The Babcock Lecture
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2026 Babcock Lectures & Events
A Literary Celebration of Edgar Allan Poe
March 12 – Film & Commentary
“Fellini’s Poe: Toby Dammit“
Yager Museum, Yager Hall
5:00 p.m.
Though only thirty minutes in length, Federico Fellini’s Toby Dammit (1968), a version of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Never Bet the Devil Your Head. A Moral Tale” (1841), is one of the most highly regarded works by the great Italian screenwriter and director of classics such as La Strada (1954), La Dolce Vita (1960), and 8½ (1963). Our showing of Toby Dammit will be preceded by a brief commentary by Professor Emeritus of English David Cody on the film’s place in a great tradition of attempts to translate Poe’s memorable words into equally memorable images.
March 26 – Babcock Lectures
Celebration Room, Shineman Chapel House
5:00 p.m.
Richard Kopley, Distinguished Professor of English, Emeritus, at Penn State, DuBois, will discuss his biography of Poe, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life. This 2025 biography is considered to be the most comprehensive work on Poe. His Hartwick lecture will conclude the book tour he’s made since the biography’s release.
7:30 p.m.
American antiquarian and a rare book and photograph collector, Stephan Loewentheil will speak about the exploits, coups, and adventures of a “super-collector” and his highly-regarded Poe Catalogue. He is the founder and president of the 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop in New York, NY and Baltimore, MD.
Past Lectures Include:
- Anna Kornbluh, “Historical Fictions, Heist Flicks, and other Climate Genres for a Burning World”
- Robert T. Tally Jr., “Mapping and Monsters: Critical Theory in the Teratocene”
- Paul Benzon, “The Poetics and Politics of the Paralegible”
- Amitava Kumar, “The Man Without a Country”
- Brian Greenspan, “The Mobile Sleuth: Stories for Urban Media”
About the Babcock Lecture
The Babcock Lecture is presented by the Babcock Chair in English, the Department of Literature Media and Writing, and the Visiting Writers Series at Hartwick College.
In 1941, Cora A. Babcock, a graduate of Hartwick Seminary, partially endowed the Babcock Chair in English to honor Dr. James A. Pitcher, whose inspired teaching of English and theology at the Seminary had influenced Babcock’s decision to teach and whose career as scholar, poet, and administrator had strengthened the Seminary. Later receiving further support from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to enhance instruction in the humanities at Hartwick College, the Babcock Chair’s endowment was increased “to reward outstanding achievement by a member of our own faculty.” The Babcock Chair is a three-year appointment that supports scholarly work, creative work, and pedagogical or curricular research of tenured faculty who have established a record of superior teaching and scholarly or creative work. The Babcock Professor also administers one or two major lectures a year, to be called the Babcock Lectures.
Questions?
For more information, please contact Professor of English and Babcock Professor of English Susan Navarette at [email protected] or 607- 431-4643.