Studying Melville Jacoby in Eugene

Many of you have heard about Melville Jacoby by now. Those who haven't can read more about him there, and elsewhere on my blog. Now that the seventieth anniversary of his death is upon us, I'm renewing my work writing the book Mel never got to write. Later today I'm headed down to Eugene, OR, to visit the special collections at the University of Oregon library. There, I'll peruse the manuscripts of the Charles E. Stuart Collection. Stuart, you'll recall, was the dentist and amateur radio enthusiast in Ventura, Calif. who received radio broadcasts Mel set up from XGOY, the official Republic of China radio station in wartime Chungking, China (now known as Chongqing). Somehow, the complete transcripts of these broadcasts, files full of related materials and original recordings of them ended up just 100 miles away from my current home. Though my grandmother has a few of the recordings, I've yet to visit her home in California to listen to them since this project started.

With the visit timed to the anniversary of Mel's death, I'd hoped to hear his voice for the first time. Alas, that won't be possible, as the recordings are too fragile for the university to allow me to play them. I'm told the archives can't play the recordings until they're digitized — they're so fragile that even playing them once could damage them beyond repair. I completely understand the precaution. Unfortunately, it's not clear to me when the recordings will be digitized as they're not a high priority for the university. If I want to hear them I'll either have to find a way to collaborate with the school to digitize them or find other sources for the recordings. Meanwhile, I'll have to further hasten plans to listen to those recordings my grandmother has, but fragility will be an issue there, too. Your support will help make listening to (and digitizing) these recordings possible, and pays for research like that I'm about to conduct in Eugene.

Despite not being able to listen to the recordings, I'm excited for the visit. The manuscripts will provide a detailed look at Mel's working life, the events taking place in China immediately surrounding him, and the people with whom he worked and interacted. I'm eager to take the trip, and thankful that the support I've already received has made it feasible. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on what I find out and where I go next.