Transatlantic Trials and Tragedies

As I discussed in my previous blog post, medievalist Margaret Schlauch abandoned her tenured position at New York University and fled to Soviet-controlled Poland in January 1951 under  increasing scrutiny from the McCarthy-esque Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security (SSIS) for her lifelong commitment to anti-fascist activities and communist sympathies.  Unable to return to the United States forward decades, Schlauch corresponded regularly with Rossell Hope Robbins, his

Creating "Women in Arthurian Legend: Creators and Characters" (Part 2)

Part 2 in a series of posts about the process of creating an exhibit for the Rossell Hope Robbins Library in Spring 2018. Claire Harte (class of 2021) curated the exhibit "Women in Arthurian Legend: Creators and Characters" as part of River Campus Libraries' CEILAM program, which introduces students to the possibilities of a career in libraries.

Ricardus Goes to Oxford

The Ricardus Dialogue (University of Rochester, D.460 1000-003) is … well ... not much to look at. One curator once commented upon seeing the poor manuscript “I can’t believe the university’s library accepted that”. To which PhD candidate Kyle Huskin kindly comforted her “well, it was a gift, I believe”. The manuscript leaf under question is almost entirely illegible. Almost every sign of text has faded or completely disappeared. The document was likely used as a binding fragment.

Honoré Desmond Sharrer's "Ta-Ta Rib"

Walk into Robbins Library and you’ll be graced by many beautiful pieces of art along our walls. We have prints from Jack Coughlin of numerous authors, including Toni Morrison, Herman Melville and Edgar Allen Poe. There’s a large print of Lord Byron by Rembrandt Peale right next to our supervisor’s office. There are also numerous facsimiles of medieval manuscripts and art. But our largest pieces, one above our mighty director’s door and one directly on the wall opposite of it past the shelves, are from American surrealist painter Honoré Desmond Sharrer.

"The Vishakanya’s Choice”: a conversation with Roshani Chokshi (Part 2 of 2)

As part of the Robbins Library’s newest digital project, The Alexander Project, I sat down with New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi in November of 2020 to talk about her short story, “The Vishakanya’s Choice.” This short story is a fantastical retelling of how Alexander the Great meets his demise through a vishakanya sent to infiltrate his camp and assassinate him. Vishakanyas are women (typically courtesans) who are fed poison until their very touch becomes poisonous.

“The Vishakanya's Choice”: A conversation with Roshani Chokshi (Part 1 of 2)

As part of the Robbins Library’s newest digital project, The Alexander Project, I sat down with New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi in November of 2020 to talk about her short story, “The Vishakanya’s Choice.” This short story is a fantastical retelling of how Alexander the Great meets his demise through a vishakanya sent to infiltrate his camp and assassinate him. Vishakanyas are women (typically courtesans) who are fed poison until their very touch becomes poisonous.

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