Virginia Woolf’s Poetry Library

About the event

Virginia Woolf scholar Emily Kopley will present two lectures on Dec. 3 and 4 at WSU’s Holland and Terrell Libraries. Kopley describes Woolf’s personal library, the writer’s exploration of poetry, and the cover art of To the Lighthouse, inspired by Woolf’s 1902 edition of English poet William Wordsworth. Focusing on Woolf’s poetry titles, Kopley said these books help readers to understand Woolf’s attitude towards poetry, which she considered a rival and muse to her own form, the novel.

“The dates of inscriptions, signatures, and bookplates support a narrative nowhere explicitly conveyed: the deaths of the poetry tastemakers in Woolf’s family—in particular, her father and her older brother—freed her to explore poetry without a guide,” Kopley said. “This turn towards poetry inspired the rhythmical, impressionistic prose for which Woolf is celebrated.”

Following the lecture, attendees are invited to the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections reading room in Terrell Library’s ground floor to see more from the Library of Leonard and Virginia Woolf.