Living Distance: The Life and Papers of James Welch
New Podcast: Living Distance: The Life and Papers of James Welch; an audio essay by Eric Ward ’09, read by Presca Ahn ’09, exploring the life, legacy, and archive of James Welch, the American writer of Blackfeet and Gros Ventre heritage. (MP3: 15:28)
James Welch was a poet, novelist, and teacher. Born on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, with Blackfeet and Gros Ventres ancestry, Welch drew upon the histories and experiences of Native Americans in his literary work. His publications include collections of poetry, novels, and nonfiction. Works include Riding the Earthboy 40 (1971), Fools Crow (1986), The Heartsong of Charging Elk (2000), and Killing Custer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians (1994).
The James Welch Papers consist of manuscripts, correspondence, and personal papers documenting Welch’s life and work. Welch is well known for his fiction dealing with the histories and experiences of Native Americans, and the drafts of manuscripts, for novels and other works, together with correspondence and secondary literature, make the Welch papers a valuable resource for research in literary, American, and Native American studies. The collection spans the years 1889 to 2006, with the bulk of the collection dating from the early 1960s to 2003. A complete description of the collection is available online: James Welch Papers (call number: YCAL MSS 248).
New Hours at Beinecke Library
New Reading Room Hours, Effective June 1, 2009
Mondays – Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Fridays 9:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
New Exhibition Gallery Hours, Effective June 1, 2009
Mondays – Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Fridays 9:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Saturdays 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Image: David Plowden, Sidewalk Clock, 1963; from the David Plowden Papers (call number: WA Plowden)
New Beinecke Library Shelving Facility
As part of its ongoing commitment to improve research capabilities by increasing and preserving its collections, the Beinecke Library has created a state-of-the-art off-site shelving facility to house our growing manuscript and book collections. As a result, some collections now housed off-site must be paged at least 24 hours in advance for use in the Library’s reading room. Collections housed in the new shelving facility will be identified in Orbis, the Library’s catalog, with the following information “LSF-Request for Use at Beinecke Rare Book Library.” Requests must be made with the Beinecke Library Access Services Department by email to beinecke.library@yale.edu . Please be sure to include the call number, author and title of the item(s) you wish to view and include in the subject line of your email, “LSF request.” Contact the Access Services Desk for more information: 203-432-2972 or beinecke.library@yale.edu.
Image: Photograph of Beinecke Library under construction. Additional photos of the Library’s construction can be viewed here: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Construction Photographs, 1961-1963.
Love Touch Hype!
The Yale Collection of American Literature is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition: Love Touch Hype! Visionaire, Magazine in the Extreme, on view at the Beinecke Library from April 30 through June 30, 2009.
This exhibition presents a selection of the publication Visionaire from the first issue, “Spring” (1991), a loose-leaf portfolio of images and text, to the most recent issue, “Surprise” (2008), a series of wonderfully engineered pop-up books. Described by the editors, Stephan Gan, Cecilia Dean, and James Kaliardos, as a “multi-format album of inspiration, a journal of fashion and art, a tribute to creativity,” Visionaire foregrounds not only the dynamic relationship between art, fashion, and print culture broadly speaking, but the way in which such entities speak to and reflect the spirit of the times. As an “extreme magazine,” Visionaire draws upon a traditional commitment to craft while it pushes the boundaries of how to engage with both multi-dimensional formats and the relationship between innovative design and technology. As such, the periodical highlights the energetic dialogue that arises through collaboration when established and emerging artists interpret and re-envision various conceptual themes. [ca. 50 items]
Image: Visionare magazine issue “Touch.” To see examples of Visionare magazine, visit: http://www.visionaireworld.com/index.php
Poetry at Beinecke Library 
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