Biography
After several years working as a travel journalist for Time Out, I realised that my true calling lay in the manuscripts room of the British Library, where I became obsessed first with an anonymous Stuart play fragment, then the sprawling, messy Conway Papers archive, which contained poetry by John Donne. My interest in Donne’s manuscripts continues: most recently I have published on a text of his Catalogus librorum discovered at Westminster Abbey in 2016.Before coming to King’s I taught at the University of Reading and UCL, before taking up a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Lincoln College, Oxford, focusing on Donne’s women patrons. I have worked on the landmark Donne Variorum (http://digitaldonne.tamu.edu/), am a member of the ‘Signed, Sealed, & Undelivered’ project (http://brienne.org/), and, with Jana Dambrogio of MIT Libraries, am developing ‘letterlocking’, the study of epistolary security before the invention of the envelope (http://letterlocking.org/).
Research Interests and PhD Supervision
- John Donne’s life and works, particularly his patrons and friends, and the circulation of his writing in manuscript,
- The literary and material features of early modern letters
- The history of manuscripts, printed books, libraries, and archives in early modern England and Europe
- Women’s writing and patronage activities
- Editorial theory and practice
For more details, please see my full research profile.
Teaching
I contribute to the teaching of early modern literature across all undergraduate years, as well as on Master’s courses, where I also teach graduate research methods.
Expertise and Public Engagement
With Jana Dambrogio, I have led more than a dozen letterlocking workshops in archives and libraries, reaching conservation staff, scholars, and the general public; I have also consulted for The National Archives. My reviews of academic books and theatre performances have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, Review of English Studies, John Donne Journal, Library and Information History, English Studies, and Shakespeare.
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Smith, D. & King-Cox, B., 2021, (Accepted/In press) Old St Paul’s and Culture. Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Smith, D., 2012, From Compositors to Collectors: Essays on the Book Trade. Oak Knoll Press and the British Library Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Smith, D., 2021, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. OUP Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.68027
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Smith, D., 2012, In: John Donne Journal. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Smith, D., Sep 2011, In: REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES. p. 538–561 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Smith, D. M. S. & Dambrogio, J., 2019, Early British Drama in Manuscript. Atkin, T. & Estill, L. (eds.). Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Smith, D. S., Payne, M. & Marshall, M., Jun 2018, In: REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES. 69, 290, p. 455–487 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1093/res/hgx135
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Smith, D. M. S., 2017, Private Libraries in Renaissance England. Black, J. (ed.). Vol. 9. Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Smith, D. S., 12 Apr 2018, (E-pub ahead of print) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. OUP Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
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Smith, D. M. S., 2014, Manuscript Miscellanies in Early Modern England. Ashgate Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review