A symposium titled “Robert Creeley’s Library: The Poet’s Books as Art Museum and Network of Communications” is being held today in the Special Collections of the Hesburgh Library (Special Collections faces across from the fishbowl). Not many undergraduates are aware, but Notre Dame owns the personal library of famous American poet Robert Creeley. The university procured Creeley’s library, which includes his own copies of his books, artist’s books, letters, his typewriter and various other books, papers and notes he owned, after his death in 2005 for more than half a million dollars.
The symposium today celebrates the university’s collection and the recent publishing of “The Selected Letters of Robert Creeley” by University of California Press. The symposium starts at 10 a.m., with Creeley’s widow leading a discussion for an hour. There will be a short refreshment break and then a publisher and close friend of Creeley’s will lead discussion. The final speaker is Professor Kaplan Harris who co-edited this publication of “The Selected Letters of Robert Creeley.” The day will end with a roundtable discussion lead by graduate students, and finally a reception beginning at 4:15 p.m. The symposium is open to the public. It is free, there is no need for pre-registration and people are welcome to attend as many or as few of the day’s events as they wish. The symposium begins at 10 a.m. and will run until 5 p.m.
Contact Emma Terhaar at eterhaar@nd.edu
