From classic tales to unpublished gems, fans and new admirers got a glimpse into the art and writings of award-winning, local authors David Small and Sarah Stewart. The University Libraries debuted the David Small and Sarah Stewart Archive this fall at exhibits and events throughout the Kalamazoo community.
The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Kalamazoo Public Library, Richmond Center for Visual Arts and Waldo Library featured artwork, unpublished works, sketchbooks and journals—the first public showing of these materials since the University Libraries acquired the Archive in 2020.
Small and Stewart were featured in a presentation and author talk hosted by the Libraries at the Fetzer Center in October 2021. Gerald W. Cloud, a rare book librarian and personal friend to the authors, facilitated a discussion of Small and Stewart's oeuvre, exploring their compendium of work and how it became a "Cabinet of Curiosities" that showcases both their creative works and personal stories.
The David Small and Sarah Stewart Archive includes drafts and copies of their published works, correspondence, gardening journals, unpublished doodles and more. The Archive not only preserves their art and writing for the future, but it may serve as a tool and resource for researchers.
"Creators often don't understand the value of their drafts and personal papers for teaching and as a tool for future researchers and artists to understand how ideas evolve and develop. Sarah and David's work with Gerald to begin the curation process will offer insight to both creators and scholars," says Dr. Sue Steuer, special collections librarian.
"It was Gerald who convinced Sarah that her travel diaries and garden journals were an essential part of this archive, and a visit to the remarkable exhibit at the Richmond Center show[ed] this is exactly the case," says David Small.
Events like the Oct. 20 author talk "help individuals understand how an archive of this kind, documenting the work and life experiences of artists and writers, contributes to scholarship as well as offering a peek into the treasures of this particular archive," says Steuer.
The collection will be housed at the Zhang Legacy Collections Center, where library staff will preserve and catalog the full Archive for future use.