra space at the end; the eye can tell where one sentence
leaves off and the next begins.
>I am looking for books or articles specifically dealing
with >these kinds of editing issues, specifically problems that arise
>when using Civil War letters. Any advice or sources would be helpful.
>
The standard references by Mary Jo Klein and Beth Luey are helpful, and
these issues have been hashed out often (and at great length) over the years
in the journal Documentary Editing. The sections on editorial method in
such collections as Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, The Papers
of Andrew Johnson, and The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant are also helpful.
>
Steven F. MILLER
Freedmen and Southern Society Project
University of Maryland, College Park 20742
Email: sm37@umail.umd.edu