E-mail as an Intellectual Lifeline

The coming of e-mail connections, including mailing lists and the use of the Internet, has been nothing short of a miracle for my scholarship and life. This is because I have lived in New Zealand in virtual intellectual exile for nearly 30 years, with brief study-leaves every second or third year to get to libraries and meet colleagues with whom I can have an intelligent conversation about the things that really matter to my scholarship. I have been able to ask questions on a regular basis of people working in the areas I am interested in. Most scholars have been generous and patient, often responding with lengthy answers to my questions, commenting on the articles and essays I send to them, and sending to me by regular mail either long bibliographical lists or actual photocopies and printouts of their own or others’ work.