January 25 is Burns Night, when we celebrate the works of Scottish poet Robert Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire. It’s also a tradition here on Delancey Place, where our celebration features a night of readings, music, and whisky. The Rosenbach is home to the largest extant collection of Burns’s letters, manuscripts, and early editions. Learn more …
When is Shakespeare not Shakespeare? And what is a folio, anyway? After seeing some of Shakespeare’s earliest printings and books that inspired his plots, we’ll explore how his work has fared at the hands of actors, editors, and forgers.
The young widow who kept her husband’s heart in her desk, the author of the first post-apocalyptic novel (The Last Man) and the immortal Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was so much more than a goth pin-up! After the fires of her legendary romantic youth were drowned, Mary Shelley embarked on a career as a professional writer–publishing biographies, poems, travel narratives, short stories, and novels in multiple genres. Explore the life and works of this radical, proto-feminist, and quintessential Romantic (born on August 30) as we sift through early editions of her works, along with manuscripts and letters of her husband, poet Percy Shelley, and their disreputable friends.
Reading Shakespeare’s plays aloud offers not only a communal way to enjoy these great works but also promotes a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s poetry and wordplay. No acting experience is required to participate — just bring a copy of the play we’re reading…and your voice!
The Bibliococktails series celebrates great literature and great libations.
The Bibliococktails series celebrates great literature and great libations.
When is Shakespeare not Shakespeare? And what is a folio, anyway? After seeing some of Shakespeare’s earliest printings and books that inspired his plots, we’ll explore how his work has fared at the hands of actors, editors, and forgers.
Female novelists of the 19th and 18th centuries traveled different routes to find readership for their work. Some used male or deliberately ambiguous pseudonyms; others published anonymously before claiming their creations. Through early editions and manuscripts of Frances Burney, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and George Elliot, we will explore the ingenuity these immortal writers used to bring their masterpieces before the public.
Join us for this rare peek into some of the most personal and emotional writing in our collections. From the aching yearnings of poet John Keats to the dying wishes of a Civil War solider, the Rosenbach is home to a variety of love letters. Spend an hour getting up-close and personal with a variety of treasures, including correspondence from Marlene Dietrich to Mercedes De Acosta and handwritten pages from James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Reading Shakespeare’s plays aloud offers not only a communal way to enjoy these great works but also promotes a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s poetry and wordplay. No acting experience is required to participate — just bring a copy of the play we’re reading…and your voice!