Model Research Collection showcases lyric poetry at Bass Library

  • Woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing red and blue paisley scarf speaks into microphone
    Associate professor Ayesha Ramachandran
  • Woman with long dark hair and white sleeveless top stands next to man with brown hair and slight beard wearing blue and white check shirt, as both look at a book title "A New Dawn"
  • Roomful of people near library shelves looking at books, reception table with cookies and flowers and white tablecloth is to far left. Sign draped over the end of the low shelving reads "Lyric Thinking" in light letters on blue ground
  • Young man with shoulder-length hair and dark shirt listens to blonde woman leaning toward him, who wears green turtle-neck sweater and black cardigan and glasses on her head. She holds an open book. Beyond her right shoulder is a woman with short brown hair, black face mask, and black unzippered garment with white embroidering on each panel.
  • Young woman with dark hear, wearing a blue sweater and a blue and blue backpack with red straps rests on top of low library shelving, reading an open book
  • Seven people peruse three rows of books on display. The two people closest to camera have their backs to the viewer. The woman wears a black embroidered jacket and black leather backpack. She has short brown hair. The man to her right has a yellow long-sleeve shirt and brown pants and has brown hair.
  • Man with jaw-length brown hair, mustache, and wire-rimmed glasses talks to woman wearing ruffled gold blouse, black face mask, and small gold earrings. He holds cards that read "Lyric Thinking"
  • Young man learns over book that rests on top of library shelf. He has green sweatshirt and blue backpack, dark hair and beard and dark glasses. In background another man is seen resting on the library shelve reading signage.
  • Two women, both with short hair, read a sign that reads "What is the Model Research Collection?" which is held in a mylar stand. Two young men with dark hair are to their left, looking down at shelves.
  • Middle-aged man with dark glasses, white shirt, green blazer, and neon green biking helmet stands at end of library shelf with an open book with green cover.
  • Four smiling women posing: the woman at left is blonde with hair tied back, brown glasses and beaded necklace, navy dress and jacket. The next woman has brown hair, tied back, and wears an orange, green, and gray plaid jacket with a tie at waist; the next woman has shoulder-length dark hair and wears a sleeveless black dress and red, blue, and black paisley scarf around her neck and across torso; the woman at far right has short brown hair, black glasses and a black and white bl
    Carla Baricz, Monica Ong, Ayesha Ramachandran, Katy Webb
October 10, 2022

Lyric Thinking: Poetry in the World, the 2022-23 Bass Library Model Research Collection, features more than 1,000 volumes from Yale Library collections. Curated by Ayesha Ramachandran, chair of the Program in Early Modern Studies and associate professor of Comparative Literature, the collection explores lyric poems across diverse languages, communities, and spaces throughout the historical record. 

At an opening reception for the collection on Oct. 6, before and after remarks Ramachandran, students, staff, and visitors explored the collection of titles of and about poetry from throughout the world and across time.

The Model Research Collection was introduced in 2018 in conjunction with a major renovation of Bass Library. It is meant to show the breadth and depth of Yale Library collections through the lens of a faculty researcher exploring in their area of inquiry, while also giving novice researchers a window into the collections and research process. The collection’s highly visible placement on the Courtyard Level of Bass Library and the design of the display are intended to encourage browsing and serendipitous discovery by students and other patrons.

Photos by Judy Sirota Rosenthal