You have to admit ... poet William Carlos Williams looks gloriously happy in the midst of his garden.
A special exhibition, Happiness: The Writer in the Garden, is now open (through August 12) at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT.
Curator Timothy Young says the library has a number of works on gardening in its archives. "Like a wandering vine, the subject of garden-making winds through the shelves of books and boxes of archives in the collection of the Beinecke Library," he says.
Young adds that the theme of happiness runs throughout the collections: "Writers of all dispositions seem to agree that the work of shaping the natural world into manageable plots brings particularly rewarding forms of joy and satisfaction."
The exhibition includes items ranging from 17th century to contemporary archives, and writers represented include Francis Bacon, Edith Wharton, Alexander Pope, Beatrix Farrand, Willilam Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, Vita Sackville-West, Diana Balmori and many others.
If you, like me, love garden history, you'll definitely not want to miss this exhibition. And, as an added plus, the library has created a special area -- a reader's garden, outdoors -- so you can relax and be inspired by others who found gardening so worthwhile.
While you're at the library, stop by the companion exhibition, Bird-Watching. Do you know a gardener who doesn't like birds? The exhibition documents bird forms, songs, behavior, and more in word and images. Collectors include some of the same writers as above along with Audubon, Mo Willems, Carl Van Vechten and more.
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