Radical Empathy in the Context of Suspended Grief

Archivists are inextricably bound to records creators, subjects, and donors not only through the work they do ensure preservation access of these records, but their affective relationships with each groups. Managing archival collections about grief, trauma, death form part many career trajectories practicing archivists, we leave little space in academic curriculum, profession, acknowledge how this affects processes, workflows, other. In article, I would like highlight a case-study suspended or grief experienced, witnessed, re-lived throughout an archive, mutual secondary archivists may experience when processing traumatic events experiences. The by subject, case, Argentine poet human rights activist Juan Gelman; donor, Gelman’s widow, Mara La Madrid; my own, argue, had cathartic influence way interacted materials, were described. Pre-print first published online 02/01/2022