On National Haiku Poetry Day, Wellesley Shines a Spotlight on the Book Arts Lab

Since its founding in 1944, the Book Arts Lab has been a unique place for students and faculty to practice and learn about letterpress printing, typesetting, and book arts. In program director Katherine Ruffin’s first-year writing class, students learn about historical scholarship, writing, and research skills, as well as the arts of printing and book making.

The Book Arts Lab (on the fourth floor of Clapp Library) will host an open house as part of the College’s Community Day of Poetry, hosted by the Paulson Initiative, on April 26 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to use the lab’s original Vandercook press to print a poem as a keepsake.

This April, the Wellesley community is celebrating National Poetry Month, an initiative that encourages all members of the community to celebrate the power of poetry to bring people together. Ahead of the events on April 26, the English department is hosting poetry readings on April 18 and April 25.