I am really honored to accept as a gift of a large collection of several hundred books that belonged once to a well-known Berkeley poet- John Oliver Simon. John Oliver Simon- a legendary poet of Berkeley Sixties passed away in early 2018. He was UC Berkeley alumnus and his personal collection of poetry and prose books from all parts of Latin America is a treasure trove that his family decided to donate to us. Since then, I have been going through the boxes of his books and finding one hidden gem after other that are not in our collections. Someone has argued albeit rightfully that the libraries are not museums, however, there are always exceptions to any argument. Museums are not libraries and we as the guardians of the cultural artifacts including the books must collect, preserve and pass on these gems to the future generation. The nuanced relationship of our country with her Latin American neighbors can be seen through some of the books that I will present below in an album. This is one of my first posts about the collection that we received as a gift from Kia Simon is one of the most important additions to our Doe collections of Latin Americana. Some of these books that fall within the collecting scope of Bancroft Library will be offered to their respective curatorial staff. Please click on the icon below to gain access to the wonderful artistry of printmaking in Latin America. This album includes books signed and dedicated to John Oliver Simon by his literary friends.
