The music and poetry of Robert Burns echo down through the ages as symbols of the Scottish people and nation. At this special, musical Behind The Bookcase tour, view holdings from The Rosenbach’s remarkable collection of Burns rare books and manuscripts, and listen to beloved Burns songs performed live on Celtic harp.
Join us for this rare peek into some of the most personal and emotional writing in our collections. We’ll start with the aching yearnings of poet and notorious romantic John Keats, signed “your forever” to the object of his affection, Fanny Brawne (pictured). Spend a virtual evening with us as we get up-close and personal with a variety of treasures like handwritten pages from James Joyce’s Ulysses, correspondence from Marlene Dietrich to Mercedes De Acosta, the dying wishes of a Civil War solider, and much more.
The Harlem Renaissance is the fulcrum for this look “behind the bookcase” at great Black writers. Beginning with Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first acclaimed Black poet after Emancipation, we’ll spend the bulk of our time with letters and first editions of poet Langston Hughes and philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke-including the keystone work of the Harlem Renaissance, Locke’s The New Negro.