UNIVERSITY OF NOVA GORICA GRADUATE SCHOOL ...

wider socio-cultural contexts, i.e. ―a book of this sort, is in the nature of a supplemental memory,
or a record of what occurs remarkable in every day‘s reading or conversation.‖ 139
Figure 3 | Ann Powell Burwell, Commonplace Book, 1746–1839, available from
http://www.vahistorical.org/img/research/tacl_keckley2b.jpg.
The diary and the commonplace book thus might suit as a techno-logical precursor of blogging.
Now, I do not wish to imply any progressivist determinism of a developing perfection through
technologisation from commonplacing to blogging. Nor do I wish to advocate direct causal
relationship. Rather, I find this historical glimpse interesting in view of the fact that as a popular
practice commonplacing has never achieved widespread popularity in terms of number of people
practicing it (as opposed to the immensely popular diary writing) nor the ‗effect‘ on the public
sphere (which even in diary writing was practically absent). Revitalised and substantially
139 Jonathan Swift, ―A letter of advice to a young poet,‖ http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jswift/bl-jswiftletad.htm?IAM=sherlock_abc&terms=commonplace+book,
accessed 8 August 2011.
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