Literature and the Museum
July 24, 2019
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As often as we hear of the declines of traditional publishing, newspaper circulation, or book sales, the fact remains: people read.
They are just reading in different ways than their predecessors.
Reading has always been a treasured pastime; a gateway into new knowledge, perspectives, and ideas.
For many people, reading is the only way to learn of something. Libraries become interdimensional portals to other worlds; worlds where we are not so limited by our circumstances, our inheritances, our stations.
At the Museum of World Treasures, you can find an entire exhibit dedicated to literature and those peculiar people who produce it: writers.
Our collection features rare books, personal items, and memorabilia from several iconic authors.
Today we’ll talk about just two of them.
Byron was born in London on January 22, 1788.
He grew up on his family’s dilapidated Scottish estate, the rights to which he inherited at age 10.
He struggled with dysfunctional family dynamics and his own sexual orientation throughout much of his childhood and adolescence.
He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. During his time at University he published his first poetry collection, Fugitive Pieces, which met with universal ridicule.
Eventually Byron established himself as a poet amongst England’s aristocratic literati. During this time however, his personal life was characterized by dramatic scandal, such as his public divorce on grounds of sexual deviancy, and his controversial affair with Mary Shelley’s sister Claire Clairmont.
Byron ultimately fled England to avoid censure and began his masterpiece Don Juan in Italy. He also joined the Greek war for independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Modern scholars consider Byron’s Don Juan to be one of the best English-language epic poems composed since John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Byron’s archetypical hero, the Byronic hero, was characterized by “passion, talent, and rebellion.” Byron’s work would later wield massive influence over the work of subsequent Romantic poets.
The Museum of World Treasures displays a rare volume of Byron’s in our author’s exhibit.
Tennessee Williams, was born Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26th, 1911. He was an American playwright whose plays portray the extremes of human relationships tinged with sexuality and violence most often set in the American south.
Williams began experimenting with playwriting while in college at the University of St. Louis.
His first success came with The Glass Menagerie in 1944. This play centered on a poor southern family comprised of a domineering mother, a cynical son, and a disabled daughter.
More plays followed many of which have been adapted for the screen: Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Orpheus Descending among them.
Williams won two Pulitzer Awards and four Drama Critic’s Awards.
He was ultimately consumed by his alcohol and pill dependency, dying in 1983.
The Museum of World Treasures displays a rare volume of William’s in our author’s exhibit.
Please visit the Museum of World Treasures to learn more about famous writers and their creations.
Don’t forget to attend the Museum’s A Novel Night cocktails and culture event on August 1, 2019!
