Helen on Helen

Posted on 10/11/2011 at 1:01 PM
by Helen Selsdon

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[Editor's note: This is the first post in what will be an ongoing series showcasing the Helen Keller Archives, authored by AFB Archivist Helen Selsdon. Stay tuned for more to come.]

My name is Helen Selsdon and I'm the archivist at the headquarters of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in New York City. I came to AFB in April 2002 with the task of taking care of the Helen Keller archival collection. It's been an amazing journey for me, both professionally as an archivist and as a woman to learn so much about this vibrant and commanding figure.

In case you don't know who Helen Keller was, she was born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. At the age of 19 months, she became deaf and blind as a result of illness. At the age of 6, a governess came to Tuscumbia to help the family with their "wild child." This woman was Anne Mansfield Sullivan, a firebrand of a personality, who succeeded in communicating with Helen and taught her to speak with her hands and read and write in braille. This relationship is what is often best known about Helen. It was a truly remarkable friendship, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Helen led a long and incredibly productive life (she died in 1968); as a seminal figure in U.S. history, she met other key players of the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th, and she blazed a trail for all those who are marginalized and demand to have their voices heard. She changed the face of blindness in America and around the globe.

Periodically, I will post an image of one of the 80,000 items in the collection—be it a document, artifact, or photograph. By sharing these items and discussing them, I hope to communicate not only how extraordinary Helen's life was, but also her belief that with hard work and a lot of gumption, one person can truly make a difference.

Re: Helen on Helen

I'm currently writing a PHD on the life of Helen Keller and I was wondering if you could give me any advice on how to make the truly riveting story of the life Helen Keller apeal to a younger audience range. To complete my course I need to make numerous speeches to schools, hospitals, dentistry record offices etc...

Any ideas?

Re: Helen on Helen

Hi Helen,
Can you tell us a little bit about Helens close friendships and relationships?

Re: Helen on Helen

WWHD! What would Helen say is one of the biggest issues in today's world?

Re: Helen on Helen

I teach 8th grade English and my classes are reading The Miracle Worker and will be writing essays about the obstacles Helen and Annie overcame and their accomplishments. Do you recommend any web sites other than this one - which is wonderful?

Re: Helen on Helen

Hi Helen

I'm interested in the sculpture of the other Helen in the photo. Was that completed during her lifetime? And, if so, was she ever able to 'see' it and what was her reaction?

Bobby Nems

Re: Helen on Helen

Hi Helen,
Have there been other blind and deaf people who have learned to communicate as well as Helen Keller?
Rachel Fierverker

Re: Helen on Helen

Great idea Helen!!! I hope too you will touch on many of the misconceptions people had of her and anne sullivan in some recent bios!

Re: Helen on Helen

Thank you for all the wonderful questions and feedback! I’ll address each question in order:

Re: Helen on Helen

To fergussg:

Few books adequately explain Helen's life to teenagers and young children. Many books have been written for 6 to 12 year olds, but they nearly always focus on Helen as a young child rather than Helen as a grown woman, and they are nearly always picture books. That said, you might check out Kim Nielsen's interesting book on Helen entitled The Radical lives of Helen Keller. Nielsen's book, which is clearly written, focuses on Helen as an adult. It explores her political and social views and how they played out in her life.

Another book entitled The World at her fingertips by Joan Dash is a good chapter book geared to younger children - probably 10 to 12 year olds. This is well written and more in-depth, but again its primary focus is on Helen's life while Annie was alive. And don't forget that Helen lived for another 32 years after Annie's death in 1936 and traveled to 39 countries around the globe during all that time!

Re: Helen on Helen

To nicko2:

There are many tiers of people that come to mind when I think about who Helen had close friendships with. As a figure who lived in the limelight from the age of 6 until her death in 1968 she knew an extraordinary number of America's leading personalities of the late 19th to mid 20th century – from Alexander Graham Bell to John F. Kennedy. It is not always easy to tell where Helen's private friendships and working friendships parted ways – her work was her life. As a young woman in her twenties and thirties she was a strong feminist and socialist and she enjoyed friendships with leading left wing figures such as Eugene Debs, Emma Goldman and Arturo Giovannitti.

However, that being said, those who immediately spring to mind are: Anne Sullivan Macy (her teacher), Jo Davidson (a sculptor and strong Socialist), Lenore Smith (a close friend), Katharine Cornell (actor), Takeo Iwahashi (Helen's counterpart in Japan) and Nella Braddy Henney (biographer of Anne Sullivan Macy).

The closest relationship I imagine Helen had was with Anne Sullivan Macy. The two were inseparable. Mark Twain made the following comment when he was referring to Helen's gift to him of her autobiography The Story of My Life:

“I am charmed with your book – enchanted. You are a wonderful creature, the most wonderful in the world – you and your other half together – Miss Sullivan, I mean, for it took the pair of you to make a complete and perfect whole.”

Re: Helen on Helen

To historicalkim:

Intolerance. Helen would be appalled at the intolerance between peoples and religions and would vociferously condemn those who act for their own selfish gains – both religious and economic.

Helen was a Swedenborgian her whole life. She was introduced to the faith by Alexander Graham Bell's right hand man John Hitz when she was a young child and she remained steadfast to the religion's credo of helping one's fellow man. She had a great respect for other religions, and sincerely believed in a brotherhood of man. (She was the first woman to be allowed to touch the sacred bronze Buddha in Nara, Japan in 1937).

Re: Helen on Helen

To cindyclay:

In all sincerity, I don't know of other websites that speak in detail of the relationship between Helen and Annie. However, the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA has a good Helen Keller section: http://www.perkins.org/vision-loss/helen-keller/

Your best bet might be to return to Annie's letters in Helen's autobiography The Story of My Life where she recounts the difficulties she faced in teaching Helen to communicate.

Re: Helen on Helen

Hey Helen,
I'm trying to do a community baseball match and I need to encourage everyone to join in!

Do you know if Helen Keller could ever join in with the other children's games like football or ice skating or if they teased her or if she wasn't capable?

Thank you,
Edie