On this day 200 years ago (May 31, 1819), Walt Whitman came into the world. Arguably the first great American poet, he dispensed with tightly controlled verse that rhymed in meter and instead embraced long lines that flowed like the expansiveness of his inclusion. Walt Whitman tried to be everyone when celebrating himself, and for […]
Earlier this week, a group of English 14 students visited Archives & Special Collections to receive instruction on different editions of Shakespeare’s works, with a focus on his famous sonnets. The materials included books from the main stacks curated by Humanities Librarian Leanna Goodwater, as well as books from Special Collections curated by myself… No […]
Sean Oblak writes about a mysterious seventeenth-century book he encountered in his work with SCEMBI. You’d expect many answers to be found in a book entitled The Question of Questions, especially when it claims to “resolve all our questions” and declares outright, “This book answers this question.” Printed in 1686 and held today at Santa […]
The Santa Clara Early Modern Book Initiative brings together students, librarians, and faculty in an effort to report SCU’s eligible pre-1800 books to the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC), as well as to revise and enhance local catalog records. The work that I do as part of the Santa Clara Early Modern Book Initiative, or […]
On this day in 1775, Jane Austen was born. That makes today her 243rd birthday! To celebrate her birthday and all the good times she has provided readers, I would like to draw your attention to a nifty little book we have in our Special Collections, Three Evening Prayers by Jane Austen. This thin volume was […]
