THE S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Project
For the Preservation of
Self-Published, Emerging, Creative, Transient, Rare, and Educational Material
on the topics of poetry and spoken word. Founded by Sean Conlon in the Fall of 2008,
in cooperation with the Hampshire College Slam Collective and the Harold F. Johnson Library
Self-Published, Emerging, Creative, Transient, Rare, and Educational Material
on the topics of poetry and spoken word. Founded by Sean Conlon in the Fall of 2008,
in cooperation with the Hampshire College Slam Collective and the Harold F. Johnson Library
Mission Statement:
1. To preserve the poetry of relatively unknown or emerging spoken word poets, both at Hampshire College and in the national poetic community.
2. To record the progress of Hampshire College poets, both those involved directly with the slam collective and those who choose to submit their work to the archive. Also, to provide a storage facility for video footage of HCSC open mics, featured readers, and poetry related events.
3. To display and to encourage the creation of unique works.
4. To provide a valuable resource for students of poetry, members of the spoken word subculture, art and literary historians, the academic and artistic community.
5. To collect and proliferate poetic literature that might otherwise be lost; to promote the idea that the preservation of quality artwork is worthwhile and necessary regardless of its monetary value.
6. To provide those looking to start a spoken-word gathering or regular event with educational literature toward that end.
7. To demonstrate to the larger academic community that poetry which originates within spoken word communities, at open mic nights such as Hampshire’s Slam Collective or within performance writing workshops, can have and does have literary value, can be studied on the page, and is worthy of consideration as literature.
About the Archive:
Housed in the Harold F. Johnson Library on the Hampshire College Campus, the collection is currently comprised of almost entirely self-published poetry collections, or “chapbooks.” The SPECTRE archive started with donations from Sean Conlon’s personal collection. The encounters of poets from Hampshire’s Slam Collective and with poets at the National Poetry Slam and the Boston Cantab Lounge, or in some rare instances, the donation of books by request, will foster the continued growth of the project. The current collection is very modest, just over 60 books and audio recordings, but it is hoped that the archive will continue to grow in size and diversity.
Questions? Want to set up a reading appointment?
The current Archivist is Sophia Holtz. You can contact her by emailing hampshireslam@gmail.com.
Inventory
