Library Calendar

The ancient poet Sappho coined "sweetbitter" in one of her most evocative verses, still striking us to the heart nearly three millennia later. As with so many ancient figures, the poet is more legend than person today, her story told and retold even as her poetry continues to enchant and move. This exhibit will be on display through mid-August 2026.

The exhibition highlights the linguistic, cultural, and intellectual diversity of Middle Eastern collections at the University of Illinois. It features materials in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, Amazigh (Tamazight), English, French, Spanish, and German that reflect the region’s plural societies and minority communities within the Middle East and across its diasporas.