Old dominion university

The ODU Poster Collection contains a wide range of posters of musical performances, plays, athletic events, academic programs, student activities, lectures, discussions, seminars, readings, and festivals. They document recruitment foci, program offerings and the academic, political and cultural environment of the university.

In April 1978, the English Department held a Poetry Jam, featuring Richard Wilbur, W. D. Snodgrass, and Dave Smith. The success of the Poetry Jam and the recent explosion of community interest in the literary, visual, and performing arts in Hampton Roads, led to the First Annual Literary Festival. It was called The Arts Reunion, and it coincided with the arrival of the Associated Writing Programs' national headquarters, the birth of ODU's creative writing program, and the establishment of a Distinguished Visiting Writer position (W. D. Snodgrass was our first). It was a heady time.

The enthusiasm has continued, sustained by ever-increasing university and community support. Each October the Hampton Roads, as well as the University, calendar reminds us that for about a week our area will be home to such writers as Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, John McPhee, William Styron, Ann Beattie, Charles Johnson, Derek Walcott, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

The diversity of readers, panels, workshops, and community involvement is one of the Festival hallmarks. Every two years the Festival is redesigned by a different English department member. The themes change from year to year. Major writers, cultural diversity, international perspectives, and numerous other approaches have surprised increasingly sophisticated audiences.

Over the years, students from Old Dominion University, surrounding campuses, and high schools have been encouraged to attend the literary events. Few, around the country, have an opportunity to hear and mingle with so many major and aspiring writers. Since Hampton Roads is a reader friendly environment, the Festival has consistently attracted patrons of bookstores, libraries, museums, and arts events.

Many of the events have been recorded. Brochures and posters (provided by the University Publications Department), news articles, interviews, and reviews are now housed in the University Archives of the University's Perry Library. Future material will also be collected there.

Because of the importance of this annual event to the university and the community, the Library and English Department have collaborated to preserve and exhibit Festival materials through the Literary Festival Digital Project.

-- Phil Raisor (English Department) and Karen Vaughan (Library)

Chronology:

Poetry Jam, April 1978

First Annual Arts Reunion, September 25-29, 1978

Second Annual Literary Festival, October 1-4, 1979

Third Annual Literary Festival, September 29 - October 1, 1980

Fourth Annual Literary Festival, October 5-8, 1981

Fifth Annual Literary Festival, October 4-7, 1982

Sixth Annual Literary Festival, October 3-6, 1983

Seventh Annual Literary Festival, October 1-4, 1984

Eighth Annual Literary Festival, October 7-10, 1985

Ninth Annual Literary Festival, October 6-9, 1986

Tenth Annual Literary Festival, October 4-8, 1987

Eleventh Annual Literary Festival, October 3-6, 1988

Twelfth Annual Literary Festival, October 2-5, 1989

Thirteenth Annual Literary Festival: City of Words, October 2-4, 1990

Fourteenth Annual Literary Festival: Between the Lines. Fact or Fiction. October 8-10, 1991

Fifteenth Annual Literary Festival: Words at Play, October 4-8, 1992

Sixteenth Annual Literary Festival, October 4-7, 1993

Seventeenth Annual Literary Festival: Cultural Equities, October 3-6, 1994

Eighteenth Annual Literary Festival: World Voice, October 3-5, 1995

Nineteenth Annual Literary Festival: Forbidden Passage, October 10-15, 1996

Twentieth Annual Literary Festival: Fierce Minds at Work, October 14-17, 1997

Twenty-first Annual Literary Festival: Electric Voice. Coming of Age, October 6-9, 1998

Twenty-second Annual Literary Festival: The Spirit of the Word, October 11-15, 1999

Twenty-third Annual Literary Festival: A New World, October 2-6, 2000

Twenty-fourth Annual Literary Festival: Magic, Vision, & Transformation, October 1-5, 2001

Twenty-fifth Annual Literary Festival: The Creative Moment, September 30 - October 5, 2002

Twenty-sixth Annual Literary Festival: Sounds that Mean, September 29-October 3, 2003