Today in our poetry news round-up we take a look at the often-forgotten Bronte sister, Anne. We also look at the poetry donation received by Williams College.

Anne Bronte – Into the Limelight

This year marks the 200^th birth anniversary of the youngest Bronte sister, Anne Bronte.  On 17^th January the Bronte Society will be hosting a birthday party which will kick off the celebrations which will last all year.

The idea behind the celebrations is to highlight the talents of the lesser-known sister who is often overshadowed by her more famous siblings, Emily and Charlotte.

The last couple of years have been spent celebrating the bicentennial of both older sisters and Branwell Bronte, their brother.

The party will be taking place in the village where Anne was born, Thornton and also in Haworth at the Bronte Parsonage Museum. There will be poetry readings, dancing, music and a chance to take part in a number of different craft activities.

The organisers are hoping to change many people view of Anne as simply being the “other Bronte” she was a talented poet, musician, novelist and visual artist in her own right.

The full programme of events for 2020 is not yet available but it is hoped that it will be released in the next couple of weeks. It has been confirmed that there will be a number of events which will take place at Haworth attended by a variety of different authors.

Dates that have been confirmed include 18^th January when the annual Parsonage Unwrapped event will take place and 1^st February when the Bronte Society will be unveiling “Amid The Brave And Strong” their 2020 Anne Bronte Exhibition.

There will also be a candlelit walk on the beach in Scarborough, a favourite destination of Anne Bronte, between 17^th and 19^th January.

Collection from Celebrated Poet Received by Library

Williams Libraries in Williamstown is in receipt of a collection of manuscripts, book and record albums that document the work and life of the poet Sterling Allen Brown, a 1922 graduate from the college.

The collection was donated by the Brown family to the College Archives where it will be catalogued, preserved and then made available for scholars to study.

The Sterling A. Brown archive will form an extraordinary resource for those who are looking to study African American poetry. Brown is considered by many to be a considerably influential figure in both African American education and literature. The Williams Black Alumni Network are very excited by the donation and are working to help put funding in place to ensure that the materials in the collection are preserved carefully. There is already a Sterling Brown Fund in place at the college which supports a visiting professor every year it the poet’s honour.

Born in 1901, Brown worked as a teacher at a number of Black institutions. He was awarded an honorary degree from Williams in 1974. The majority of his writing was done during the 1940s when he penned several volumes of poetry and also a couple of significant studies into the history of Black poetry. During the 1960s his work saw something of a revival and was reprinted.