THE MILTON TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT (MTP) is dedicated to making all of John Milton's
poetry and prose available for public access on the Internet. Although most of Milton's poetry
will
soon be available at the Oxford Text Archive and at the University of Richmond server, most of
the English and Latin prose--along with a great deal of fascinating Miltoniana--remains to be
done.
We invite you to join us in providing accurate scholarly transcriptions of these texts.
Volunteers may transcribe as much or as little as they wish; each transcription will be proofread,
formatted, checked, and refereed. We shall acknowledge any significant contribution, and all
accepted transcriptions will be credited by name.
The MTP, currently supported by Milton-L, _Milton Quarterly_, the Computer Writing and
Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Richmond's
web-server, is the joint creation of volunteers from 24 colleges and universities in three countries.
In order to volunteer, to preview some initial contributions, to receive a copy of our transcription
bibliography or a roster of contributors, or for other information, please contact either Professor
Hugh Wilson (MTP Editor; dithw@ttacs.ttu.edu) or
Professor A.E.B. Coldiron, (MTP Internet Liaison; aec2b@virginia.edu).
The only requirements are diligence, concern for accuracy, and the ability to type with one or
more fingers. Volunteer: earn the intangible reward of "those whose publisht labours advance
the
good of mankind." (_Areopagitica_, ed. Patrides, 223).
Third Progress Report on the Milton Transcription Project:
Milton's description of "a good Booke": "the pretious
life-blood of a master spirit imbalm'd and treasur'd up
on purpose to a life beyond life. . ."
(Areopagitica, ed. Patrides, 201).
"The choice and master spirits of this age."
(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, III:1:165).
As of March 29, 1996 eight more scholars had generously volunteered some of
their time and talent. (Most of them responded a few days after the last
report.) All names are listed alphabetically below.
We currently plan to prepare and make available at least
three versions: 1. a verbatim e-text; 2. a modernized version prepared by
running the e-text through some standard word processor spell-checker; and
3. a hypertext version. As time and energy allows, some volunteers envision
adding the paraphenalia of a full-fledged edition, variants, introductions,
annotations, etcetera. Several transcriptionists have already begun.
Prospective Professor Alexander is a doctoral candidate at Michigan
in Romanticism and theory. He is especially interested in the English
Civil War/Revolution, and the Romantic Milton. Like Professor
Chevalier, he has considerable experience with HTML and the Internet.
He runs a vast web page, several e-mail lists, and computer mediated
classes.
Prospective Professor Joi Lynne Chevalier is our Technical Consultant
and Computer Wizard. She teaches in a computer classroom and has
volunteered for the arcane labor of upgrading e-text files into
hypertext.
Professor Coldiron has already undertaken the transcription of
some of the manuscript drafts of Milton's sonnets, preparing them
for hypertext. She has also prepared variant texts, and a critical
bibliography for a Hypertext edition of some of Milton's sonnets.
Assistant Registrar Creamer is working on an HTML text of Paradise Lost;
he has also taken the initiative of contacting the Oxford Text
Archive, asking that the Milton-L Home-page be the American
distributor of their Milton e-texts.
Professor Flannagan has donated the texts of Paradise Lost
which Kevin Creamer is revising. He has already made a major
contribution, but he has volunteered to help a bit more.
Professor Andrew Fleck
Claremont Graduate School flecka@cgs.edu
Sometime this summer, Professor Fleck will begin typing The Tenure
of Kings and Magistrates. Since The Tenure is fairly lengthy,
he might want some assistance later on; right now, things are well
enough in hand.
Professor Caroline C. Hunt
College of Charleston HUNTC@cofu.edu
Professor Hunt has expressed an interest in transcribing some of
the Latin poetry or prose.
Prospective Professor Patterson is a Renaissance
specialist writing a dissertation on the collaborative
works of John Fletcher. She is interested in issues of
authorship and the ramifications of print mechanisms on
the stability of the authorial body and text. Her distinguished
dissertation committee includes Leah Marcus, Frank Whigham,
and Wayne Rebhorn.
Professor Jeff Powers-Beck has volunteered to type Of Education,
and the biographies of Milton by John Aubrey, and Anthony a Wood.
Professor Powers-Beck is also knowledgeable about the intricacies
of TEI, SGML, HTML, et cetera, and he has valuable editorial
suggestions.
Prospective Professor Rogers is especially interested in working
on Samson Agonistes. Perhaps he might authenticate the currently
available e-text by comparing it with the first edition.
Professor Ruth Schauer, participant in the Arizona Milton Institute,
has volunteered to type Milton's Eikonoklastes. Since this is a
long tract, Professor Schauer would appreciate a collaborator.
Professor Swan teaches Renaissance or early modern
literature and culture, ranging from Milton through
the neglected women writers of the era. His work
especially focuses on the family of Elizabeth Tanfield
Cary and her female relatives. Professor Swan, along
with O.M. Brack Jr., is preparing a volume of all the
essays, poems, letters, and pamphlets associated with
William Lauder's accusations that Milton plagiarized
Paradise Lost. Professor Swan has generously volunteered to transcribe
Milton's letters, and perhaps
some of the related Miltoniana.
Professor Cheryl Thrash is engaged in a major project, but when her
labors are done, she has volunteered to begin typing sometime late
in the spring or summer.
Professor Hugh Wilson has volunteered to transcribe Of Reformation.
He is currently serving--the assent of his colleagues permitting--
as contact, co-ordinator, e-text librarian, and archivist of the
Milton Transcription Project. Please send a diskcopy of your work
to the address appended below. Wilson will organize a proof-reading
system before forwarding material to Ms. Joi Lynne Chevalier for
hypertext mark-up. Kevin Creamer has offered to post our
transcriptions on the Internet. Meanwhile, messages can be sent to
dithw@ttacs.ttu.edu.
Professor Bradley is given honorable mention. He has not
volunteered himself officially--and as such is not yet counted
--but he is here designated a volunteer ex-officio in recognition
of his yeoman services. Professor Bradley has volunteered to make
his transcriptions of much of Milton's prose available. Then we
can use his texts to check our own and to thus establish a double-
checked transcript. Professor Bradley has already posted the
divorce tracts, and The History of Britain. He and Professor
Flannagan have done a lion's share of the work.
If all goes well, hopefully each person will type something and perhaps
proof-read a text by someone else. Several people will start typing later
on in the spring or early summer; whatever each person has time to do is
fine. Each text posted should identify its source, and unless the
transcriptionist prefers anonymity, it should probably list whoever
transcribed it.
I'd be glad to set up a central repository or archive for all the files we
reproduce. I will make multiple copies--disk, harddisk, and tape--and
provide an e-text library from which to distribute interim copies for anyone
on the Milton-List who wants one.
Send the files you produce by e-mail or regular mail encoded in whatever
word processor you ordinarily use. We can always reformat them in ascii or
whatever later. If you send files from your word processor, I will preserve
them in their native format, transform them in WP 5.1 or MS Word, and them
send a copy to another volunteer for proof-reading. I imagine that we can
each read one other volunteer's work. Alternately, we can try to request
proof-readers from the by-standers on the list.
In accord with David Wilson-Okamura's suggestion, I will try to scan our
facsimile copy-text for use as a text for comparison. Scanning is not
especially accurate with archaic print, but it may help us catch some of our
errors.
Incidentally, I plan ask our computer experts if they can process and
cleanse our work so no inadvertently acquired computer viruses are passed along.
Once files are proofed, I envision sending them on to prospective Professor
Chevalier and Kevin Creamer.
In addition, since I anticipate problems sending large files over the
Internet, I am asking my department for a budget to subsidize the cost of
storage media, postage for mailing disks hither and yon, and incidental
expenses.
Finally, we have a number of decisions to make. We need to decide on
procedure for open discussion and consultation among volunteers. Joi Lynne
Chevalier has offered to set up an unarchived listserv for the volunteers so
we can communicate without disturbing the list; I can set up an archived
list here, but there are pros and cons to such segregation, and we need to
think carefully before we decide.
On one hand, it is tedious and time-consuming to send individual messages to
fifteen people; on the other hand, isolation on another list may deter
further volunteers by making us virtually invisible.
An alternative would be to stay in the main list and clearly label our
intra-group messages with a logo or a mantra so the disinterested can ignore
us. We might prefix intra-group messages with something like SCRIBE,
SCRIPTORUM, SCRIPT, or some such word or acronym.
Finally, the fact of Kevin Creamer has organized a digest may make it
easier for members to focus their reading; it may make the problem moot.
I don't know. What do you think? Perhaps some discussion would help us
arrive at a consensus.
Meanwhile, we need volunteers, especially
the free and ingenuous sort of such as evidently were born to study,
and love learning for it self, not for lucre, or any other end, but
the service of God and of truth, and perhaps that lasting fame and
perpetuity of praise which God and good men have consented shall be
the reward of those whose publisht labours advance the good of
mankind.
(Areopagitica, ed. Patrides, 223).
Please join us. Thanks to everyone who already has,
Hugh Wilson
Department of English
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas 79406-3091
Office: (806) 742-2531 2501
Home: (806) 747-8830
dithw@ttacs.ttu.edu
P.S. Two people have had to withdraw for the time being; several otherswill not start typing
until
spring or early summer. No matter, do what you
can whenever you're free. Every little bit helps; sometimes the hardest
thing is merely to begin.
Note: Everything above is provisional. Other proposals, other ideas of how
to proceed are welcome. This is all experimental, and plans can be modified
as the need arises.
