On November 14, 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, or the Whale was published by Harper Bros. in the United States. Although not well-received by the critics and reading public at the time, this novel is now recognized as a masterpiece of literature. The Rosenbach has a substantial collection of Melville’s letters and first edition of his …
I’ve never read Moby-Dick. I know! I work at The Rosenbach, where one of the world’s best collections of Herman Melville’s work resides, and I haven’t read his most famous book. I’ve admired his bookcase many times (if you haven’t seen it, come on one of our guided house tours!) but have always had the …
This Thursday, we’ll celebrate the first of Yolanda Wisher’s Rent Parties, a quarterly event that celebrates the literary past with readings by contemporary poets and music performance by Yolanda Wisher and her house band, The Afroeaters. The tradition of the rent party dates back to the Harlem Renaissance, when communal gatherings of artists and musicians fed the outpouring …
Poet Marianne Moore broke free of tradition and reassembled the pieces in a new and sometimes confounding way. In this tour, we will study her letters, clippings and the objects she surrounded herself with to find out more about the sources for her revolutionary and groundbreaking work.
The landmark oeuvre of Marianne Moore, one of the major inventors of poetic modernism, has had no straight path from beginning to end; until now, there has been no good vantage point from which to see the body of her remarkable work as a whole. New Collected Poems offers an answer to the question of how to represent the work of a poet so skillful and singular, giving a portrait of the range of her voice and of the modernist culture she helped create.
“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” So says Ishamel in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Join us for a look at the Rosenbach’s mighty Melville collection. We’ll explore letters and original editions of Melville’s novels to find some of the true places of his life and work.
From the Canterbury Tales to Ulysses, the Rosenbach’s collection is full of books that have been banned, challenged, or censored. During Banned Books Week (Sept 24-30) take your rights and the books back into your own hands, discuss the controversies surrounding them, and celebrate your freedom to read.
Our first annual reading of Moby-Dick will feature local literati reading selected passages from Herman Melville’s most famous novel and a celebration of one of the great American authors. This event is free, but advance registration is required to attend.
This event is now sold out. Join us next month for Bibliococktails: Dracula on November 10 in honor of Bram Stoker’s birthday! Description Join us in celebrating Poe-tober with a reading of “The Raven” and a mysterious cocktail crafted especially for this event. Bibliococktails The Bibliococktails series celebrates great literature and great libations. Held almost every (more…)
The tradition of the rent party dates back to the Harlem Renaissance, when communal gatherings of artists and musicians fed the outpouring of blues, jazz, and poetry for which this period is known. Hosted by poet Yolanda Wisher, this quarterly series celebrates the literary past with readings by contemporary poets and music performed by her band, the Afroeaters.