LES Blog

This is Albert Goldbarth’s year. The only two-time winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry, this year the Poetry Foundation bestowed upon him the Mark Twain Poetry Award; his latest collection, The Kitchen Sink (Graywolf, 2007), was named a Kansas Notable Book; and the Goldbarth Papers, after over two years of processing, were made available to researchers.

The Albert Goldbarth Papers consist of 28 linear feet of manuscripts, cover art samples, publicity material, notebooks, research packets, ephemeral material, and correspondence and writings by others. The finding aid can be accessed at http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/ms/2007-02/2007-2-a.html.

Goldbarth has been teaching writing at Wichita State for over 20 years. I’m not going to try to describe his style, but I do love this opening sentence from James Sallis’s review of Goldbarth’s 2003 novel, Pieces of Payne: “Reading Albert Goldbarth is like watching the valedictory address at a university created by a merger between Clown College and MIT.” (Review of Contemporary Fiction (2003) 23:3, 132.)

Interested researchers should contact Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University, 316.978.3590 or specialcollections@wichita.edu.

The Fall 2008 edition of BiblioNotes is now available online, and hard copies are in the mail. In this issue:

• Read an update from the chair on activities of various LES committees;
• Learn what it means to be a bibliographer of modern poetry;
• Get an update on Midwinter in Denver; and
• Take a virtual trip to a virtual conference on “Bringing New Life to Books through Virtual Worlds.”

I hope folks don’t mind a slightly off-topic post, but in response to requests from…well, nobody, I thought I’d share a few photos from my Halloween activities at the library this year. I, along with two colleagues and my very accommodating wife (who also works at the university), dressed up as the band KISS. We spent the day distributing candy and staff Halloween party invitations at the various library branches (an activity we dubbed “rock or treating”), had lunch in the student union, then showed up at the staff party in time to take home the prize for best costumes. A few observations from our day-long stint as rock superstars:

1. Proper application of KISS makeup takes a seriously long time. Do not attempt unless you have a solid 2 hours to devote to your art. Similarly, please allow 30 days for satisfactory application of sequins and rhinestones to women’s running clothes.

2. KISS recognition among undergraduate students (and particularly among foreign graduate students) is, at best, hit or miss. KISS recognition among construction workers, however, is nearly 100%.

3. Librarians (if you’ll forgive the sweeping generalization) are generally uncertain as to how to respond to a colleague wearing full face makeup and spiked papier mache shoulder pads. Attempts to camouflage this uncertainty by pointing out Halloween-themed socks are wildly inappropriate. Seriously, I’m wearing a wig, a cape, chains, sequin-covered arm guards, dragon-scale shinguards, and the aforementioned makeup and shoulder pads. Your socks with pumpkins don’t quite compete.

All in all, though, a fun day at the library. My only regret is that I didn’t have time for a reference desk shift and answer a few patron questions. (My answer to every question would have been either a) rock ‘n roll all night or b) party everyday.)