I have been remiss in my blogging but vow to be more consistent with announcing important news about the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. In particular, our new Associate Curator, Eric Johnson, introduced himself when I should have made such an announcement. Eric has been with us just over a month and we have had many productive and enlightening talks. You can see from Eric’s earlier blog, that his education and experience are exceptional. And, I can emphasize that his personal presence is every bit as impressive as his paper credentials. Eric is ever thinking and planning. For instance, he has brought forward the idea of a summer rare books “academy,” which would be offered to Columbus area youth. We have met with a supporter of Rare Books who would also be interested in launching children’s programming, an activity that Eric has extensvie experience with. Eric will be working closely with John King, Distinguished Professor of English and Religious Studies, in his Reformation History class this Fall quarter and will assist Richard Firth Green, Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, in a medieval manuscripts class in the Spring of 2009. I hope that many of you will meet or contact Eric in the days ahead.
September 29th, 2008
Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself. I’m Eric Johnson, the newly appointed Associate Curator for Rare Books and Manuscripts at The Ohio State University Libraries. I’m delighted to join the Buckeye family and I’m looking forward to promoting the appreciation and use of our collections to all our users, be they faculty, students, researchers, or the general public. I’m specifically responsible for overseeing our collections of medieval, Reformation, renaissance, and early modern collections, so contact me should you have any questions related to these fields.
Prior to arriving at OSU I worked as a Curatorial Assistant at Princeton University’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. I have a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania; a M.L.I.S. from Rutgers University; and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the interdisciplinary Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York (U.K.). My research and reading interests span a wide variety of topics, from medieval preaching to 20th-century military propaganda produced for children, and I’m always interested in learning more about other people’s work. So please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think there’s any way that either OSU’s world-class Rare Books and Manuscripts Library or I can help you.
I hope to see you in the reading room!
Eric J. Johnson
September 26th, 2008
It’s with great excitement that my first contribution to the OSU Rare Books and Manuscripts blog gives me the opportunity to do something other than introduce myself (see a separate post for that). After all, anyone reading this is surely more interested in learning about new treasures recently acquired rather than hearing about my recent assumption of the duties of Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. So, without further ado, I’ll get to the news about our latest acquisition.
My afternoon was pleasantly interrupted on Wednesday by the arrival of a monument in the history of English publishing: The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: Newly Translated out of the Originall Tongues: and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties speciall Commandement. Appointed to be read in Churches. With more than 700 leaves and measuring over 15 inches tall, 10 inches wide, and 4 inches thick, the actual book, better known to most people as the King James Version of the Bible, is physically as cumbersome as its rather wordy title. But what a glorious tome it is!
Originally published by Robert Barker, the King’s Printer, in 1611, the King James Version was the culmination of an ambitious translation effort first proposed at the 1604 Hampton Court Conference convened by King James I. Forty-seven biblical scholars—nearly all of them members of the Church of England—spent the next seven years comparing previous English Bible translations in an effort to prepare a definitive text that would correct simple errors, inconsistencies of translation, and more complex interpretative problems believed to exist in earlier English versions of the Bible. In their efforts to prepare their revised, authoritative translation, this distinguished group of biblical savants consulted works such as the Tyndale Bible, the Coverdale Bible, the Great Bible, the Bishop’s Bible, the Geneva Bible and, most likely, Taverner’s Bible and the Roman Catholic Douai-Rheims Bible. They also examined what were then considered to be the most authoritative versions of the Bible written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, as well as St. Jerome’s traditional Latin Vulgate translation and more recent Latin translations of portions of the Bible by Theodore Beza (who also prepared an influential Greek translation of the New Testament based in part on an earlier translation by Erasmus), Immanuel Tremellius, and Franciscus Junius (the elder).
Although popular from the moment of its publication in 1611, the King James Version (a title only given to the work in the late nineteenth century) did not become the standard English edition of the Bible until the end of the seventeenth century when a combination of political pressure, changes in literary styles and reading tastes, and pointed decisions by publishers not to print new copies of earlier English translations made the King James Version the preeminent Bible amongst English speaking Protestants for the next 250 years.
In addition to being a significant addition to our general collection of rare books, our acquisition of this volume supplements our strong collections of Reformation and Early Modern printings. It also undoubtedly will be a highlight of the upcoming exhibition and conference to be hosted by The Ohio State University in 2011 celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version’s publication. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library is overjoyed to add this wonderful volume to its collection, and we encourage faculty, students, and all other interested parties to contact us if they are interested in learning more about the book or would like to consult it for research or curricular purposes.
Eric J. Johnson, Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts
September 26th, 2008
John M. Bennett participated in the Encuentro Internacional de Poesia Experimental “Amanda Berenguer”, in Montevideo, Uruguay, August 28-31, 2008. He gave 2 presentations: “Poesia y Poesia Visual de John M. Bennett”, and “La Poesia Visual Internacional en la Coleccion Avant de la Universidad Estatal de Ohio, USA, Poesia Visual”. The four days of meetings, curated by the reknowed Uruguayan poet Clemente Padin, were attended by numerous writers, performers, and scholars from Uruguay, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Bennett and his wife, C. Mehrl Bennett, were the only invitees from the US.
September 5th, 2008
Visual Poetry in the Avant Writing Collection, the catalog compiled by John M. Bennett and designed by OSU’s University Publications, won an Award of Excellence in the University College Designers Association national competition. There were 1600 entries and 193 awards given. There is a link to a PDF version of the catalog on the RBMS main webpage and in an announcement below.
August 18th, 2008
In addition to noted poets Sam Hamill and Eleanor Wilner, Breyten Breythenbach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breyten_Breytenbach) will be in Columbus on October 29th and 30th for events to promote the Poets Against War movement. Please reserve these dates and additional information will be forthcoming.
July 25th, 2008
Sam Hamill, founder of Copper Canyon Press and principal founder of the international oraganization Poets Against War, will be in Columbus on October 29th and October 30th. There will be an event each evening: on October 29th there will be readings of central Ohio poets and on October 30th Sam Hamill and Eleanor Wilner will be the guest speakers.
More details will be forthcoming, but save the dates of October 29th and October 30th.
June 23rd, 2008
The Spring newsletter of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library is now available on our web site at: http://library.osu.edu/sites/rarebooks/newsletter/news08spr.pdf . Please take a look!
June 20th, 2008
The Rare Books & MSS Library has published a full-color illustrated catalog, VISUAL POETRY IN THE AVANT WRITING COLLECTION, Edited and Introduced by John M. Bennett, with additional introductions by Dr. Marvin Sackner, and Bob Grumman. 142 pages, profusely illustrated.
A PDF may be viewed at: http://library.osu.edu/sites/rarebooks/avant/VisualPoetry.pdf
June 20th, 2008
John Bennett was interviewed about his reading preferences in OSU’s OnCampus:
http://oncampus.osu.edu/article.php?id=2107
May 19th, 2008
Next Posts
Previous Posts
