You have been assigned “Reading Lucy,” an essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan (The Place Where We Dwell 253-259). In lieu of going to the Brooklyn Historical Society to examine the Kolkin collection that Egan writes about, we can examine some materials online.
A good place to start is the finding aid for the Kolkin collection at BHS. We can also examine two letters available online. We can see a photograph of Lucille Kolkin and three other women she worked with at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as a photo Kolkin took at work. We can also listen to an interview with Lucille Kolkin, since BHS has digitized some of their oral histories.
Please link us to any additional materials you find on Lucille Kolkin or related subjects.
As you consider “Reading Lucy” and these additional materials, consider why they exist, and why they exist where we find them. What do they tell us about the materials? What do that tell us about preservation? How do they help us relate to Kolkin, or to Egan?
