University News
WIU Receives E. L. Masters Folio Donation
March 21, 2024
MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University Libraries Archives and Special Collections Department recently acquired a one-of-a-kind folio celebrating the poetry of Western Illinois native Edgar Lee Masters.
Artist Barbara Katus from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts traveled to Macomb with her sister and fellow artist Deborah Katus to meet with the staff of the Malpass Library to donate a beautiful folio that she and over 20 other artists created.
Inspired by the poems by Edgar Lee Masters, the artists illustrated multiple poems from the Spoon River Anthology; Katus generously donated one of 12 original folios to the WIU Archives and Special Collections.
Katus began this artistic project after she read Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Hallwas' Spoon River Anthology: An Annotated Edition. Hallwas' work inspired Katus to recruit a group of artists to study the poems and create prints that illustrate the poems.
In the coming months, the WIU Libraries will display portions of this artistic project, both in a digital collection on the website and in physical reproductions displayed in the Malpass Library.
For more information, contact Outreach and Engagement Librarian Michelle Holschuh Simmons at mh-simmons@wiu.edu or Archives and Special Collections Coordinator Michael Lorenzen at mg-lorenzen@wiu.edu.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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