The William Blake Archive is a
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
project started in 1994, a first version of the website was launched in 1996.
[{{cite journal, last1=Crawford, first1=Kendal, last2=Levy, first2=Michelle, journal=RIDE: A Review Journal for Digital Editions and Resources, date = February 2017, issue = 5, title = The William Blake Archive, doi = 10.18716/ride.a.5.5] The project is sponsored by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
and supported by the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
and the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
.
[{{Cite web, url = http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/site.info.html, publisher = The William Blake Archive, title = The William Blake Archive Site Info, access-date = March 19, 2013, date = June 14, 2011] Inspired by the
Rossetti Archive, the archive provides digital reproductions of the various works of
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
, a prominent
Romantic-period poet, artist, and engraver, alongside annotation, commentary and scholarly materials related to Blake.
[{{cite journal, title = Behind the Scenes at the William Blake Archive: Collaboration Takes More Than E-mail , last = Eaves, first = Morris, volume = 3, issue = 2 , date = December 1997, journal = Journal of Electronic Publishing, doi = 10.3998/3336451.0003.202, doi-access = free]
When publishing his poetry, William Blake would create print block illustrations for his book, print his books in black and white and then hand paint the illustrations within the prints. Furthermore, many of his works underwent multiple editions of printing, each with unique variations in the prints used to illustrate the poems and the poems themselves. Because of this complex process and the quality of his art, his art and poetry has been highly sought by collectors and scholars. The archive, as a
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
project, provides high quality digital copies of the facsimiles, providing scholars and students an opportunity to see the complexity of his published works often not available by viewing the scholarly print editions.
[{{Cite web, title = Using the William Blake Archive in Teaching Poetry, first =Josephine A. , last = McQuail, work = "World Wide Poetry on the Web" a MLA Poetry Division Panel, url = http://epc.buffalo.edu/conferences/00/mla/web.html, publisher = The Electronic Poetry Center at The University of Buffalo, access-date = March 16, 2013][{{cite journal , journal = Computers and the Humanities, date = February 2002, volume = 36, issue = 1, pages =27–48, title = Digital Facsimiles: Reading the William Blake Archive, first =Joseph , last =Viscomi, doi = 10.1023/A:1013163229994, s2cid = 42669262]
The archive has been peer reviewed by the
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...
in 2005 and the
Multimedia Educational Tools for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) process in 2010.
[{{cite web, url = http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewCompositeReview.htm?id=502599, title = Peer Review:The William Blake Archive, date = Nov 25, 2010, author = English Editorial Board, access-date = March 10, 2015] MERLOT highly recommended the use of the tool for teaching, praising the access to primary sources it provides; however, they also noted the need for educators to create instructional materials on how to use the site and the ease by which someone could get lost.[ Scholars have also written a number of educational case studies on how to use the archive.][See for example Josephine A. McQuail]
Using the William Blake Archive in Teaching Poetry
from MLA 2000 in Washington, D.C. or Daniel Cook
Teaching Romanticism VI: William Blake
on the ''Romantic Textualities'' blog.
Notes
{{reflist, group = note
References
{{reflist
Further reading
*Whitson, Roger and Jason Whittaker. ''William Blake and Digital Humanities:Collaboration, Participation, and Social Media.'' New York: Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN, 978-0415-65618-4.
External links
The William Blake Archive Homepage
{{William Blake, crit
Digital humanities
William Blake
American digital libraries
Digital humanities projects