UNIVERSITIES
Universities matter to local literary communities in a number of important ways.
For one thing, they often have magnificent scholarly libraries with a strong emphasis on precisely those enduring or experimental literary works that more popularity-oriented book stores overlook.
For another, many of a community's writers can be found teaching at local universities.
Universities often host readings, film showings, book discussions, performances of plays, and talks or lectures by visiting authors.
Universities offer classes not simply in writing appreciation, but in writing instruction as well -- sometimes, as in Rochester, led by the writers of national reknown.
And finally, universities are simply great places for writers to hang out. There is generally a cafe or rathskeller where one can compose in peace over a cup of java. Or libraries where precisely the obscure volume one needs to have at hand is waiting at one's fingertips.
Rochester is lucky in all these regards. It has at least two educational institutions that have superb resources in each of the above fields, and several more that are impressive in their own right.
Here are a few highlights:
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER:
The University of Rochester English Department
www.rochester.edu/College/ENG/faculty/
The University of Rochester's River Campus Libraries
The University of Rochester's Rare Books and Special Collections
Rare Books, Special Collections & Preservation
Notes:
The University of Rochester Wikipedia entry is a good general introduction to Rochester's largest university and leading employer.
The River Campus Libraries are superior, networked and massive, the Rare Books collection is legendary, and the campus hosts absolutely dazzling places to read, from the Victorian ambience of the Welles-Brown room, where one half-expects Dr. Watson to enter and surprise Holmes at his violin, to the soaring glass walls and open space of the dining and lounging area, Wilson Commons, designed by renowned architect I. M Pei.
On the negative side, parking for people not affiliated with the university is difficult to the point of what sometimes seems like deliberate discouragement, and ticketing is rigorous and frequent. If you're visiting, bring plenty of quarters.
There is a student literary publication worth noting called Logos, and the University of Rochester LiveJournal Community has some interesting writing all its own.
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
RIT's English Department
www.rit.edu/%7Elanglit/index.html
The Cary Graphic Arts Press
Melbert B. Cary, Jr., Graphic Arts Collection
Wallace Library
Java Wally's
Signatures
Gracie's Dinnertime Theatre
Notes:
RIT is literary Rochester's best-kept secret. The college is already well known for its world-class stature in computer technology and graphic design, and for its legendary Anime Club. What is less well known is that RIT is one of the world leaders in the technology of book production. People engaged in the actual physical creation of books come to RIT as to something of a Mecca. The Cary Graphic Arts Press and the Cary Collection are as impressive as they are underrecognized.
RIT's contribution to the world of books also includes a profound but uncelebrated impact by pioneering new media such as digital print and the new internet technologies. RIT, in partnership with organizations such as Lulu.com, has been a significant part of the new print-on-demand technology revolutionizing publishing, and the Lab for Social Computing is part of cutting-edge developments in online writing technologies such as blogging and wiki collaboration.
In fact, it is quite arguable that the future of literature from the angle of its technology is being shaped more profoundly at RIT than at any other university in the world.
But the literary world of RIT is vivid in other ways too. The school has a LiveJournal Community of over 600. Signatures is one of the best-designed student literary publications in New York. Gracie's Dinnertime Theatre defies classification: think erratic guerilla journalism which, like Godzilla, or the fanfiction produced by the anime community, strangely refuses to die. But which definitely has its moments.
Literary activity at RIT can seem uneven, but in many ways it's livelier and more innovative there than anywhere else in Rochester.
Lastly, is there a better place locally to write than during a quiet evening hour at Java Wally's? Host to the Empty Sky Go Club, the nicely-stocked adjoining Wallace Library, and with Open Mic on Wednesdays, it's a place for weary poets and suspected CIA recruiters to sit down and enjoy a decaf Jamaica Me Crazy to die for.
The English Department at St. John Fisher College
home.sjfc.edu/English/faculty.htm
St. John Fisher College, like nearby Nazareth College is one of two smaller Catholic colleges that attractions of their own. In the case of St. John Fisher, it's a faculty that includes a number of highly active local writers including Sarah Freiligh, M. J. Iuppa, and Jonathan Rich.
The English Department at Nazareth College
www.naz.edu/dept/english/index.html
Nazareth College, like Fisher, has a sound literature department. It's particularly noted for the Callahan Theatre at the Nazareth College Arts Center, a 1,100-seat theatre entertains approximately 65,000 people annually, including 24,500 children at school performances.
Nazareth is increasingly being noted for the Casa Hispana. Founded in 1976 as a dormitory for Spanish majors at Nazareth, the building has since become a Hispanic Cultural Center. Staff, students, business persons, and community members with an interest in Spanish culture meet regularly to enjoy conversation, read and discuss literature, and a variety of events.
As the Spanish language and Spanish culture takes a higher profile, Casa Hispana is well positioned to become a acknowledged resource and influence.