Critically-acclaimed arts journal Esopus has partnered with The New York Public Library to create the new series “Public Access,” highlighting items from the Library’s esteemed research collections.

The inaugural piece in the series will appear in the spring 2017 issue of ESOPUS, and will focus on the Library’s Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle. That collection includes books, manuscripts, ephemera and more connected to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, his contemporaries (including his second wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley), and the time period during which he wrote.

The issue will launch with an event at the Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street on May 9, 2017.

“The idea of this series is to make readers feel like they’re venturing into a curatorial division of the Library and exploring the collections, with objects reproduced in facsimile whenever possible,” said Tod Lippy, editor of Esopus. “Each issue will showcase a different part of the Library’s collection. We intend for this partnership to go on and on; there will certainly never be a shortage of material.”

Esopus—a New York City–based, critically acclaimed annual journal with subscribers in all 50 states and 24 countries – was founded with the goal of providing an unmediated space for a wide variety of creative disciplines; as a result, the journal never includes commercially-driven editorial content or advertisements. Approximately 10 percent of each print run of Esopus is donated to underserved communities and school libraries across the United States.

The journal has featured work from a variety of artists, from Ed Ruscha to Neko Case to 2015 Library Lion Karl Ove Knausgaard. It already has a regular content partnership with the Museum of Modern Art.

“The Library is proud to work with Esopus, a truly unique journal and perfect partner to help us share our important collections with new audiences across the world,” said Carrie Welch, the Library’s Chief of External Relations. “Esopus has successfully advocated for open access to the arts, a mission directly in line with ours.”

Media Contact: 

Angela Montefinise | angelamontefinise@nypl.org

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.  

About Esopus
Called “a thing of lavish, eccentric beauty” by The New York Times, Esopus has garnered critical praise and a fervent following for its unfiltered, dynamic presentation of a wide range of creative expression since its founding in 2003. Past issues have featured projects by prominent contemporary artists, including Jenny Holzer, John Baldessari, Marilyn Minter and Kerry James Marshall; themed CDs of brand-new music contributed by the likes of Grizzly Bear, Jens Lekman and Low; and fiction, poetry, filmmaking, playwriting and art from hundreds of emerging and established voices, ranging from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner to dance choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. The annual publication, which counts subscribers in all 50 states and 27 countries, was founded with the goal of providing an unmediated space for a wide variety of creative disciplines, and as a result never includes commercially driven editorial content or advertisements. Single issues of Esopus are offered at a subsidized cover price in order to make the magazine available to a wider audience.