Matthew Battles (born 1968) is a writer, artist, and since 2022 the editor of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum magazine, Arnoldia.[1] Until 2022 he was the associate director of metaLAB at Harvard University.[2] Battles is the author or co-author of six books, most of which are on the topics of writing or libraries.[3] He was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2004.[4] He has been called "a gifted stylist" by the Christian Science Monitor which commended his "beautiful writing about writing."[5]
Matthew Battles | |
|---|---|
 |
Battles also sees the institution of the library as more than just the building's contents. He headed a team which created a data visualization of the printing locations of books published in early-modern Europe, shown over time.[6] He also worked with artist Sarah Newman on the video installation Your Story Has Touched My Heart which drew heavily on Harvard's photo archives.[7][8] His "feral copyright project" at metaLAB looked into how copyright is lived and understood by regular people.[9]
Personal life edit
Battles was raised in raised in Petersburg, Illinois. He received a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1992, and an M.A. in creative writing from Boston University in 1996.[4] He is married and has one son and one daughter.
Bibliography edit
- Library: an Unquiet History (Norton, 2003)
- Widener: Biography of a Library (Widener Library, 2004)
- The Sovereignties of Invention (Red Lemonade, 2012)
- The Library Beyond the Book (with Jeffrey Schnapp, 2014)
- Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word (Norton, 2015)
- TREE (Bloomsbury, 2017)
References edit
- ^ "MATTHEW BATTLES". MATTHEW BATTLES. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ "Matthew Battles". Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Harvard University. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ Washburn, Michael (2018-08-01). ""Palimpsest" by Matthew Battles". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ a b Journal, Library (2010-05-21). "Matthew Battles - Movers & Shakers 2004". Library Journal. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ The Christian Science Monitor (2015-07-29). "'Palimpsest' beautifully charts the history of writing". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ Baldegg, Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von (2012-12-05). "The Explosion of 15th Century Printing: A Data Visualization". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "At metaLAB, curiosity meets whimsy". Harvard Gazette. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "Your Story Has Touched My Heart". Harvard Art Museums. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ Ireland, Corydon (2012-08-15). "Wedding digital with traditional – Harvard Gazette". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2020-01-02.