University of Arizona Poetry Center - Highlights of The Library Collection

Highlights of The Library Collection

The Ruth Stephan and Myrtle Walgreen Collection includes, on a representative level, the work of most poets writing in English in the 20th and 21st centuries. Poets from earlier centuries and translations into English are represented on a more selective level. Stephan's original vision for the collection has been maintained, with the addition of some acquisitions of critical works by major critics (e.g., Bloom, Vendler, and Perloff).

Audio-Video Collection - voca' The University of Arizona Poetry Center's Audio Video Library features recordings from the Center's long-running Reading Series and other readings presented under the auspices of the Center. The earliest of these recordings is a Robert Creeley reading from 1963. "voca" includes multiple recordings of poets who have read for the Poetry Center numerous times over the years. All recordings are made available with the permission of the reader.

Rare Book Room The Rare Book Room safeguards important items of the collection in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment, preserving them for future generations of researchers and readers. Limited-edition works, books which are central to the poetry tradition, and artist-made books and collaborative book projects are included. In this archive, scholars will find materials only available in a few libraries around the world.

Children's Corner The Poetry Center's children's collection includes hundreds of volumes of poetry for young people, as well as an assortment of curricular and pedagogical materials for use in teaching poetry to children, including the Poetry Center's own publication VERSE! Poetry for Young Children. Activities for children, school groups, and community organizations and families are regularly presented in this area.

Exhibitions The Jeremy Ingalls Gallery in the reception area of the Poetry Center features permanent and regular special exhibitions highlighting work from the collection and the Rare Book Room. The Wall of Poets features a selection of black-and-white photographs of writers who have visited the Poetry Center since 1960. This photographic tradition, started by the Poetry Center's first director, LaVerne Harrell Clark, continues to this day.