Meredith Ivey Santaus

I am interested in the book and print history of modernism as an integral part of its visual and material culture. This history includes and is dependent up the interplay between fine and private presses, commercial publishers, little magazines, and glossy mass market periodicals. My line of inquiry situates these formats of print as sites of negotiation between literature, modern art, and mechanical reproduction. A particular focus is the habit among modernists to recruit print to mediate medieval visionary culture. Of note are W. B. Yeats, Georges Bataille, H.D. and Bryher, and David Jones. My method necessarily incorporates other modern forms of mechanical reproduction, and I often find critical support in film and photography.

I have also worked as a bookseller and gallery curator for a rare book firm, and maintain an interest in the book market and principles of exhibition. My work in that arena has resulted in exhibitions, relationships with curators and book artists, lectures, and published catalogues.

Education:
M.A., Ph.D., English, Boston University (in progress)
M.L.I.S., Library Science, Simmons University (2019)
M.Litt. The History of the Book, University of St Andrews (2017)
Dissertation: “William Clark’s Sketch-Maps and the Identity of the Early Republic”
B.A., English and Classics, Wellesley College (2016)

Recent Publications
“On the Veil and the Mystery of Stéphane Mallarmé’s Livre,” English Language Notes 64, no. 1 (April 2026): 102-112.
“American Style and the Fashion of Democracy: Richard Avedon, Truman Capote, and Alexey Brodovitch’s Observations,” Ex-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media 9 (December 2025): 142-154.

Recent Presentations
“POOL-in-Progress: A Modernist Media Conglomerate,” Beinecke Library Graduate Fellows Works-in-Progress Talk Series, Yale University, July 22, 2026.
“H.D. in the POOL and the Bibliographical Mystery of 1927-1933,” Annual Meeting of the Bibliographical Society of America, New York, January 23, 2026.
“Book Studies Panel and Book Arts Lab Celebration: The 2024-2025 Friends of the Library Lecture,” The Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, Wellesley College, September 26, 2024.