Special Collections opens Frost exhibit

With National Poetry Month coinciding with the April showers that yield life of what has been bleak for months, the words of Robert Frost’s “Spring Pools” seem almost too perfect.

“The trees that have it in their pent-up buds

To darken nature and be summer woods —

Let them think twice before they use their powers

To blot out and drink up and sweep away

These flowery waters and these watery flowers

From snow that melted only yesterday.”

With spring’s arrival tomorrow, Frost’s most intimate workings are the subject of a new exhibit at Boston University’s Mugar Library, debuted by the Special Collections Department. “The Less Traveled Road: The Papers of Robert Frost,” contains nearly 250 letters, manuscripts, first editions, photographs and other artifacts of the famous American poet.

Frost and his poetry have long been considered a critical part of American — particularly New England — poetic culture, evidenced by his recent recognition as America’s most popular poet by the Favorite Poem Project, a distinction that prompted Special Collections to prepare the exhibition.

The Favorite Poem Project, started by BU English professor and former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, asked Americans to vote for their favorite poet, and Frost topped the list.

The result came as no surprise to Perry Barton, the exhibition coordinator of Special Collections who played an integral part in putting the exhibition together.

“[Frost’s] poetic voice really spoke to a very broad audience,” Barton said. “It was very conversational. It provided easy access into the world of poetry, made it less frightening to people.”

Barton has been working on this project since late November. His efforts came to fruition with the opening of the display last week, though he continues to finalize its details.

Barton considers the Frost exhibit an example of the “raw material of history,” saying Frost’s correspondence offers insight into his personality and the letters include everything from advice on chicken farming to writing poetry.

The exhibit also provides an excellent idea as to how Frost worked, including two handwritten notebooks that contain drafts of poetry and essays, Barton said.

Perhaps the most notable artifacts at the exhibit are British first editions of “A Boy’s Will” and “North of Boston,” two works that helped to build Frost’s reputation. A framed keepsake copy of “The Gift Outright,” the poem delivered by Frost at the inauguration of President John Kennedy in 1961, is also featured.

The late Paul Richards donated the artifacts to BU in 1975. One of the nation’s leading manuscript collectors, he was also a graduate of the Boston University School of Law in 1960.

According to Barton, the exhibit was put on display once before, about 10 years ago. But with National Poetry Month beginning April 1 and considering the importance of Frost to American poetry, the Special Collections Department thought a reintroduction of the Frost collection would be appropriate.

Located on the first floor of the Mugar Library, “The Less Traveled Road” is slated to run through next March and is open to the public.