Hope is the thing with feathers
by Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
For more on Emily Dickinson, visit Poets.org.
April is National Poetry Month. In celebration of this, UC Libraries has mounted an exhibit on the fourth floor of Langsam Library celebrating poetry and poets.
For more, visit http://www.libraries.uc.edu/elliston/poetryexhibit.html
Cramming for an exam? Need a safe, quiet place to study?
Milton (1608-1674) is one of the greatest poets and essayists in the English language. The quote, which is part of his work condemning censorship and pleading for free speech, is part of the architectural design in the library, which opened as the University of Cincinnati’s Main Library in 1930. Intended to inspire students and scholars, they are words meant both to establish the primacy of books and the written word in human culture and to draw the reader within the building to explore, to learn, to consider, and to share knowledge.
Because April is celebrated as National Poetry Month, over the next few weeks the Archives & Rare Books Library will blog about some of its significant holdings in the Rare Books Collection. Perhaps the best subject with which to begin is ARB’s outstanding collection of 18th century poetical pamphlets. Eighteenth-century literature is one of the hallmarks of the rare books holdings, encompassing drama, poetry, fiction, philosophy, theology, travel, history, and geography. And the core of this area is what we have traditionally called the Anonymous Poetical Pamphlet Collection.
Heather Maloney, Library Director: Getting too many and letting them pile up on my bedside table. I try to answer all of life’s quandaries with a different book.
Michelle McKinney, Reference/Web Services Librarian: Accidentally re-reading books. I’ll borrow a book from the library and realize a few chapters in that I’ve read it before.
Kellie Tilton, Instructional Technologies Librarian: Using the dust jacket flaps as a bookmark. Not as bad as earmarking the page, but still not as good as an actual bookmark.
Lauren Wahman, Instruction Librarian: Finding too many good ones and running out of time to read them all. And, occasionally, picking up one that I’ve already read!
Rachel Lewis, Technical Services Manager: Not at all!
Tammy Manger, Public Services Manager: Falling asleep only after two pages…I hate that!
Chris Marshall, Public Services Assistant: Earmarking the pages. Bad Habit!