King Collection Dedication Set June 14

Some 8000-plus books that span the riches of Spanish literature have a new home at Texas A&M International University.

They are part of the impressive King Collection that will be celebrated with dedication ceremonies of the new King Romance Seminar Room on Thursday, June 14 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on the third floor of TAMIU’s Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library.

The evening event will also serve to launch the Memorial Library Fund and Friends of the Library.

As individuals and life partners, Drs. Willard F. King and Edmund R. King were two of the nation's most respected Spanish literature scholars.

TAMIU president Dr. Ray Keck, who was a former student and lifelong friend of the Kings, said the dedication is a source of enormous pride for TAMIU.

“From their home in Princeton and world classrooms here and abroad, the Kings educated and socialized an entire generation of young scholars, inspiring in them twin devotions to Spanish culture and to clear and beautiful language. We are so very honored to have their presence live on in this remarkable collection which will inspire new generations of scholars,” Dr. Keck said.

Dr. Willard F. King was Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Spanish at Bryn Mawr College

Husband Dr. Edmund L. King, was Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Romance Languages at Princeton University.

Revered scholars, the Kings were popular lecturers and translators. Willard lectured widely on Spanish literature, especially the works of the Golden Age. Her book on Juán Ruiz de Alarcón, the 17th Century Spanish dramatist, is still considered the definitive study of Alarcón. Her work as co-translator of Américo Castro’s The Spaniards, was published in 1971.

Edmund King was an international authority on the 20th century Spanish novelist Gabriel Miró and was the first translator to make available Castro’s highly controversial synthesis of Spanish culture, La realidad historica de Espana.

In announcing their gift at a lecture held at TAMIU in 1996, the couple noted, “We spent all our lives collecting these books and were happy to bequeath our library to a young University.”

Dr. Willard King preceded her husband in death in 2005.  Dr. Edmund King would later relocate to Laredo where he continued his translation of two pivotal Miró novels, working closely with TAMIU doctoral student Lola Norris until the time of his death at age 91 on Dec. 25, 2006.

The Collection is a remarkable inventory of core  Spanish and Spanish American Literature, much of which is no longer in print.  Among the collection are volumes on Juán Ruiz de Alarcón,  Gustavo Adolofo Bécquer, 19th century Spanish poet and essayist, Américo Castro, Spanish philologist and literary critic and Gabriel Miró.

Of special interest is an extremely rare copy of Miró’s La Mujer de Ojeda.

For additional information, contact the Office for Marketing, Public Relations, and Information Services at 326.2180, e-mail prmis@tamiu.edu or click on tamiu.edu

For more information on the Collection, contact the Killam Library Special Collections Librarian at 326.2404. 

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu