Bridging the 400-year period between Shakespeare and the 20th century writers and books, the exhibition spotlights diverse ways in which playwrights, poets, novelists, illustrators, publishers, and readers from the English-speaking world are drawn into conversation.
 
“Three great American poets from the 19th century represent the distinctive and contrasting roles writers played in relation to their printed works,” said Swift. “Walt Whitman participated in every aspect of the production and marketing of his poetry, reshaping and repackaging Leaves of Grass through many editions. Frances Watkins Harper sold her inexpensive volumes individually as she toured the country as a lecturer, converting the proceeds into activism, while Emily Dickinson, too reticent to publish, bequeathed her poetic legacy to later editors to discover and excavate afresh.” 

The exhibition opens September 6 and runs through December 10. A reader’s theater, featuring actors reading selected texts from the exhibition is being planned for October. Additional programming including panel discussions, gallery shows, and talks is being planned to take place throughout the fall.