University Libraries and its Department of Special Collections will host a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 for the American Writers at Home exhibition, on view in Olin Library’s Ginkgo Reading Room and the adjacent grand staircase lobby of Level 1.
The exhibit features photographs by Erica Lennard and text by J.D. McClatchy from their 2004 book, also titled American Writers at Home, published by The Library of America and Vendome Press. The book will be available for purchase during the reception, which is free and open to the public.
The exhibit continues through late December.
The photographs show the homes where some of America’s greatest authors wrote. Through exquisite images and insightful captions, Lennard and McClatchy present highly personal settings and explore how significant a sense of place is to the act of creating.
In addition to Lennard’s photographs, the exhibition features related items from the holdings of the special collections department.
The exhibit features highly personal photographs of the interiors of the homes of many writers. For instance, images showing the plot of a novel outlined on the walls of William Faulkner’s study or Edna St. Vincent Millay’s dresses still hanging in her bedroom closet allow viewers to imagine the daily lives of the writers who dwelled in these spaces.
McClatchy is the author of five books of poetry, including the 2003 Pulitzer Prize nominee Hazmat and two books of essays. He edited The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry and numerous other books.
Lennard is a celebrated travel photographer whose work has appeared in American and European magazines and newspapers. Her other books include Writers’ Houses and Living Together.
The exhibit can be seen during Olin Library’s regular hours of operation: Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-2 a.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 a.m. A WUSTL ID card is required after midnight.
For more information about the reception, call Anne Posega at 935-5487. For more information about the exhibition, call 935-5495.