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The free exhibition from the Library’s Special Collections, "Pages from Pequot: Connections -- Black Poets & Writers American Visionaries 1700s – Present," will continue through May 8. Schools also are welcome to sign up for free private tours, which include a Pequot Library Historical Tour; Special Collections Exhibition Tours 1700s – 2000s, including primary sources; and a Hands-on Art Project.
"Connections: Black Poets & Writers," showcases poetry and prose by 11 American visionaries. This exhibition makes connections between the past and the present, the reader and the material on display and the writers themselves. Collectively, over centuries, these writers explore themes of freedom, identity, Christianity, appreciation of God, nature, autonomy, injustice, color, love, race, and voice. The oldest item in this exhibition is "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," 1773, signed by the author, Phillis Wheatley.
Other authors include Jupiter Hammon, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Countee Cullen, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Also on exhibit are signed first editions on loan by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Langston Hughes. Included on display is an exhibition entitled, "Creativity Visualized: Children’s Books Come Alive." Despite the fact the Pequot Library has 125,000 books, the question of how a book is created persists. As a result, Pequot Library demystifies this process for children. This mini-exhibition presents the story of two award-winning teams: Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome; and Suzanne Slade and Nicole Tadgell. Each team contains an author and illustrator whose creative talents brought stories about Frederick Douglass alive.
On view are handwritten manuscripts, computer-typed manuscripts with hand-written edits, a book draft, correspondence between publisher and author, dummy versions of books, galley copy, artist’s steps, models and actual art work. Please visit www.pequotlibrary.org to learn more about this vibrant library, educational, arts and cultural institution. All classes and programs are open to everyone. For information, call (203) 259-0346 ext. 15.
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