Hidden Research

Hidden Research

“Have you been avoiding my Arthur’s calls and emails?” asked Regina Penman, Secretary of the ARC Arthurian Readers Club.

“Well, yes” confessed Little Plump Jo, the current Artisan in Residence at Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies. “I think I know what they are about and I don’t know what to do about it; so, I just have not returned his calls.”

“Did you read the email?”

“Yes. I know that when the ARC gave me the use of a research space in The Library that he was expecting that I would present a session about Research Methods at the next ARC Arthurian Readers Club Conference. But I have not used The Library research space at all and I am scared to admit it to the great Arthur Penman, historical buff extraordinaire and President of the ARC!

And not only that, but he has invited me to co-present with my Research Assistant, Intellectual Dabrowski. And Arthur does not know that Intellectual Dabrowski is a dog!”

Regina’s laughter bubbled through the phone. “Oh dear! I see the problem. We do have the expectation that the Artisan in Residence in Cloudbank Cabin will present at least one plenary session at the conference and maybe host a breakout room on a particular subject.”

“I did not know that was a condition of my residency when I came here” said Jo. “I only found out about it at the conference last year, when you asked me to present a plenary session about the experience of working at Cloudbank Cabin.”

“You gave us a very enjoyable interactive session. Inviting other previous Artisans in Residence to share the stage proved very interesting and highlighted the differing experiences of working at Cloudbank Cabin. And then you hosted an excellent breakout room study of the book Afterlives of the Lady of Shalott and Elaine of Astolat by Ann E. Howey.”

“I do not even know how to fill in the form Arthur sent me.”

“If you have a minute or two now, I can help you fill in the form” offered Regina. “Firstly, your name in the form it would appear in a library index entry.”

“My name is Little Plump Jo but I am going to use the pseudonym L.P.J. White.”

“So, we would write it as WHITE, L.P.J.”

“But I am not L.P.J. White yet, so it seems a bit premature.”

“Very well, would you prefer LITTLE, Plump Jo, LITTLE, Jo Plump or LITTLEPLUMP, Jo?”

“No, just LITTLE PLUMP JO, like authors who have single word names, but mine has three words.”

“Okay, so PRESENTERS: LITTLE PLUMP JO and DABROWSKI, Intellectual.”

“No, you cannot put that!”

Regina was laughing hysterically now. “Of course I can! It will keep my dear Arthur happy and Intellectual Dabrowski can very conveniently be ill or travelling overseas at the time of the conference. Now how are we going to describe your plenary session and what will the title be?”

“Regina, I do not know anything about researching. Arthur brings me books and Intellectual Dabrowski points me to books and websites. But really I do not understand all about search algorithms and correct forms of citation.(I did have to cite sources for my uni. studies but I was not great at doing it.) And I have never been to The Library to handle the valuable old manuscripts with the white gloves. I would not even know where to start and what I should request to see. There is no way I could bluff my way through talking about Research Methods.”

“Arthur is determined that this year’s conference will be primarily research based, hence the title of the conference Reading the Research. But I maintain that you have been conducting research into the characters of Elaine of Astolat, Elaine of Corbenic and The Lady of Shalott. A plenary session about your work would add literary balance to what could quite easily turn into a very history heavy collection of sessions.”

“But Regina talking to dogs and fictional characters is not really an accepted method of research and certainly not one I would share with the academics, scholars and meticulous readers of Arthuriana who will be at the conference. The people with the white coats would be coming for me with a straight jacket!

“No, I am not suggesting that you divulge that. That will remain our secret. It is the reason I love your writing so much. However, it is quite valid to discuss the depictions of Elaine of Corbenic, Elaine of Astolat and The Lady of Shalott you have found. Then conclude that your portrayal of the character is based on some of those but includes insights of your own.”

“I would be able to do that.”

“Great! How does this sound for a session abstract?

Engaging with Elaine

L.P.J. White is a talented emerging writer of Arthurian fiction, poetry, and short stories.

Her beautifully observed characters are based on her extensive reading and her own insights. In this session she will discuss how the depictions of Elaine of Astolat, Elaine of Corbenic and The Lady of Shalott in poetry, fiction, art, music and film have influenced her portrayals.

“I like it but it sounds a bit too glowing!”

“Not at all. We want to offer interesting sessions in our advertising. The brochure needs to go to the printers by the end of the week. That’s why Arthur has been so persistent in his calls and texts and emails. It will be a relief to be able to tell him that we have your submission now.

And have no fear. Your research methods can remain our little secret.”

“I am going to have to keep it a secret from Intellectual too. If he finds out that his name is included in a paper about research methods, he will want to accompany me to the podium!”

“On second thoughts, maybe we better not include his name. It could lead to all sorts of intellectual property disputes in future. I will just tell Arthur that Intellectual Dabrowski will not be available for the conference.”

“Yes. I have a horrible mental picture of him prancing around the podium with the microphone in his mouth and people making videos of him and putting AI voiceovers and captions to them. It would be like those heartwarming AI videos of dogs and cats choosing the person who will adopt them. Intellectual might go viral and people would assume that all my books were written with the help of the AI Lemurs. That would be an absolute disaster! We have been so careful to keep anything AI out of Cloudbank Cabin!”