Dream Poems, Loss and Remembrance: selected works of Rachel Hadas, 1989-2021

Esteemed and award-winning writer, scholar, and Rutgers University professor emerita Rachel Hadas curated and contributed descriptions for the items which were used to create this digital exhibition from the Rachel Hadas papers (MC 959), her collection of professional papers.  This digital exhibit features four facets of Hadas’ career: her creative output; translations of classic Greek literary works; scholarly activity in academic, artistic, and publishing forums; and poetry workshops at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and the resulting published anthology, Unending Dialogue: Voices from an AIDS Poetry Workshop

The exhibit has four foci:  Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Scholarly Activity, Translations, and Works. The Gay Men’s Health Crisis series of images documents Hadas’ work at the so-named venue in New York City during the early 1990s. Her poetry workshops at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis center in New York City resulted in Unending Dialogue: Voices from an AIDS Poetry Workshop, an anthology of poems which were created by workshop participants.  The Scholarly Activity series features correspondence with Hadas’ peers in academic, artistic, and publishing forums. The series of images in Translations illuminates a sample of her abundant oeuvre of translations of classic Greek literary works. The Works series [comprises] selections of Hadas’ creative literary output in various stages, ranging from unpublished sketches and drafts, to published monographs.

The goal of this project is to acknowledge, illuminate, and celebrate the career accomplishments of Rachel Hadas, award winning poet, essayist, translator of classic literature, and Rutgers professor emerita of English in the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark.  This project would not be possible without her initiative, fearless hands-on curation and description efforts, and guidance.

This exhibit is actually two-pronged, consisting of this digital component in addition to a physical exhibit of archival materials from the Rachel Hadas papers (MC959), on display in the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers-Newark from April through October 2024.  A cadre of contributors from the Honors Living and Learning Community (HLLC) on the Rutgers-Newark campus, and from various units within Rutgers University Libraries came together and realized the project goal. They are, in alphabetical order:

• Elsa Alves, Operations Coordinator, Dana Library:  ensured access to display cases in Dana Library for the physical exhibit.
• Isaiah Beard, Digital Data Curator, Rutgers University Libraries: advised on best digital preservation practices and provided infrastructure for the digital exhibit. 
• Diane Biunno, Metadata Archivist, Institute of Jazz Studies: advised on the installation of the physical exhibit.
• Domenica Bueno, Student, Newark Honors Living and Learning Community: digitized curated items and created descriptive metadata for the images in this digital exhibit during the early stages of this project.
• Melissa De Fino, Special Collections and Formats Technical Services Librarian, Rutgers University Libraries:  advised on best descriptive practices and determined the metadata protocols for the digital exhibit
• Macsu Hill, Director, Special Projects, Newark Honors Living and Learning Community: coordinated work schedules and payroll for the student workers in this project.
• Ayoko Kessouagni, Student, Newark Honors Living and Learning Community: digitized curated items and created descriptive metadata for the images in this digital exhibit during the early stages of this project.
• Angela Lawrence, Archivist, RU-Newark Archives, Dana Library:  served as project coordinator; trained student workers on archival theory, best practices and descriptive standards; oversaw the digitization of the curated items for the project; compiled, created and formatted descriptive metadata; curated and installed the physical exhibit. 
• Rhonda Marker, Interim Assistant University Librarian, Dana Library: liaised with administrators and faculty and was essential in [getting this project off the ground.] 
• Priyanka Naik, Administrative Assistant, Dana Library:  facilitated communication about the physical exhibit with the Rutgers community. 
• Mark Papianni, Technical Media Coordinator, Dana Library:  created signage for and assisted with communication about the physical exhibit with the Rutgers community.
• Fernanda Perrone, Interim Co-Head, Special Collections and University Archives, Alexander Library:  was instrumental during the curation process for this project, provided  expertise on the Rachel Hadas papers, and facilitated access to the collection.
• Ayesha Salim, Business Manager at the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark:  served as Business Specialist for Dana Library during the initial stage of the project, and was instrumental in coordinating payroll for our HLLC student workers. 
• La-Tira Shaw, Administrative Assistant, Dana Library (former): assisted with scheduling and payroll for the HLLC student workers.
• Chris Singh, Unit Computing Specialist, Dana Library:  provided technology support for the digitization phase of this project.
• Elizabeth Surles, Archivist, Institute of Jazz Studies:  advised on the installation of the physical exhibit.
• Geoffrey Wood, Metadata Librarian, Rutgers University Libraries: advised on best practices for descriptive metadata for this project.

Angela Lawrence
Rutgers University-Newark Archives
al713@libraries.rutgers.edu

• Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries holds the Rachel Hadas papers (MC959)