UA Hoole Special Collections Library to Host Thesis Exhibit Hitopadesha

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library at The University of Alabama will host Susan Wyssen’s thesis exhibition and reception, including a selection of letterpress and binding work featuring her edition of the “Hitopadesha,” on Wednesday, April 14, in the Hoole Library on the 2nd floor of Mary Harmon Bryant Hall, 500 Hackberry Lane.

The opening reception begins at 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. Wyssen will discuss her work, which will be followed by a Sanskrit reading by Dr. Shaligram Shukla, associate professor of linguistics at Georgetown University.

This event is free and open to the public.

The text is a translation from Sanskrit of 13 tales plus the preface and introduction from the “Hitopadesha.” While these stories are originally Indic, the earliest texts available are translations from a Sanskrit original, first into Persian and Syriac, then Arabic, and from Arabic into several languages including Greek and Hebrew, where they greatly influenced the literature of the Middle Ages.

This translation into English was completed by Simon Mauck, a graduate student in linguistics at Georgetown University. Accompanying the text are four illustrations by Jonathan Wolter.

The “Hitopadesha” was letterpress printed by Wyssen with the illustrations printed on an Indian handmade paper. The edition was bound in quarter leather with a limited edition bound in full leather.

The “Hitopadesha,” or “Book of Good Counsel,” will be exhibited along with a retrospective of book work highlighting Wyssen’s interest in the historical aspects of her craft, including her take on a Colonial prison narrative broadside, Medieval illumination, and historical bindings.

For more information, contact Jessica Lacher-Feldman at archives@bama.ua.edu or at 205/348-0500.