Anne Spencer Exhibit and Rare Book School at the University of Virginia

Friday an amazing day at the University of Virginia with the Anne Spencer Exhibit and Rare Book School!

The lectures were fascinating, and I had the joy of meeting Shaun, Anne Spencer’s granddaughter. I also caught up with my former professor, Alison Booth — and I hardly recognized the school grounds!

Anne Spencer was an American poet and civil rights activist, a powerful voice of the Harlem Renaissance, and the second African American author included in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Her Lynchburg home was a vital gathering place for luminaries like Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr.

A librarian, writer, and activist, Spencer’s story reminds us of the lasting power of words and the importance of creating spaces for dialogue, creativity, and resistance. For those passionate about literary history, her papers are preserved at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia — a treasure trove of her writing, correspondence, and personal history.

If you ever find yourself near Lynchburg, don't miss the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum — a beautifully preserved testament to her life and legacy. And, as a cemetery historian, I encourage you to visit her grave that is nearby. She is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia, alongside her husband Edward and their family. Their son, Chauncey Edward Spencer — one of the pioneering aviators who helped pave the way for the Tuskegee Airmen — rests there as well. The Spencers' grave is marked by a slant stone. Ms. Spencer's epitaph reads Anne Spencer- Poet, a quiet tribute to a remarkable life and legacy. 

Feeling inspired and grateful to have spent the day immersed in her world.