SC Poetry exhibit now open at Duke Library

A new exhibit showcasing South Carolina poetry is open at Furman University’s James B. Duke Library, Special Collections and Archives through Jan. 15, 2016.

The exhibit, “Celebrating South Carolina Poetry: An Exhibition to Mark the Acquisition of The Ninety-Six Press Archive” is free and open to the public. The exhibit is available 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday in Special Collections and Archives.

An opening reception, sponsored by the Friends of the Furman University Libraries, will be held Thursday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m. in the gallery on the library’s second floor. The public is invited to attend.

Furman English professors William Rogers and Gilbert Allen founded The Ninety-Six Press in 1991 to publish book-length works of poetry by South Carolina authors. In the Press’s 25-year history, it has published 21 works, including two best-selling anthologies of South Carolina poetry: 45/96: The Ninety-Six Sampler of South Carolina Poetry (1994) and A Millennial Sampler of South Carolina Poetry (2005).

The Press has published the works of two South Carolina poet laureates, Bennie Lee Sinclair and current laureate, Marjory Wentworth. Before The Ninety-Six Press took up its mission, the last major anthology of South Carolina poetry was published in the 1930s.

In the summer of 2015, The Ninety-Six Press Archives, together with its stock of books and its accounts, were transferred to the Furman University Libraries, where it is part of the South Carolina Poetry Archives in Special Collections & Archives. The transfer agreement stipulates that the Libraries will “use the current and future assets of the Press for the benefit of South Carolina poetry and poets.” This exhibition marks that transfer and celebrates the Press’s impact in publishing South Carolina authors. Using the Press’s archives, it traces the editorial, design, and outreach work of Allen and Rogers as well as that of the Press’s many authors.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Makala, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist at (864) 294-2714 or jeffrey.makala@furman.edu.