Harriet Shaw Weaver
Encyclopedia
Harriet Shaw Weaver was a political activist
and a magazine
editor
. She also became the patron
of James Joyce
.
Harriet Shaw Weaver was born in Frodsham
, Cheshire
, the daughter of Frederic Poynton Weaver, a doctor
, and Mary Wright, who had inherited a fortune from her father. She was educated privately by a governess
, initially in Cheshire and later in Hampstead
. Her parents denied her wish to go to university
and she decided to embark on social work
. After attending a course on the economic
basis of social relations at the London School of Economics
she became involved in women's suffrage
and joined the Women's Social and Political Union
.
In 1911 she began subscribing to The Freewoman
: A Weekly Feminist Review, a radical periodical edited by Dora Marsden
and Mary Gawthorpe
. The following year its proprietors withdrew their support from it and Weaver stepped in to save it from financial ruin. In 1913 it was renamed The New Freewoman
. Later that year at the suggestion of the magazine's literary editor, Ezra Pound
, the name was changed again to The Egoist
. During the following years Weaver made more financial donations to the periodical, becoming more involved with its organisation and also becoming its editor.
Ezra Pound was involved with finding new contributors and one of these was James Joyce. Weaver was convinced of his genius and started to support him, first by serialising A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
in The Egoist in 1914. When Joyce could not find anyone to publish it as a book, Weaver set up the Egoist Press for this purpose at her own expense. Joyce's Ulysses
was then serialised in The Egoist but because of its controversial content it was rejected by all the printers approached by Weaver and she arranged for it to be printed abroad. Weaver continued to give considerable support to Joyce and his family but following her reservations about his work that was to become Finnegans Wake
, their relationship became strained and then virtually broken. However, on Joyce's death, Weaver paid for his funeral and acted as his executor
.
In 1931 Weaver joined the Labour Party
but then, having been influenced by reading Marx's
Das Kapital
she joined the Communist Party
in 1938. She was active in this organisation, taking part in demonstrations and selling copies of the Daily Worker
. She also continued her allegiance to the memory of Joyce, acting as his literary executor and helping to compile The Letters of James Joyce. She died at her home near Saffron Walden
in 1961, leaving her collection of literary material to the British Library
and to the National Book League.
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and a magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. She also became the patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
.
Harriet Shaw Weaver was born in Frodsham
Frodsham
Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, the daughter of Frederic Poynton Weaver, a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and Mary Wright, who had inherited a fortune from her father. She was educated privately by a governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
, initially in Cheshire and later in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. Her parents denied her wish to go to university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and she decided to embark on social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
. After attending a course on the economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
basis of social relations at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
she became involved in women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and joined the Women's Social and Political Union
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...
.
In 1911 she began subscribing to The Freewoman
Freewoman
The Freewoman was a feminist weekly published between November 23, 1911 and October 10, 1912 and edited by Dora Marsden and Mary Gawthorpe.Although The Freewoman published articles on women's waged work, housework, motherhood, the suffrage movement, and literature, its notoriety and influence...
: A Weekly Feminist Review, a radical periodical edited by Dora Marsden
Dora Marsden
Dora Marsden was an English feminist editor of avant-garde literary journals, and an author of philosophical writings.-Early life:...
and Mary Gawthorpe
Mary Gawthorpe
Mary Eleanor Gawthorpe was a British suffragette, socialist, trade unionist and editor, described by Rebecca West as "a merry militant saint"....
. The following year its proprietors withdrew their support from it and Weaver stepped in to save it from financial ruin. In 1913 it was renamed The New Freewoman
The New Freewoman
The New Freewoman was a monthly London literary magazine edited by Dora Marsden and owned by Harriet Shaw Weaver. Initially Rebecca West was in charge of the literary content of the magazine, but after meeting Ezra Pound at one of Violet Hunt's parties in 1913 she recommended that he be appointed...
. Later that year at the suggestion of the magazine's literary editor, Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, the name was changed again to The Egoist
The Egoist (periodical)
The Egoist was a London literary magazine published from 1914 to 1919, during which time it published important early modernist poetry and fiction. In its manifesto, it claimed to "recognise no taboos," and published a number of controversial works, such as parts of Ulysses...
. During the following years Weaver made more financial donations to the periodical, becoming more involved with its organisation and also becoming its editor.
Ezra Pound was involved with finding new contributors and one of these was James Joyce. Weaver was convinced of his genius and started to support him, first by serialising A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first English edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917...
in The Egoist in 1914. When Joyce could not find anyone to publish it as a book, Weaver set up the Egoist Press for this purpose at her own expense. Joyce's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
was then serialised in The Egoist but because of its controversial content it was rejected by all the printers approached by Weaver and she arranged for it to be printed abroad. Weaver continued to give considerable support to Joyce and his family but following her reservations about his work that was to become Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
, their relationship became strained and then virtually broken. However, on Joyce's death, Weaver paid for his funeral and acted as his executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
.
In 1931 Weaver joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
but then, having been influenced by reading Marx's
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
she joined the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in 1938. She was active in this organisation, taking part in demonstrations and selling copies of the Daily Worker
The Morning Star
The Morning Star is a left wing British daily tabloid newspaper with a focus on social and trade union issues. Articles and comment columns are contributed by writers from socialist, social democratic, green and religious perspectives....
. She also continued her allegiance to the memory of Joyce, acting as his literary executor and helping to compile The Letters of James Joyce. She died at her home near Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
in 1961, leaving her collection of literary material to the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
and to the National Book League.