Abstract:
“Performance and Performers in the Literary Archive”: Many traditional “literary” archives are home to the papers, recordings, printed ephemera, and artifacts of writers whose work has developed a strongly performative dimension. Whether they are referred to as spoken word artists, performance poets, or practitioners of performance art, their archives may present challenges as well as opportunities for the curators, archivists, catalogers, and administrators who work with them. This panel will feature several such professionals whose collections include one or more significant collections of such writer/performers.; “Performing Special Collections: Staged Readings Using Rare Books and Manuscripts”: This case study will outline innovative and creative ways to extend outreach to our collections via simply staged yet effective series of staged readings using rare books and archival collections. Examples include Duke University’s evening of staged readings titled “Cocktails and Contraceptives: Tales from the Bingham Center,” using a cast of actors that included theater students but also librarians, library staff, non-theatrical undergraduates and faculty, and community members. The University of Miami hosted an evening of similar readings culled from its Countercultural Literature Collection, which contains zines, brochures, and assorted ephemera documenting underground and “edge” movements from the 1960s to the present.
Description:
Moderator: Elizabeth Ott, Program Assistant for Admissions, Rare Book School; “Performance and Performers in the Literary Archive”: Speakers: Robert Melton, Mandeville Special Collections Library, University of California, San Diego; Wendy Burk, University of Arizona Poetry Center; Karen Kukil, Smith College Library; Peggy Daub, University of Michigan; “Performing Special Collections: Staged Readings Using Rare Books and Manuscripts”: Speaker: Cristina Favretto, Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami