Containing hundreds of manuscripts submitted by authors around the world, The Brautigan Library, located in downtown Vancouver’s Clark County Historical Museum, offers a sanctuary for unpublished works. Holding an enriched history dating back to 1990, the library has only one curator, who is none other than John Barber, a professor teaching under WSU Vancouver’s Creative Media and Digital Culture program.
Barber has a background in sound artistry and holds an interesting past with American author Richard Brautigan, who inspired the library’s existence. Barber had met Brautigan, a pacific northwest local, in the 1980s while living and working in Montana. But, after Brautigan’s death in 1984, Barber utilized his collection of Brautigan’s writing and decided to move forward with research opportunities. He continued to collect information for a bibliography project in college, which eventually led him to develop his master’s thesis and discovery of the library.
“I met him there [in Montana], and we spent quite a bit of time together, and I think we had an interesting relationship. But, we ended up going different directions, and that was sort of it. So I knew him as an author, and I knew him as a person,” Barber said.
According to Barber, the library had developed in Burlington, Vermont, where its original creators wanted to pursue Brautigan’s vision of a “very public library,” shaped by his novel “The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966.” Barber spent over two years negotiating for the library to move to Clark County. In 2010, he was able to successfully transition it to its permanent home in the Clark County Historical Museum.
“When I was seeking permission to do this from the Brautigan estate, one of my promises was that I would restart the Brautigan Library in the sense of accepting new manuscripts, and encouraging people around the world to produce a manuscript of their writing and then submit it to the library. The library would not promise publication, it would promise a place where the manuscript would be available for anyone interested to read it,” Barber said.
As the Brautigan Library is becoming a well known and publicized attraction, the Clark County Historical Museum recently held a Facebook Live presentation about the library on Sep. 3 titled “The Brautigan Library: A very public library turns 30.” During the event, Barber made an appearance and discussed Richard Brautigan’s history, how he came to be an author and details about his past publications.
In addition to Barber’s discussion, three other speakers joined and talked about their backgrounds and associations with the library. The speakers included Richard Holeton and Len Kirschner, both manuscript contributors and audio archivist of the Brautigan Library Podcast, Phoenix Crockett, who reads books and short stories in the library, where he then records and releases them as audiobooks for listeners to enjoy.
“John has been running the library for a while now, and I connected with him immediately and asked about how I [could] get involved. We decided that I would use my humble equipment and humbler skills to record and edit audio submissions to the library in audio format. Then release the submissions on the library website, as well as on podcast platforms. … it is about documenting art that rarely gets documented,” Crockett said.
In association with the Clark County Historical Museum, WSU Vancouver history major alumni and collections manager, James Kice, said that he has been able to access the museum for historical work, and prepare for its potential safe reopening. For those interested in visiting, there will be social distancing measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 later in the year, and Kice said the Brautigan Library will likely be accessible by appointment only.
Kice is responsible for bringing items into the museum’s existing exhibitions, which he then selects for display to the public. He explained the Brautigan Library is a special case for the museum, as they usually only accept historical artifacts or exhibits that are associated with Clark County itself.
“John Barber and the former director here worked closely to get that collection here. Although because we are a Carnegie Library, and Brautigan did not come to Vancouver and did not live in Clark County, it is sort of an exception to our usual collection policy,” Kice said.
Until their reopening, Kice encouraged people to view the information panels outside the museum, and to see the other exhibitions in Clark County Historical Museum’s collection.
At the end of the Brautigan Library’s feature event, Barber said the need for donations toward the library is a key factor in its success.
“What we do not have a lot of is financial support. The Clark County Historical Museum is supported primarily by its members and donors. I encourage you to become either, or both, and do what you can to help the Brautigan Library. Every donation is tax-deductible and goes toward efforts to digitize more manuscripts, making them easier to share with you at home,” Barber said.
Donation information about the Brautigan Library and the Clark County Historical Museum can be found here.
Additionally, Barber explained that people can submit their own manuscripts, no matter the style or subject matter. However, the work must not contain any subject matter that expresses discriminatory hate toward certain groups, is largely obscene or advocate for terrorism. If you are interested in submitting your own manuscript, more information can be found here.
For more information about the Brautigan Library, and viewing the many other manuscripts available, visit the library’s website here.
Olivia is a senior studying English at WSU Vancouver.