Guide to the Papers of Sue Woolfe, 1965-2013

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9812, MS Acc13.107

Creator:

Woolfe, Sue

Extent:

(42 ms boxes + 20 audio visual carriers + 52 digital carriers)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sue Woolfe, National Library of Australia, MS 9812, [Class/series/file/item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part not available for research; part permission required for research until access is determined. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The original consignment contains papers relating to Woolfe's novel Leaning towards infinity: how my mother's apron unfolds into my life which was published by Vintage Australia in 1996. The book was later published in the United States, the United Kingdom and Holland. Leaning towards infinity was written over a period of several years and the papers comprise correspondence with publishers, editors and colleagues; research notes; early ideas, edited drafts and proofs.The novel evolved from a play of the same name, written by Woolfe and first performed in the United States in 1995. There are papers relating to the development of the script and to productions of the play in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

The 2013 consignment consists of correspondence, research notes, articles, short stories, and drafts of several of her novels.

Biographical Note:

Sue Woolfe was born in Sydney and spent her childhood in Springwood in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. She was educated at Sydney University and the University of New England. Woolfe's writing career began when she wrote the textbook Language and literature. The money she earned from this allowed her to set up a film business, which produced some forty documentaries for television. Woolfe moved on to writing film scripts and eventually novels, including Painted woman and Leaning towards infinity: how my mother's apron unfolds into my life, which won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in 1996, The secret cure(2003), The Mystery of the Cleaning Lady: A Writer Looks Creativity and Neuroscience (2007), The Oldest Song in the World (2012), Do You Love Me Or What? (2017).

Sue Woolfe still lives in Sydney, and teaches addition to her writing work. Woolfe was a lecturer in the Department of English at Sydney University teaching creative writing, but after completing a Doctorate at UTS in creativity and neuroscience She now teaches what neuroscience knows about creativity to playwrights at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in NSW and to composers in The School of Music, ANU (Australian National University).

Reading Room Access Note:

For preservation reasons, we are unable to deliver digital and audiovisual carriers to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact (Ask a Librarian) to enquire about access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers were purchased from Sue Woolfe in 2000.

Arrangement:

Woolfe has organised the papers into titled Files and the order of the contents of the Files had been retained by the Library. The papers have been listed by box and File number, using Woolfe's File titles for the description.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Arts
Society and culture

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn679886).

Conditions Governing Use:

Conditions for copying and publishing of this collection may apply, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn679886).

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sue Woolfe, National Library of Australia, MS 9812, [Class/series/file/item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

Contact us