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Literature

Penn brings Philadelphia’s rare manuscripts to the world
BiblioPhilly manuscript

Penn brings Philadelphia’s rare manuscripts to the world

Leveraging the University’s expertise with technology and rare centuries-old manuscripts, Penn Libraries is digitizing and cataloging medieval and early modern texts from 15 Philadelphia-area institutions. The three-year project is known as BiblioPhilly.
Jane Austen’s first buyer? Probably a prince she hated
The New York Times

Jane Austen’s first buyer? Probably a prince she hated

Ph.D candidate Nicholas Foretek of the School of Arts and Sciences discovered a bill of sale for Jane Austen’s novel “Sense and Sensibility” while combing through the papers of the prince regent, later King George V of the United Kingdom.

Exhibit catalog to peer inside fantastical mind of Penn artist
Tripot Piece Paul Swenbeck

Heldscalla. An iron tripot loaned from the Independence Seaport Museum. Brass bells, electronic triggers, and a cast iron sculpture are all featured. Prism photos are in view in the background. Photo courtesy of Kohler Arts.

Exhibit catalog to peer inside fantastical mind of Penn artist

“Out, Out, Phosphene Candle” is one of The Sach’s Program for Arts Innovation 23 projects that received funding this spring. A collaboration between Paul Swenback, the building manager for the Institute of Contemporary Art, and Joy Feasley, the fantastical exhibit blends art, nature, and the occult at a gallery in Wisconsin, and in a forthcoming book on the exhibit.
Stains Alive
Penn Libraries Fellow Erin Connelly is part of the Stains Alive research project.

Penn Libraries fellow Erin Connelly (left) and colleague Alberto Campagnolo, of the Library of Congress, prepare a medieval manuscript for multispectral imaging at Penn as part of a national research project to analyze stains. (Photo by Eric Sucar)

 

Stains Alive

For Libraries fellow Erin Connelly, stains are some of the most exciting discoveries in her study of medieval manuscripts. She is part of a national team analyzing stains in medieval texts using modern multispectral imaging. An exhibition at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library displays the researchers’ discoveries.
English professor explores poetic expressions of Japanese-American internment
Japanese Internment--Library of Congress A photograph of the Manzanar Relocation Center, located in California, from the perspective of a tower. Courtesy of The Library of Congress Print and Photographs Division

English professor explores poetic expressions of Japanese-American internment

Josephine Park, professor of English and interim director of the Asian American Studies Program, on the poetry that originated in Japanese-American internment camps, and poetry by incarcerated populations.
A product of the 1980s: Q&A with English professor Dagmawi Woubshet
Penn English Professor Dagmawi Woubshet

Dagmawi Woubshet is an associate professor of English, new to Penn this year. 

A product of the 1980s: Q&A with English professor Dagmawi Woubshet

English professor Dagmawi Woubshet describes himself an “African-Americanist” in his literary pursuits. An immigrant from Ethiopia, he focuses on the 1980s in his research and his courses. 
A life of books
Penn English Professor Peter Stallybrass 2018

English Professor Peter Stallybrass has retired after 30 years of teaching at Penn. He is known for his History of the Material Texts workshops.

A life of books

Books define the life of Peter Stallybrass, an English professor who has retired after 30 years at Penn, known for his History of Material Texts workshop. He explains the five seminal books of his storied academic career.
Lauding a transformative scholar
Penn Professor Thadious Davis Symposium group

More than 100 people attended an evening reception for the symposium in honor of Penn Professor Emeritus Thadious Davis. From left, GerShun Avilez, Salamishah Tillet, Margo Crawford, Jed Esty, Anita Allen, Davis, Barbara Savage, Herman Beavers and Dagmawi Woubshet. Photo by Scott Ellis.

Lauding a transformative scholar

Chosen for her expertise in Southern and African-American literature, author and poet Thadious Davis was one of the first professors recruited by Penn President Amy Gutmann. Davis was honored at a reception and a symposium which focused on her work exploring race, region, and gender.