Armstrong Browning Library's Benefactors Day Scheduled for Sept. 30

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Baylor University's Armstrong Browning Library will host Benefactors Day at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in the Armstrong Browning Library's McLean Foyer of Meditation on Baylor's campus. The event is free and open to the public.

An annual tradition, Benefactors Day marks the anniversary month of the Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning for whom the library is named. The pair married late in their careers, and they were two of the most prominent poets of the 19th century. The library is the world's largest collection of their work.

The event is held to show the library's gratitude to donors and the Guardian Angels, a program named after Robert Browning's poem, "The Guardian Angel." Funds from the membership fees of this program allow the library to continue the collection that is used by Browning scholars around the world.

The program will feature a performance by KT Sullivan, a popular New York concert, cabaret and musical theater singer and actress. Sullivan will perform Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 21" and Robert Browning's love poem "Now." Both will be set to music by her mother, composer and pianist Elizabeth Sullivan.

Following the performance, Dr. David R. Sorensen, a professor of English at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, will speak on "Selective Affinities: The Browning and Carlyle Marriages."

Sorenson will discuss how the Brownings and Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle shaped Victorian notions of marriages and how they were interpreted in the 20th century. Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer and essayist. His wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle, was a notable letter-writer.

"I have every reason to believe that our Benefactors Day program on Thursday afternoon will offer diverse appeal for those attending," said Rita Patteson, director of the Armstrong Browning Library. "Of course, both entertainers will connect their performance to Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but their backgrounds, one in Thomas Carlyle and the other in cabaret and musical theater, will bring a fresh approach."

A reception will follow the program.

The Armstrong Browning Library is at 710 Speight Ave.

For more information, contact the Armstrong Browning Library at (254) 710-3566.

by Katy McDowall, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805