Rare Book Expert Michael Suarez to Speak at 2013 Annual Dinner

Dr. Michael Suarez, Director of the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School, will be this year’s Annual Dinner speaker on Tuesday, November 19. A preeminent scholar on the history of the book and eighteenth-century literature, he co-edited The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume 5, 1695-1830 and The Oxford Companion to the Book. A talented poet, Dr. Suarez was awarded the 2008 Foley Poetry Contest for his poem, Going. He is also a Jesuit priest who holds four master’s degrees in English and Theology and a Ph.D. in English literature from Oxford University. Dr. Suarez has lectured widely on the future of the book and of reading in the digital age.

The University of Virginia’s Rare Book School offers courses throughout the year on topics concerning old and rare books, manuscripts, and special collections. Library Company staff members regularly attend the school, which serves antiquarian booksellers, collectors, conservators, rare book librarians and others. Librarian James Green serves on the Board of Directors and taught “The History of the Book in America, c. 1700-1830” in 2011. In addition to serving as Director, Dr. Suarez is also a Professor of English and Honorary Curator of Special Collections at the University of Virginia.