special collections library
7th floor, hatcher
graduate library
university of michigan

The “Makeup on Empty Space: a Celebration of Anne Waldman” exhibit draws on the extensive resources of the archive of post-Beat Generation poet Anne Waldman — both her papers and her library — in order to tell the story of her life, her work, her communities, her art, and her many contributions to late-twentieth-century American poetics.

Included in the exhibit are drafts of her writings, photographs, correspondence, published books and pamphlets, and printed posters advertising readings, conferences, and other activities. It contains items she wrote as a child, copies of Angel Hair and The World magazine, documents with Lawrence Ferlinghetti regarding the publishing of Fast Speaking Woman, a photograph of Waldman with William Burroughs taken by Allen Ginsberg, and original portraits of Waldman by artists Alex Katz, George Schneeman, Joe Brainard, and others.

There is a treasure-trove of handmade, one-of-a-kind books created as gifts exchanged between Anne and her friends and loved ones. The exhibit reveals the importance of community to Anne, her social activism, the developing depth and breadth of her poetry, the impact of Buddhism on her life and work, and the impressive number of artists and poets who have been part of her life.