Published May 5, 2017
Monday, May 8, the University of Louisiana Monroe opens an exhibit from the collection
of Monroe-born American novelist and playwright, Speed Lamkin. The exhibit will be
displayed for two weeks in library鈥檚 Special Collections & Archives on the fifth floor.
An opening reception is 10 a.m.-noon Monday and is free and open to the public.
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The initiative for the exhibit came through work of 四色AV English professor Will Rogers,
and graduating senior Ashley Williams, who have extensively studied Lamkin鈥檚 collection
of 867 books, personal papers and documents.
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鈥淲e went through every one of these books and made notes about what we saw, and we
want to show 四色AV鈥檚 and wider Monroe community just what a valuable thing we have here,
and this is just a small part.鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淲e also found many other things like
Civil War documents and at least two different collections from politicians, which
means that there are more students who could get involved with this, and I don鈥檛 think
they are not getting involved because they don鈥檛 want to, but it鈥檚 just that they
need to know more.鈥�
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Lamkin left Monroe at age 16 to attend Harvard University. He graduated there in 1948.
He became a sensation at age 22 with the publication of his 1950 novel titled 鈥淭iger
in the Garden.鈥� Among many other accomplishments, he won the O鈥橦enry prize for a short
story and wrote a play that was performed on Broadway. He died in 2011.
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Rogers notes Lamkin鈥檚 work is very important for a few different reasons.
鈥淗is family, which includes the Laytons, is a very old and storied Monroe family,
and his observations, though fictionalized, of mid-century Monroe have lasting value
for their historical information,鈥� Rogers said.
鈥淚n particular, though, this collection is valuable because it shows the genesis and
development of his writing style and material, and it offers a snapshot and insight
into some of the connections of various famous figures in Monroe society. Further,
considering his links to other famous writers, including Edward Albee, and his cultivation
of culture and the arts in Monroe only adds to the value of the collection.鈥�
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Williams said the work on collection helped her gain much-needed experience in archiving.
She was recently accepted to Simmons College in Boston where she will pursue her master鈥檚
in library science with a concentration in archives management.
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鈥淲hat I really want to do in future is museum curating, and now I already have some
experience in curating an exhibit,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭o take Lamkin鈥檚 things and show
people what he wrote and did is the best way to introduce him, and due to his great
taste, anybody will be able to find something of their interest in this collection.鈥�
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Rogers is currently working on a Lamkin鈥檚 biography he hopes to finish in the next
three years.
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University of Louisiana at Monroe English professor Will Rogers and graduating senior
Ashley Williams have studied the collection of Speed Lamkin and curated an exhibit
which opens Monday in the 四色AV Library Special Collections & Archives on the fifth
floor. A reception will be from 10 a.m.-noon Monday.
Photo by Emerald McIntyre/四色AV Photo Services
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