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“Forgotten Chapters” provided Boston College students, enrolled in Prof. Lewis’ fall 2011 seminar, with a first-hand educational experience. Here's some of their reflections:
Kristen House ’12 "Working on the exhibit gave me a textured understanding of a literary past that has, to date, been rather spottily documented. As a native Bostonian, I prided myself on expanding upon my limited knowledge of prolific children's writer Jacob Abbott, and I hope everyone who views this exhibit will gain a similar appreciation for the rich histories we compiled. Paul [Lewis] nurtured a spirit of vibrant, active researching in all of us, taking great care to show us the treasures available in the Boston Public Library, Mass. Historical Society and the streets of Boston."
Elizabeth Anne Gavin '14 "I'll never forget the feeling I had, sifting through a box of Sprague objects. I was looking over a manuscript, feeling the import of history, cognizant of the fact that very few eyes had seen this, and found a chart that turned out to be a rhyme chart. The precise Sprague found the best rhymes by pairing different rhyming words and testing them out, neatly crossing out options as he went. I think it is fair to say that every member of the seminar has experienced this same kind of joy upon one discovery or another, contributing to the in-depth and personal feel of the exhibit."
Alexandra Mitropoulos ‘12 "Working on this project with Prof. Lewis has been an incredibly gratifying experience. I feel that I have really gotten to know these authors and I hope that through the exhibit, viewers will also be able glimpse into the window of their forgotten lives. I have enjoyed the hands-on research component most about this project. It has been really exciting getting to go around Boston and find the places where these authors lived and worked, and handling the original versions of their works in the Rare Books department at the Boston Public Library, which often have not been looked at for over a century."
Kelsie Dorn ‘12 "We may have been unearthing priceless, centuries-old pieces of Boston's history, but what I will mainly take away from this was working with this select group of individuals. Each and every one of us brought something different to this puzzle that we were essentially building without a final picture in mind, and getting the opportunity to reveal what we found together to the community is something I never dreamed I would get the chance to do. That being said, I couldn't begin to think of what my senior year at BC would have been like without it."
The personalities, milestones and treasures of literary Boston between the Revolution and the Civil War will be showcased in an upcoming Boston Public Library exhibition that was developed at Boston College.
The exhibit, which draws on the collections of the BPL, Massachusetts Historical Society and American Antiquarian Society, comprises more than 100 letters, manuscripts, and early editions of works by Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley, Judith Sargent Murray, Susanna Haswell Rowson, William Charles White, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Charles Sprague, Lydia Maria Child, Edgar Allan Poe, Margaret Fuller, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Sarah Josepha Hale, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Gilmore Simms, Charles James Sprague, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jacob Abbott and Henry David Thoreau.
“Forgotten Chapters of Boston’s Literary History,” which runs from March 28 to July 30 at the BPL, is curated by Professor of English Paul Lewis and was created by BC faculty, students and staff members.
“The city of Boston does too little to celebrate and memorialize the contributions its writers, editors, and publishers made to US literature from the 1790s on,” said Lewis, who conceived of the exhibition after curating a 2009-10 BPL exhibition on Edgar Allan Poe’s ties to Boston.
“Moving beyond the canonical authors of the American Renaissance, the exhibit highlights authors, works and genres that deserve more attention.”
The exhibition follows the rise and fall of reputations, recovers out-of-print materials, and walks the streets of Boston in the heyday of its literary achievement.
Topics covered at the BPL main exhibition site include the poet buried on Boston Common; the rise of children’s literature in Boston; a problem faced by Boston’s African American, women, and Irish writers; and a little known prediction Edgar Allan Poe made about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A satellite exhibition on the first seasons of the Federal Street Theatre will be on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
An opening night program on March 28 will formally launch “Forgotten Chapters,” beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Cheverus Room on the third floor of the BPL McKim Building. From 7-8:30 p.m. in the Rabb Lecture Hall, Johnson Building, Lower Level, BC students will discuss their discoveries in helping put together the exhibit and recite poems from early Boston magazines. Other members of the BC community will perform songs based on the works of Longfellow and Poe. In addition, historical novelist Matthew Pearl will present a talk, “The Old Corner: How a Modest Bookstore Defined a Boston Literary Epoch.”
Lewis says the participation of students who were enrolled in his seminar — with the same name as the exhibit — in helping to create the exhibit has been invaluable, while providing a first-hand educational experience.
Funded by BC undergraduate research fellowships, students examined archival materials, researched works by Boston authors, recovered poems from early Boston magazines and analyzed their literary merit, helped select objects for inclusion and draft exhibit labels, and recorded audio commentaries, discussions, and recitations that will be available on the exhibit web site and in the gallery to smart phone users.
Other BC students and faculty worked with Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Jeremiah McGrann to record period music that will be featured in the exhibit, and the songs based on poems by Longfellow and Poe to be performed at the opening. Sophomore Nicholas Peter Cokonis, who works with Media Technology Services, designed graphics, and Audio Engineer Jonathan Sage’s class helped with audio recordings.
"After viewing this exhibit, I hope that people will appreciate the depth and range of Boston’s early literary culture, which extended far beyond the few famous authors who are remembered and celebrated," said junior Erica Navarro.
“I hope that this exhibit will propel people to look at Boston as a metropolis bursting at the seams with long-neglected literary treasures.”
Another junior, Sean Cahill, said his interest in Boston history began with a project on Paul Revere in fourth grade.
“The ‘Forgotten Chapters’ project has been exciting because I have been able to do original research about Boston literature and examine original documents in the Boston Public Library and the Massachusetts Historical Society. I think the thrill of discovery that my colleagues and I experienced while working on this project will really come through in the exhibit.”
The exhibit is supported by Boston College, including the College of Arts & Sciences, American Studies Program, Institute for the Liberal Arts, Instructional Design and eTeaching Services, and Newton College Alumnae Chair in Western Culture. Funding was provided through both the Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring Grant (TAM) and the Academic Technology Innovation Grant (ATIG) programs
The exhibit website, which will be launched on March 28, will have more details on “Forgotten Chapters.” For more information, contact Paul Lewis at lewisp@bc.edu.