Leaves of Bark

Choriamb : Poetry Blog

Since 2004 poet and essayist, Tanya Angell Allen, who also has a library degree, has edited the online journal Choriamb.

One of the purposes of Leaves of Bark is for contemporary library poets to be able to learn of each other's work and to network with each other.

Choriamb is a fine poetry blog (it does not deal with librarianship, per se) and you are encouraged to check it out.

If you know of any other poetry blogs or websites adminstered by a librarian or librarians, please let us know.

Lewis Carroll in Wonderland

The wonderland, of course, is a library, and Lewis Carroll is the author of Alice in Wonderland.

Once again, thanks to Sara Newton, who wrote, in Ten Surprising Former Librarians:

Lewis Carroll: The talented author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass served as sub-Librarian at Christ Church, Oxford University (1885-1887). The perfect job for this avid reader, he kept track of the books and the borrowers in addition to tutoring students and lecturing in mathematics.

Here's the Lewis Carroll Society of North America

Francisco Acuna de Figueroa: Uruguay & Paraguay

Anyone who studies librarianship and history a short time will come across the name Larry T. Nix. I did early on in library school and always have enjoyed a look at his fascinating and informative website The Library History Buff. Mr. Nix has already given Leaves of Bark some great leads and advice. Thanx!

On the page World Library People on Postage Stamps we find this:

Francisco Acuna de Figueroa (1790-1862). Poet, author of the Paraguayan and Uruguayan national anthems, Librarian of the National Library of Uruguay, in Montevideo.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Ned Fielden also wrote to say that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a librarian/poet as well. A post 10 Surprising Former Librarians on the blog Mental Floss, by Sara Newton, has this about Goethe:

8. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Goethe explained his passion for the details of a librarian’s job when he said, “The library organization proceeds little by little, slowly enough. I hold my course, and seek to push on from section to section. I profit occasionally from an hour of poetry, or a bit of scientific knowledge.” Goethe worked at the Weimer Library, one of the most important libraries in Germany, where he meticulously organized and cataloged. His success here led to other branches asking for his help. When cleaning and organizing the disarrayed Jena library, Goethe needed more room for books, and his request to use an empty room was denied. He was determined to succeed, so much so that he broke through the brick wall to complete his project. Later, because of damaging dampness of the library to the books, Goethe wanted to break down a city wall, and did the same thing.

Callimachus: Heavyweight Poet Librarian

Callimachus...I had heard the name, but a quick look reveals CALLIMACHUS to be a heavyweight in the history of Poet-Librarians! Thanks to Ned Fielden, a reference librarian at San Francisco State University for pointing him out to us.

You can read English translations of Hymns 1-3 from the book:

Callimachus, Hymns and Epigrams. Lycophron. Aratus. Translated by Mair, A. W. & G. R. Loeb Classical Library Volume 129. London: William Heinemann, 1921.

 

If you read Greek and Latin, Tufts University has placed the online the Latin version of Callimachus, Hymns and Epigrams, edited by Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff.

Here are a few poems by Callimachus

Steven Riel: Contemporary LP

James V. Carmichael Jr. suggested that we add Steven Riel to the list of contemporary librarian poets. From a quick search it looks like Stephen is, or was, the Senior Serials Cataloger in the CONSER Office of Harvard.

Note: LP does not stand for long-playing record. It is just short for Library-Poet.

5 More from Yale Curator of Poetry

Nancy Kuhl, the Curator of Poetry at Yale Collection of American Literature, sends word of the following library-poets:

Robin Blazer,
Ken Irby,
Michael Basinski,
Cathy Eisenhower,
and John Bennett.

Leaves of Bark will look forward to hearing from these poets and/or receiving links to their work.

A past-president of Yale, Timothy Dwight, was one of the most widely-read of the Connecticut Wits in the period of the Revolutionary War and early days of the Republic.

Carol Borzyskowski & Minnesota Library Poets

Carol Borzyskowski is a Library-Poet who has worked in the Winona Public Library for 23 years.

Besides being a poet and librarian, she also is the publisher of a small literary magazine:

 www.mainchannelvoices.com

Carol tells us that there are more library-poets in Minnesota, so we look forward to hearing from them as well.  

Marianne Moore: Poet-Librarian

Thanks to my good friend at the NYPL, Robert Kent, I was reminded that Marianne Moore was once the director of the Hudson Park branch of the NYPL.

She was also an avid baseball fan.

Living Library Poets

In lieu of the previous post, here are some names of living library poets. Thanks so much to Prof. James V. Carmichael, Jr. for sending them along. The comments section is open, so if any reader wants to post links about any Library Poets, please feel free.

Sandra Baldarama, REFORMA Exec Dir
Mary Maack, UCLA
Clara Chu, UCLA
Jeffrey Beam, UNC Chapel Hill
Jim Carmichael, UNCG (largely unpublished)

Since Jim has led the way in not being too modest, and adding his name to the list of the living, I too shall add my name to the list of Poet-Librarians.

Walter Skold

Wanted: Dead or Alive

The question was posed if this blog is interested in living poets?

By all means, YES!!!

I'd pick a live poet over a dead one any day.

We are interested in the works of and about both living and dead poets. At some point we hope to have a section of poetry from living librarians. In the meantime, links to the works of living and dead Poet-Librarians will be posted here as time permits.

Poet-Librarian Mary Wright Plummer

Thanks again to Mary Niles Maack for the historical tip that the 2nd woman President of the ALA, Mary Plummer, was also a poet.

A text version of her privately-printed 1916 book, "Verses", can be downloaded for free at the Internet Archive.