CSRI research to introduce author to modern readers

Sydney Pratt ’19 is spending time looking through documents from the past in Cole Library.

She’s focusing her research for the Cornell Summer Research Institute on one woman–Winifred Van Etten. Her task is to bring the author’s stories back to life for today’s readers, including republishing one of Van Etten’s short stories. Part of that effort includes creating an introduction.

“That’s ultimately what all of this archival research is for is to be able to truly introduce her in the best way possible to the reader,” Pratt said. “To get a feel for who she was, what kind of person she was, why she is important, and what things she did that make her worth remembering.”

Van Etten was a student at Cornell and a long-time english professor who is well-known for writing “I am the Fox.” Van Etten’s book was such a success that it won the Atlantic Monthly’s annual $10,000 prize. 

Pratt is working with Professor of English Leslie Hankins on the project. They have decided to republish Van Etten’s short story, “The Cheerful Idiot.”

Watch the video story to find out more: