Library News: In the News

University News Service posted an article featuring Ram Bikes, VCU Goes Green and VCU Libraries. The April 10 article 

Yusef Komunyakaa, a renowed poet and teacher, presented March 22 at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. Some 300 attendees listened as he read and took questions. Event Web site To put his visit in context, University News reporter Leila Ugincius wrote an article "Poetry Thrives at VCU" that details the university's role as a mecca for poets. The article is reprinted here with permission of University News Center:

Writers and poets may not be able to pinpoint exactly what makes Richmond a hotbed for poetry, but most would agree the city is undoubtedly a mecca for poets, with Virginia Commonwealth University at its very heart.

"Richmond is a city with a wealth not just of history, but of living, breathing talent, perhaps literary talent especially," said Gregory G. Kimbrell, membership and events coordinator with VCU Libraries and himself a poet.

"Not every historical city thrives in this way, and I would say that we have VCU to thank for much of Richmond's vivacity. The nationally ranked MFA in Creative Writing Program continually brings to the literary community fresh faces to remind us all what it means to discover oneself as a writer, that good writing is not just about beautiful or important things, but about dedication and passion."

David Wojahn called the university a rich community for poetry. "There are a lot of complementary ventures on the campus that really are focusing on trying to give requisite attention to poetry in general and poetry in Virginia, specifically," said Wojahn, a professor in the creative writing program in the Department of English.

The university's latest celebration of poetry takes place this week with a reading by Pulitzer Prize-winner Yusef Komunyakaa (pictured) on Thursday, March 22. 

Komunyakaa's often-autobiographical poems draw from diverse experiences and interests: the civil rights movement, classical literature, the Vietnam War, class struggle and jazz.

"He's really one of America's premier poets," Wojahn said. "He began in the 1980s and '90s to write a lot about his experience - and the American experience in general - about Vietnam. So he's known above all for the poems he's written about that conflict."

Events that bring writers such as Komunyakaa to campus serve two purposes: both encouraging students and offering something to the community.

"Creative-writing students need contact with the great poets in order to have examples to aspire to and to improve their work, and this means not just reading the classics, but also reading and hearing the great poets who are living and writing right now," Kimbrell said. "The community provides VCU so much moral and financial support, and we are always looking for ways of both saying thank you and inviting them to come back to visit us.

"These readings bring people from all across the city. I suppose that the stereotype of poetry readings is the coffee house in which only five people are actually paying attention to the poet sitting on the wooden stool in the spotlight, but these readings at VCU attract hundreds. In a world that often seems to think that poetry stopped being written after the beat generation, this is tremendously heartening."

The event, part of the English Department's Visiting Writers Series and sponsored by the VCU Friends of the Library, continues both entities' interest and commitment to promoting poetry in the community.

The English Department has "a nationally ranked creative writing program in poetry and in fiction. And so, we also bring a lot of visiting poets to campus," Wojahn said. "The Cabell Library has really been in recent years very interested in promoting poetry in Virginia and in trying to beef up its special collections to include a lot of poetry."

Among Cabell's more notable acquisitions are the papers of the late Larry Levis, (pictured, left) a major American poet who taught at VCU at the end of his life. 

The English Department's celebrated poets include Kathleen Graber, a National Book Award finalist whose many awards include the Library of Virginia's Literary Award for Poetry, and Wojahn, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, three-time winner of the Pushcart Prize and recipient of the Carole Weinstein Prize in Poetry.

Student and alumni poets also have earned accolades for their works.

In 2006, the online literature and arts journal Blackbird -- already a national presence among literary and poetry magazines -- scored a coup when it featured a previously unpublished poem by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sylvia Plath. That same year, VCU MFA alumni Elizabeth Seydel "Buffy" Morgan and Ron Smith were named co-winners of the first Carole Weinstein poetry prize, which rewards $10,000 to a Central Virginia poet annually for his or her contribution to the art of poetry. Smith and Morgan then became curators for the prize.

Other recent alumni honorees include Catherine MacDonald, (pictured, right), who won the 2012 Miller Williams Arkansas Poetry Prize, and Anna Journey and Allison Titus, who each won NEA Literature Fellowships.

Why the university has devoted so much attention to poetry is simple, Wojahn said: "I think it's a force that may not help people to live their lives in a better way, but it certainly helps them to endure their lives a little bit better. When you read a poem that you're moved by, impressed by, compelled by, you feel like the author of the poem is speaking only to you and no one else.

"As a poet myself, I feel very lucky to be in a place where I practice a discipline that's appreciated. And I think not every academician -- even in a school that has a thriving creative writing program -- would be able to say that, but I feel no reluctance in saying that about VCU."

The February student-run TV news program features items about an exhibition and expanded hours at James Branch Cabell Library. (These clips appear 22 minutes into the broadcast.)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch Feb. 10, 2012 reported about construction and future building on campus. The article
 

John Ulmschneider, university librarian and professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, has been selected as a UNC School of Information and Library Science, distinguished alumnus for 2011.

The University of North Carolina school is ranked No. 1 in the nation in information and library sciences by U.S. News & World Reports. He earned his master's degree in library science there in 1977 and will speak at the SILS Fall commencement ceremony on Dec. 18.

According to a news release posted on the UNC-CH webite:

Established in 1981, the Distinguished Alumni Award is presented by the SILS Alumni Association. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated outstanding professional library or information science achievements at national, state or local levels or who have provided outstanding service to the school or its Alumni Association. He was nominated by fellow alumni.

"One thing I value most about John's leadership is the fact that he cares authentically for the people under his employ - and not just as librarians, but as human beings," said Laura Gariepy, undergraduate student programs librarian at VCU Libraries and UNC alumna. "That's a trait that is not frequently enough acknowledged, but I and many other staff members at VCU Libraries can speak firsthand to the fact that John cares for the people around him and will do everything in his power to ensure that we're in a position to succeed personally and professionally.

"In addition to all of this, John has an outstanding record of professional service throughout his career, having invested a tremendous amount of time in his work with Solinet and ASERL, just to offer a couple of examples. I think his legacy, though, will be shepherding VCU Libraries from an historically underfunded system that has struggled to meet the needs of its users to a leading research library in the Southeast region."

As director of VCU's research library system, the largest of commonwealth's three major research universities, he oversees annual expenditures exceeding $15 million, a staff of more than 135 and holdings exceeding two million volumes with more than 25,000 journal subscriptions. He has a long history of service to the profession, particularly with local and regional library organizations. 

He is past-president and Board member of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, comprising the 39 largest academic research libraries in the Southeast; a member of the Virtual Library of Virginia Steering Committee, chair of its Outreach Committee and a key leader in advocacy efforts supporting its funding; current co-chair of the Legislative Committee of the Virginia Library Association; past member of the OCLC Member's Council and User's Council; past Board member for SOLINET and chair of its finance committee; and current president of the Richmond Academic Library Consortium. He is also a former member of the SILS Board of Visitors. In addition, Ulmschneider also concluded in November an eight-year term as a Trustee of the Richmond Public Library Board and was Chair of the Board from 2006-2008. He previously held positions at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., where he worked in concert with other library leaders to establish the NC LIVE initiative; the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA; and the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD.  He holds the B.A. from the University of Virginia and the Master of Science in Library Science from UNC at Chapel Hill.

"John forms meaningful partnerships with groups including the James River Writers and Jewish groups that sponsor an annual lecture," said another VCU colleague. "And, in a city full of wonderful museums and collections and archives, one focus of VCU Libraries collections is on "new" social history and collections from often overlooked communities-- African American, Latino, LGBT, and social movements. Something of a Renaissance man, he is an avid cyclist who is plugged into the literary and poetry scenes."

University Librarian on 'The It List': The December-January Boomer Magazine honors 10 citizens who are inspirational, influential and interesting. Among them is John Ulmschneider, university librarian, featured in the article "10 Who Made a Difference in 2011."

Ulmschneider will also appear on "Virginia This Morning," (WTVR-CBS6) at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.

In the days prior to the Nov. 15-16, 2011 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award presentation the event received extensive publicity. 

In a Nov. 8, 2011 feature story by Dale Brumfield about the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, University Librarian John Ulmschneider discusses the history and future of the literary honor, which marked its 10th anniversary in 2011. The article

"A Decade of Firsts" published online by Virginia Living Magazine offers an in-depth portrait of the 10th annual literary prize, its background and its meaning. 

RVA published an in-depth interview with the 2011 honoree, David Gordon.

Other articles:

• The Big 10 in Richmond Magazine 
• Q&A with David Gordon in Boomer magazine
• Cabell First Novelist Award Celebrates 19th Anniversary
• Cabell First Novelist Award Winner Discusses the Creative Process

In a Nov. 8, 2011 feature story by Dale Brumfield about the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, University Librarian John Ulmschneider discusses the history and future of the literary honor, which marks its 10th anniversary at a Nov. 15-16 festival. The article

 

The Oct. 25, 2011 issue of STYLE Weekly features Patricia Selinger, head of preservation for Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, quoted in the article The Ripper: State Library hunts serial book vandal.

In the Oct. 19, 2011 edition of STYLE Weekly, VCU Libraries Special Collections & Archives' Cindy Jackson is quoted in the article about AdHouse Books. Jackson is an expert in comic arts and manages James Branch Cabell's significant collection. The complete article:

"Cavemen in Space," "American Barbarian" and "Barbra in the Sky with Neil Diamonds" might sound like the punch lines to a bad joke, but to the folks at AdHouse Books, they're serious business.

Founded in 2002, the boutique publishing house has printed 45 art books, graphic novels and comic books. While it might be small, the Richmond-based company has established quite a name for itself in the comic realm. Books published by AdHouse have won almost every award in the industry, including honors from Domtar, Ignatz, Communication Arts, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, AIGA and two Eisner Awards for James Jean's "Project Recess 2: Portfolio."

Publisher Chris Pitzer says while the company could print five to six projects a month, it prefers to be more selective, usually releasing five to six books a year. "Hopefully the quality of our library reflects that," he says.

One standout from the AdHouse canon is "Afrodisiac" by Brian Maruca and Jim Rugg. The book is an anthology for a fictional blaxploitation character as he progressed from a newspaper strip and into the big time.

"It's a love letter to blaxploitation comics -- if they existed," Pitzer says. "That was a very proud moment."

"Afrodisiac" was nominated for an Eisner in 2010 for best humor publication. "The books are absolutely beautiful. Chris puts a lot of thought and care into the design of the book," says Cindy Jackson, an archival assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University's Cabell Library. "We've made a concerted effort to purchase everything AdHouse puts out."

The company's next release will be "Blue Collar/White Collar," a retrospective of Sterling Hundley's illustration and painting work. Hundley, who works as a professor at VCU and an instructor at the Illustration Academy, says that this will be his farewell to illustration work so he can focus on painting.

"It's a nice, tidy way of wrapping up one chapter and embracing another one," Hundley says. For 13 years he's worked as an illustrator, with work appearing in Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic.

"I've always loved his work," Pitzer says. "It's always nice to see a creator who pushes his boundaries."

"Blue Collar/White Collar" gets its title from Hundley's transition from the blue-collar world of illustration into the white-collar world of painting. Wedged between the full-color pages of the book are sketches and notes made by Hundley about his work.

"I'm really pleased with what he's done with my property," Hundley says of Pitzer's efforts. "He really is an internationally recognized publisher. ... AdHouse produces some of the best artists' books that are out there."

AdHouse is breaking form this year, publishing about 10 books instead of the usual five. But don't expect Pitzer to have any big changes in mind for his publishing house. "We are a boutique, we are small press," he says, "but we're a juggernaut."