CONTACT: EMILY SILVERMAN, 545-0995

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARY CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL OF
THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK

     Amherst, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst Library is hosting an exhibit, Du Bois homesite tour, and a May 1 symposium to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois.

     "The Souls of Black Folk: A Centennial Exhibit" is on display now through May 9, 2003 in Special Collections and Archives, Floor 25, W.E.B. Du Bois Library. The exhibit features original manuscript materials as well as photographs and correspondence from the W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, which are held in the Library's Special Collections and Archives.

     According to William Thompson, head of Special Collections and Archives, "It is always interesting to see the author's unique handwriting and his fluid compositional style. Every author hopes that the book he writes will have an impact on its readers. The letters displayed in the exhibit are from people who had read the book and then wrote to Du Bois expressing the personal impact that this book had on each of them."

     The exhibit features many letters written to Du Bois by readers of the work. His correspondents range from notable literary figures to students, and the letters span Du Bois's entire career.

     On April 30, Robert Paynter, professor of Anthropology, will lead a tour of the Du Bois boyhood homesite, a National Historic Landmark, and related sites in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

     The day-long symposium, "Revisiting The Souls of Black Folk: A Centenary Celebration" is May 1 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Campus Center 163. It will include a keynote address by John Edgar Wideman of UMass Amherst, a series of Souls-related presentations by area faculty, readings from the book by Esther Terry of UMass Amherst, musical presentations of the Sorrow Songs by Horace Clarence Boyer and the Year of Jubilee Four, and a belated Du Bois birthday celebration.

     The symposium presenters are Ernest Allen, professor of Afro-American Studies, UMass Amherst; David Blight, professor of History, Amherst College; Vincent Franklin, professor of Education, Columbia Teachers College; and Gerald Friedman, professor of Economics, UMass Amherst.

     The symposium is sponsored by the Library, the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, the Department of History, the Office of the Provost, and the office of the Chancellor.

     For more information, see http://www.library.umass.edu/whatsnew/dubois_event.html, or contact William Thompson, Head, Special Collections, Archives and Maps at (413) 545-2780 or askanarc@library.umass.edu.