Ann Igoe (interviewed by Elsa McDowell on August 17, 2023)

Ann Igoe (interviewed by Elsa McDowell on August 17, 2023)

2023-08-17

Ann Igoe was born in Florence, S.C. in 1935. She grew up in Darlington, S.C. A teacher of modern dance, Ms. Igoe has been in Charleston since 1959. She and her late husband Harold (“Skipper”) Igoe were participants in the poetry group that met at the Library in the 1960s. She reflects on how the Igoe Shakespeare Collection was given to the Library in 2019 and her hopes for its use in the community.

McDowell, Elsa

Hayes, Lisa

Cox, Danielle

MP3

Audio

English

AnnIgoe_OralHistory_20230817

23:39/32.3MB

0:00:00 Elsa McDowell

Today is August 17th, 2023, and I Elsa McDowell have the great pleasure of interviewing Ann Boatwright Igoe. Welcome, Ann.

0:00:11 Ann Igoe

Thank you.

0:00:14 Elsa McDowell

As a longtime newspaper writer, I won't bury the lead. Ann, you have been associated with the Charleston Library Society for years as a member. But in 2019, you made a gift that is considered the library society's crown jewel, and we are sitting in it. Would you tell us about the Shakespeare Library?

0:00:34 Ann Igoe

Well, first of all, I really can't take credit for much because it was totally Skipper Igoe's collection.

0:00:43 Elsa McDowell

Skipper being your late husband.

0:00:45 Ann Igoe

Yes, my husband. And he made many trips to England to collect books and paintings of the Shakespearean era. So I just went along with everything, but it's totally his collection. And it's too bad that he was not able to be here for the actual celebration of giving it to the library. But that's the way it goes.

0:01:18 Elsa McDowell

But it was your decision to, he didn't leave instructions for where this collection would be stored or provided. And you made that decision. You and your family.

0:01:31 Ann Igoe

Yes, I did. He did come to the Library society and looked around and he went to the College of Charleston and looked around. And then he became disabled, and before it was actually to be given. So it was up to me to place it. And one thing that I had absolutely in mind was I wanted it to be in South Carolina. And then I started wanting it to be in Charleston, SC. And the big reason why is because when I was young I was, I was... I wanted to be an artist and I grew up in a very small town without any exposure to art, and I think so many people in the South would not be able to travel to New York or Chicago to view real things, not televised things, but real objects. So I wanted it to be in the, in South Carolina so that people could have access to the real objects and see the real paintings. And that's the reason. Well, I thought about different places and my children thought about different places and they gave up. And so I finally decided that the library society would do so much for the collection, and they have. They have. They have made a delightful room and I'm so pleased with the way all of the objects in the collection have been presented and maintained and made safe and open for anyone to come and look at.

0:03:22 Elsa McDowell

It is extraordinary and it's, it's you do. Being in the presence of the actual paintings is far different from seeing it in the pages of a book, but if you want to see the books, you've got that here too, and you've got furniture, Elizabethan pieces in specific. Is that correct?

0:03:46 Ann Igoe

Yes. He did collect furniture of the period.

0:03:50 Elsa McDowell

And, and the volumes that are here, there are the complete collection of, of Shakespeare comedies, histories, and tragedies. Is that correct?

0:04:04 Ann Igoe

Yes, yes, and and he has the a couple of folios which are very early. And the Bible, which was used by Shakespeare. He has that in the collection. Not that, I don't think it was the actual Bible, but the edition, I think. The Geneva Bible

0:04:24 Elsa McDowell

But that's still pretty old Bible to get your hands on for sure.

0:04:31 Ann Igoe

It was an original Geneva Bible Shakespeare used as a reference.

0:04:41 Elsa McDowell

Wonderful, and I gather that scholars and other people come from all over the South to be, to do research here or just to be inspired in this...

0:04:51 Ann Igoe

This if they were interested in Shakespeare in this area, this is the place to come, the Charleston Library Society.

0:05:02 Elsa McDowell

Well, it is an extraordinary collection and an extraordinary gift. But, so you grew up in Darlington, is that right?

0:05:13 Ann Igoe

Yes. And actually I was born on a farm in Darlington County, but I spent my teenage years in Darlington.

0:05:23 Elsa McDowell

And then went to. Not one, not two, but three colleges, none of them in Charleston. But but. But you did have connections to Charleston. Your mother was from here.

0:05:35 Ann Igoe

Yes my mother was from here and I heard a lot about it as all Charlestonians are very vocal about that connection to Charleston.

0:05:45 Elsa McDowell

Absolutely, when people die and go to a better place, they're not talking about heaven, they're talking about going to Charleston. So did you visit family as a child?

0:05:56 Ann Igoe

Very much, yes.

0:05:57 Elsa McDowell

Did you ever come to the library society as a child? Do you know?

0:06:00 Ann Igoe

Now I don't remember if I came. I don't think so. But I came early on.

0:06:07 Elsa McDowell

What, I read something about your, maybe your first encounters with the library would, might have been when you were dating Skipper. Is that right?

0:06:18 Ann Igoe

Yes, absolutely. And yes, I guess he did bring me here. John Doyle had a poetry group at the library and we came to that because he also wrote poetry.

0:06:35 Elsa McDowell

John Doyle being the very well known Charleston artist who is long gone. So you always had an affinity with artists and people in the arts I guess then.

0:06:49 Ann Igoe

Yeah, I have actually.

0:06:54 Elsa McDowell

But dance was what you'd studied in college and what you worked in after graduating. Is that right?

0:07:02 Ann Igoe

That is right, yes. Modern dance, modern dance. And I studied with Martha Graham and Jose Limon and some of the great dancers.

0:07:13 Elsa McDowell

Was that at Santa Barbara?

0:07:16 Ann Igoe

No, it was in Connecticut because the dancers took their vacation and spent it in Connecticut, Connecticut College. So that's where it was held.

0:07:30 Elsa McDowell

Well, did you aspire to dance professionally or to teach? Or was it just something you loved doing?

0:07:38 Ann Igoe

Actually I wanted to be an actress, but my boyfriend at the time encouraged me to study dance for very various reasons.

0:07:53 Elsa McDowell

Well, I'm glad he's your former boyfriend. What did he know?

0:07:59 Ann Igoe

He knew a lot, so.

0:08:08 Elsa McDowell

Your mother was Rose Simmons Boatwright, who lived in Charleston and then your father was William Hurt Boatwright. And, but you mentioned knowing or, when you were talking about memories of the library society about Minnie Pringle Haigh. Minnie Pringle Haigh.

0:08:31 Ann Igoe

Oh, she was a delightful woman, yes.

0:08:33 Elsa McDowell

She was the director of the Library Society?

0:08:35 Ann Igoe

I don't know. She was always here. And so we always chatted when I came here. But I don't know what her actual position was at the library.

0:08:48 Elsa McDowell

What can, what can you tell me about her?

0:08:50 Ann Igoe

I can tell you that she had an amazing vocabulary. And her daughter, Garden Frampton, anytime we needed a word, we would call Minnie Haigh and she would explain the word to us.

0:09:05 Elsa McDowell

Lovely. Wonderful.

0:09:07 Ann Igoe

And we would have a lot of laughs too.

0:09:11 Elsa McDowell

Well, so instead of being an actress, you were, pursued dance and did what very well. Did you dance professionally or? I know you taught.

0:09:27 Ann Igoe

Just a little bit. I danced here in Charleston for, I guess that would be professionally with Stanley’s son Parker.

0:09:37 Elsa McDowell

Yeah, I used to keep his picture in my sock drawer because I didn't want people to know I had a big crush on him when I was four. Sorry it's not about me. So, but you also mentioned the more recent changes in the library society under the direction of Anne Cleveland.

0:10:03 Ann Igoe

Yes, she did an amazing job of making it a vital and delightful and very intellectual, along with great fun to come to the library. Made it a great cultural place with great speakers coming here to give lectures. And a few parties too.

0:10:27 Elsa McDowell

And music.

0:10:30 Ann Igoe

A lot of music.

0:10:33 Elsa McDowell

You know, I think it's it's like a renaissance. I think of the library society, and now she is passed the torch to Laura Pelzer, who is doing good things herself. So who knows what will come next? But I see the library society and the City of Charleston being both institutions that really draw significantly on their past and who they were and where they came from. And, but building on it and enlarging upon it and celebrating it in a, in a way that suits the present, is that fair to say?

0:11:18 Ann Igoe

Oh yeah. Oh yes, it certainly builds from the past and it has. Ancient books and that's that in the controlled library part. And it is building towards the future too.

0:11:35 Elsa McDowell

Well, I think for it it had some wonderful years where the people who loved it came here steadfastly, they loved to come in and read the magazines and check out the books. But I do think the appeal has broadened considerably and the...

0:11:53 Ann Igoe

The membership since Anne Cleveland took over has increased amazingly.

0:12:00 Elsa McDowell

And it is just a fun place to come. You're right. You said it well.

0:12:04 Ann Igoe

It is always cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

0:12:08 Elsa McDowell

What more do you need? So what do you think it will look like in 25 years? What could they possibly be doing in 25 years that they're not doing now?

0:12:25 Ann Igoe

Good Lord. I don't know what's going to happen in 25 years because the last 25 years have been horrific and the library doesn't have much territory to expand. Parking, I think, is its main problem. It is difficult to park in this area. But I think it will continue to grow as more and more young people find out about how wonderful it is.

0:12:56 Elsa McDowell

Were you a great reader as...?

0:12:59 Ann Igoe

I was a great reader, but a very slow reader, so I had to research actually before I read anything. I had to know that it would give me something and I wouldn't just be reading, spending my time reading for pleasure. Actually I did a lot of reading for knowledge.

0:13:23 Elsa McDowell

And, and you're painting now. You have a studio in your new residence, James Island, and, but you've just recently moved, so I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't picked up a brush in a while.

0:13:39 Ann Igoe

It's been a long time.

0:13:41 Elsa McDowell

But promise me you will.

0:13:45 Ann Igoe

Okay. Like I'm going to do everything else.

0:13:50 Elsa McDowell

So tell me how your art has progressed. What did you, what kinds of art did you do early on, and take me through the history of your?

0:13:59 Ann Igoe

Well, I've never really had any actual training. Like a school or anything. But I've always drawn as a hobby as a child, and then actually I took painting lessons from Ray Goodbred. And when I moved to California for about 20 years, I wrote an independent study out at the University of California at Santa Barbara because they had a large press and I began to make prints. That's my favorite medium.

0:14:38 Elsa McDowell

But it's also a very challenging one, isn't it?

0:14:41 Ann Igoe

It is very challenging, yes.

0:14:44 Elsa McDowell

But watercolors, also oils, any pastels? All of the above?

0:14:49 Ann Igoe

I really am a Jack of many trades, I must admit, and, and accomplished in actually none of them. But it's been a lot of fun doing all sorts of things. If I had a, if I had been able to, I wish I had concentrated in one field because I really am just a Jack.

0:15:15 Elsa McDowell

I think you've got a lot of fans who like you just the way you are, so that's OK. Now you also have two children.

0:15:22 Ann Igoe

Yes, I have a son and a daughter. And two grandchildren.

0:15:28 Elsa McDowell

Where are they and what are their names?

0:15:30 Ann Igoe

My daughter is here. She is, Ann Bacot Daughtridge married to Belk Daughtridge and my son lives in Virginia. He is actually, he's Harold Eustace Igoe, III. But his name is Sam. And he is a teacher.

0:15:51 Elsa McDowell

Are they? Did they inherit any of the Shakespeare passion?

0:15:56 Ann Igoe

My son does. Yes. My daughter grew a little tired of it because it did dominate our family.

0:16:07 Elsa McDowell

But she's a great reader, I know, and is a real scholar. And I have heard her present papers before, when they were very well done. So she gets that from you, I guess.

0:16:23 Ann Igoe

No, she's very much like her father, actually. My son is more like me.

0:16:31 Elsa McDowell

Either way, I like what I know. So what have we not talked about that is the essence of you?

0:16:40 Ann Igoe

Well, I really don't want to spend all the time on me because it is Skipper’s collection.

0:16:46 Elsa McDowell

Would do tell us something about him? Then if you would tell us how he developed this passion for Shakespeare.

0:16:53 Ann Igoe

I think he was. He he got interested in Shakespeare, I think at Gaud school and then at Episcopal High School, he was, got very interested. And then we both began to just swim upstream for a few years and have children. And then it became an obsession with him. So it was Shakespeare he memorized a lot of the quotes from Shakespeare and all the conversations at the dinner table were about Shakespeare, and he began to go to England and collect first editions of very great books and then began to collect the paintings. I really, I can say that I had nothing to do with buying or collecting any of the works. He chose them all and he's totally responsible for this collection. The only thing I'm responsible for is placing, placing it at the Charleston Library Society.

0:17:58 Elsa McDowell

Well, both, both are terrific things that occurred and they work together well. So if he just had it and nobody saw it.

0:18:10 Ann Igoe

That's right. He kept it in a dark room, very lit with special lights and only showed it when people asked to see it.

0:18:24 Elsa McDowell

Well, I think Shakespeare would approve. I think he was a showman and he would have liked that.

0:18:30 Ann Igoe

I think the library Society has done a magnificent job with the collection.

0:18:38 Elsa McDowell

Well, this is off the path, but I remember when you also taught exercise for all of us who were at, were not at our prime, having had babies and struggling to look good.

0:18:54 Ann Igoe

I think about how I began to teach exercise in Charleston. Long ago, before it became very popular. So I was sort of the only thing around, and I mostly taught dance as exercise at the Family Y, which was at that time on George St. I think.

0:19:20 Elsa McDowell

And you do yoga too? Is that right? Do you do yoga?

0:19:23 Ann Igoe

No, I don't do yoga. I do my well, that's not true. I do a combination of yoga, ballet and modern dance and things I make up.

0:19:37 Elsa McDowell

Well, and as your student. I know everybody wanted to look like you and that's why they were there. That's true. That's true. So just so you know, she's telling me not to say that. Being modest. Do you travel a lot?

0:19:59 Ann Igoe

Not now. I don't like to travel. I love to be there. But going there is too much of, too much trouble. Now I'm old. I’m an old woman.

0:20:13 Elsa McDowell

Being old is no excuse, right?

0:20:18 Ann Igoe

Well, that may have about done it. I just want to keep emphasizing that I had very little to do with collecting the collection and it was really hard to decide to put it at the library society because one of the children wanted it to go to the Folger in Washington and actually he had loaned several of the paintings to the Folger. And I think he did for safe keeping, but now they are at the Library Society, but that he's been in close contact with the Folgerand the library in California, which I can't remember the name of. And he would travel anywhere to pick up information about Shakespeare. And he read the plays Which is something most people interested in Shakespeare don't get around to doing. They just watch movies that they.

0:21:22 Elsa McDowell

Well, at least it would be fun to read. You could read it aloud and and yeah, hear what it sounded like. Well, this has been a great pleasure. Thank you so much for the time and for your amazing foresight in finding this home for the collection.

0:21:39 Ann Igoe

I am so happy with the home of the collection. And I hope more and more people find out about it and I hope a lot of the schools will find out about it and bring students who are interested in English writing or Shakespeare. Shakespeare can be very rowdy and very bloodly. Bloody. So the children who are interested in both those things can start with Shakespeare very early on. But thank you.

0:22:14 Elsa McDowell

So they get get a little bit of taste of the stuff they thought they weren't supposed to get, which makes it more interesting. Well, if we think of anything else, we'll call back and let you know. But for right now we’ll say thank you very much.

0:22:31 Ann Igoe

Well, thank you for having me. I went on and on.