Above image: Orlando Furioso in English heroical verse. London, 1634. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections.
Don and Jill Smith’s donation of over 200 pre-1801 books to Auckland Libraries is a landmark event for our Heritage Collections. To celebrate the gift of the library of Emeritus Professor Don Smith (1934-2023) and to share the early modern collection with the wider research community Auckland Libraries is holding a Don Smith Symposium on 8 November 2025.
We are delighted to welcome three academics who will each present a short talk with reference to some of Don’s collections – just as he intended. There will be time to see some of the collection up close. The event is supported by the Auckland Library Heritage Trust and will conclude with refreshments.
Speakers include:
Mark Houlahan is Associate Professor & Research Fellow at Te Whare Wananga o Waikato/University of Waikato. He was taught by Don Smith at Auckland University from 1978-1982. Five years under Professor Smith’s instruction underpinned his entire career as a scholar and teacher of 17th century English Literature.
Shef Rogers, with over a 32-year career in the English and Linguistics programme at the University of Otago taught literature, book history, and writing. He co-directs the Centre for the Book at the university, reviews, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Oxford edition of the works of Alexander Pope.
Jack Ross has a PhD in Comparative Literature from Edinburgh University. His publications include Celanie (2012), a translation from Holocaust poet Paul Celan. He retired from his job as a Senior Lecturer at Massey University in 2021. He lives in Mairangi Bay with his wife, curator and art-writer Bronwyn Lloyd.
Sophie Tomlinson from the University of Auckland School of Humanities will chair the Q & A after the speakers.
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