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The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading & Publishing

The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing was founded to create a global network for book historians working in a broad range of scholarly disciplines. Research addresses the composition, mediation, reception, survival, and transformation of written communication in material forms from marks on stone to new media. Perspectives range from the individual reader to the transnational communication network. With more than a thousand members in over forty countries, SHARP works in concert with affiliated academic organizations around the world to support the study of book history in all its forms.

New York Songlines

Virtual Walking Tours of Manhattan Streets. A unique and rewarding hyperwalk through Manhattan.

Psyche

I saw a worm, with many a fold; 
     It spun itself a silken tomb; 
And there in winter time enrolled, 
     It heeded not the cold or gloom. 
Within a small, snug nook it lay, 
     Nor snow nor sleet could reach it there, 
Nor wind was felt in gusty day, 
     Nor biting cold of frosty air. 
Spring comes with bursting buds and grass, 
     Around him stirs a warmer breeze; 
The chirping insects by him pass, 
     His hiding place not yet he leaves. 
But summer came; its fervid breath 
     Was felt within the sleeper’s cell; 
And, waking from his sleep of death, 
     I saw him crawl from out his shell. 
Slow and with pain he first moved on, 
     And of the day he seemed to be; 
A day passed by; the worm was gone, 
     It soared on golden pinions free!
Jones Very [1813-1880]