Scholarly Editing and the Role of the Textual

Editor
In many ways Dr. McLawhorns journey into the world of
scholarly editing can be described as the quintessential route for
an editor. She did not fall into after many years in another
industry or come upon it by happenstance. Rather she was
introduced to the works of John Donne as an undergrad at NC
State University, and it was this introduction which would
profoundly change the course of her life.
Initially a Psychology major, once she began to study the works of
Donne, she switched to the English department and soon began
John Donne (1572 -1631)
to work with the Variorum under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas
Hester. This early work would form the foundation for both her education aspirations and
work experiences in the decade to come. In my conversation with her over the phone I
gained insight into her work as a textual and technical editor in the Donne Variorum.
Prior to discussing Dr. McLawhorns work and how she came to be involved in the poetry of
John Donne, it is important to provide background on what the Donne Variorum is and the
underlying importance of textual criticism upon which the formation of the Variorum rests.
For it is these concepts and an understanding of their importance is that is integral for us
to understand the work of scholarly editors, such as Dr. McLawhorn, as well as textual
editing itself.

The Donne Variorum

No man is an island, how often have we heard this quote, and yet while it has become
entrenched into our culture, very few would be able to attribute the quote to its author,
John Donne. While recognition of his works and the work accomplished by those working
in the Variorum tend to be largely unknown outside of literary circles, his work has had an
indelible effect on our society and the work of the Variorum has been recognized and
supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
John Donne was arguably one of the most popular poets in early 17th century England, and
has long been recognized as the chief poet of the "metaphysical" school, and possibly one of
the most important English writers of the Renaissance. His works are noted for their
strong, sensual style and include sonnets, poems, Latin translations, songs, satires and
sermons and other genres. The poetry of Donne is noted for its vibrancy of language and
inventiveness of metaphor, especially compared to that of his contemporaries. (Wikipedia)
Over a period of about 40 years, Donne wrote about 200 poems, ranging in length from one
to just over 500 lines. In kind, they range from epigrams to love elegies, satires, and love
songs, from verse epistles and philosophical meditations to funeral laments, epithalamions,
holy sonnets, and hymns.
The textual work completed in the Donne Variorum is predicated on the conviction that
Donne's poetry has never before been properly edited, essentially because no previous

editor recognized the theoretical implications of the circumstances under which Donne
wrote and distributed his poems. Consequently, the primary artifacts upon which an
edition is generally based: manuscript copies, 17th century books, poetical miscellanies and
collections of Donnes poetry, have never been studied for what they actually are. Rather
what is considered as his work is that which has been institutionalized by printers, rather
than John Donne himself. Further complicating the matter is that John Donne did not
maintain a comprehensive personal archive and as such only a single poem survives in his
own hand.

Textual Criticism
Essential to the work of the Donne Variorum is that of textual criticism. Textual criticism
is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with
the identification and removal of transcription errors in texts. (Wikipedia) The textual
critic seeks to reconstruct the original text, with the ultimate objective of the production of
a "critical edition" containing a text most closely approximating the original manuscript or
book.
In order to present a text that is consistent with the bibliographical circumstances those
working with the Variorum have undertaken to transcribe and collate every copy of every
Donne poem in every early manuscript, as well as similarly to collate the texts that appear
in the early print tradition. Those working on the Variorum, such as Dr. McLawhorn, then
study all these texts and the physical artifacts that contain them in order to construct a
textual history for each poem (or group of poems) which will allow the identification of the
least corrupted document for use as a copy-text. This allows for an apparatus in which a
discursive analysis of the textual history of each poem or group of poems may occur.
(DigitalDonne, n.d.).
A general textual volume, prepared at the end of the project, will provide first-line indices,
physical descriptions, and information on provenance and interrelationships for all textual
artifacts used in the edition. To date the Variorum has completed four of the eight
projected volumes of his work.

The Beginning of a Journey

For Dr. McLawhorn the works of John Donne made poetry come alive and it was this
initial attraction which caused her to change from the Psychology department to the
English department as undergraduate at NC State University. Working under another
Donne scholar, Dr. Thomas Hester, Dr. McLawhorn became involved in the Donne
Variorum. During her years under Dr. Hester she would edit poems trace genealogy, etc.
and it was all of this work which provided her with a solid foundation in the works of Donne
and an understanding what scholarly and textual editing involves.
This involvement would continue on through her masters in which she completed her thesis
on A textual history of Jon Donnes The Will. Finishing at NC State University she went
on to continue her studies under Dr. Gary Stringer at Southern Mississippi University.
Studying with Hester, editing poems, tracing genealogy, worked in class to do a little of the
works editing poems, all of these things began her journey into the world of John Donne.

Working on her doctorate under Dr. Gary Stringer, one of the founders of the John Donne
Society, at the University of Southern Mississippi, Dr. McLawhorn continued with her work
on the Variorum eventually completing her PhD. Continuing to work with Dr. Stringer,
she followed him to East Carolina University, where she now works as the Technical Editor
and Assistant Textual Editor of the Variorum.

The Work of a Technical Editor/Assistant Textual Editor

Through her work with the Donne Variorum, Dr. McLawhorn compares various versions of
Donnes works using software to compare copies of the text. In her role as a textual editor
Dr. Mclawhorn gathers all of the transcriptions and compares them using a compilation
program which is able to identify textual differences. Once complete the program prints out
a master sheet and Dr. McLawhorn sets to work searching for and identifying the
differences. As the print out shows all of the sources, the editor is then able to trace back
any differences to the source itself.
In doing so, the editors are able to trace back to an approximation of what was original
written. There may be 30 different versions all written in different hands, and yet each
must traced through to ensure that the most accurate version is recreated in order to
provide the most accurate and complete approximation of John Donnes work to a modern
audience. The most common issues which occur for Dr. McLawhorn do so in typesetting,
and putting the manuscripts in to the design software where she note a missing quotation
mark or something of its ilk. Once the differences are noted, Dr. McLawhorn has to hunt
down and see where the quotation most likely actually ended.
While Dr. McLawhorn works as the Technical Editor of the Variorum, she is not
responsible for certain functions of website maintenance, for that is left to programmers
and developers. However her work requires a certain level of technical knowledge, and
must use software such as InDesign, Dreamweaver, a file generator program that allows
her to create a transcript of the manuscripts be analyzed, as well as other types of software.

Other Hats
While Dr. McLawhorn serves as an editor on the Variorum, her work entails much more
than simply technical and textual editing. By virtue of her role as an editor of the
Variorum, Dr. McLawhorn also serves on the John Donne Society as ex. officio of the
executive committee. Her role on the committee involves a fair amount of planning, but
does not comprise a huge portion of her job. But does necessitate participation in an annual
meeting.
And while she works with the society, the vast majority of her work directly involves the
Donne Variroum. Most of work involves textual work and commentary, tracking down
problems, spot checking the commentary, researching, typesetting, maintaining the Digital
Donne website, and supervising undergraduates.

Life after the Variorum

While Dr. McLawhorn has enjoyed and plans to see the Variorum through to its
completion, she understands that like all good things this too must come to an end.
Currently four volumes have been completed since the projects inception in the 1980s.
However, once all eight volumes are complete, Dr. McLawhorn plans to return to teaching.
Like so many of us, Dr. McLawhorn likes to leave her work at the office, and while she
enjoys the litany works of shakespears and mysteries to relax at home, she does not read
poetry.

Conclusion
On June 22, 1862, Samuel Clemens wrote his brother Orion from Esmeralda, California,
that those Enterprise fellows make perfect nonsense of my letters, explaining that like
all dd fool printers, they can't follow the punctuation as it is in the manuscript. They
have, by this means made a mass of senseless, dd stupidity out of my last letter. (Mark
Twain Project, n.d.). This quote makes clear the need for textual editing and its importance
in maintaining the original meaning and context of the authors work. For it is even in this
subtle and seemingly insignificant differences that the meaning can be irrevocably changed.
It is through the work of Dr. McLawhorn and other scholarly editors who attempt to
recreate what has been lost that it can be understood that are attempting not only to save
the works of a singular individual, but that of our culture as well.
Dr. McLawhon was gracious enough to take time out of her day to speak with me, and I
appreciate her willingness to do so. In speaking with her I was gained insight into work,
her role of the Variorum and a knowledge of the need for precision in all that we do, in
order to ensure we present what is said and meant.

Commentary
Prior to my conversation with Dr. McLawhorn I had really no knowledge of the works of
John Donne, the Variorum or what textual editing involved. Editing is by its definition
requires a precision not found in many other fields. For it is more than correct grammar
and punctuation usage, it is about conveying a message and an idea in the clearest terms
possible. The work of a textual editor is part editor, but it is also part detective in that it
requires careful consideration of all of the evidence presented and attempts to unravel what
seems to a much knotted ball of string. This type of attention to detail can only be found in
those who have a passion for what they do, in the case of Dr. McLawhorn, her love of the
profession and the works of John Donne.

References
Introduction. (n.d.).DigitalDonne: The Online Variorum. Retrieved from
http://donnevariorum.tamu.edu/anglist/index.html on July25, 2015
John Donne. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne
on July 29, 2015
Textual Editing. (n.d.). In The Mark Twain Project. Retrieved from
http://www.marktwainproject.org/about_hirst_essay.shtml on July 30, 2015