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Kelly Writers House recordings

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Founded in 1995 by a group of students, faculty, staff and alumni, the Kelly Writers House serves as a center for writers of all kinds from the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia region at large. Each semester the Writers House hosts approximately 150 public programs and projects--poetry readings, film screenings, seminars, web magazines, lectures, dinners, radio broadcasts, workshops, art exhibits, and musical performances--and about 500 people visit the House each week. They work, write, and collaborate in seminar rooms, a publications room, the "hub" office, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and "the Arts Cafe." Ongoing interactive webcasts give listeners from across the country the opportunity to talk with writers such as Ian Frazier, Richard Ford, and Cynthia Ozick and dozens of listservs and email discussion groups link writers and readers from across the country and around the world. Through its many programs and projects, the Writers House promotes a full range of contemporary literature, addressing writing both as a practice and as an object of study.

Writers House is self-run--what began in 1995 as a volunteer committee of 20 people, has grown into a wide network of people who sponsor and enact the Writers House events. The Writers House Planning Committee, as of 2020, consists of a 90-member volunteer group of undergraduate and graduate students, Penn faculty, staff, and alumni whose intellectual energy and collective spirit guides the House. The House also has a growing staff, including 15 student workers, a live-in resident intern, several part-time assistants, a Program Coordinator, and a Director, as well as a Faculty Director; together these staffers oversee the daily activities of the House, working side-by-side with a wide network of volunteers.

This note was taken, almost in its entirety, from the "About Us," page of the Kelly Writer's House website, which also provides more information and the electronic content of this collection.

This collection consists of original recordings of the Kelly Writers House's public programs and projects--poetry readings, film screenings, seminars, web magazines, lectures, dinners, radio broadcasts, workshops, art exhibits, and musical performances. While the original recordings (arranged chronologically) are restricted and available only by special request, researchers can access all the content online.

In order to access electronic content, researchers should go to http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/multimedia/medialinks/ where it is possible to browse all programs or search by author's name. If the original item is required, researchers should provide the date of the recording.

Gift of Kelly Writers House, 2019.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Holly Mengel
Finding Aid Date
2019 January 21
Access Restrictions

The physical content of this collection is restricted. However, access to all intellectual content is available at http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/multimedia/medialinks/

Access to Machine-Readable Materials

Access to original audio/visual materials and computer files is restricted. The Kislak Center will provide access to the information on these materials from duplicate master files. If the original does not already have a copy, it will be sent to an outside vendor for copying. Patrons are financially responsible for the cost. The turnaround time from request to delivery of digital items is about two weeks for up to five items and three to seven weeks for more than five items. Please contact Reprographic Services (reprogr@upenn.edu) for cost estimates and ordering.

Once digital items are received, researchers will have access to the files on a dedicated computer in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. Researchers should be aware of specifics of copyright law and act accordingly.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

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2010 October-2010 February.
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2013 March-2015 December.
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2015 December-2016 March.
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