Exhibit offers glimpse into the life of a Jesuit

 For the first time this past summer, Gonzaga held the Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., International Conference, along with Regis University. The conference ran from July 8-11 and honored Hopkins' works, including his poetry, letters, sermons, and the incredible life that he led. Along with the conference came a display of his works, entitled "Hopkins: A Life Recollected," in the Cowles Rare Books room of the Foley Library, which is open to the public until the end of September.

Gonzaga University holds the largest collection of Hopkins' materials in the United States, which was initially started by Fr. Anthony Bischoff, S.J., who taught English at Gonzaga. 

Bischoff traveled to England and Ireland in search of more information on Hopkins and his life. Gone for 16 years on sabbatical, Bischoff was able to keep some original materials he came upon that belonged to Hopkins; however, the materials found at Campion Hall, a Jesuit library, had to be copied. 

The collection, compiled by Stephanie Plowman and containing seven different cases, span Hopkins' entire lifetime. The first case, "Recollecting Hopkins," includes an autographed letter to Jesuit friends in 1882 and Hopkins' birth certificate. Also in the case is a photograph of his portrait and a photograph of him created by his uncle. 

The second case details the life of the entire Hopkins' family, which included parents, Kate and Manley, and eight siblings to Hopkins. The case contains photos of most of his family and their artistic feats. Hopkins was not the only brilliant mind in his family as his father worked through mathematical problems like the "mental visibility of numbers." Hopkins' brother, Arthur, also illustrated books including one by James Payn entitled "By Proxy."

The third case, "And There They Lie…" shows the parameters of Hopkins' life, which Bischoff had a particular interest in researching. Hopkins became a Roman Catholic in his early 20s and joined the Society of Jesus two years later. His confirmation certificate, baptism certification, and death certificate are all included in this case. 

The will of Hopkins was also found by Bischoff in his searches. Due to this will being found, the copyright issues of his material could be cleared up, as it was not known who technically owned Hopkins' works.

Photographs, manuscripts, and academic papers are charted in cases four and five, titled "In More Precision Now of Light and Dark" and "Yet This Could Be No Other's Hand Than His." 

The photographs were mostly taken at colleges and with colleagues in the mid-1800s and 1884. Letters to Jesuits were a common thing Bischoff found, such as a letter to Matthew Russell, S.J., dated 1886, and a letter to John Henry Cardinal Newman, dated 1888, which wished Newman a happy 88th birthday and a blessing. Case five's most interesting piece is a sprig of parsley that Bischoff found in a diary of Hopkins', which was framed by Bischoff to continue preservation.  

While poetry was a large hobby for Hopkins, he was also an artist and musician. The sixth case in the collection shows sketches drawn by Hopkins as a child, including one of a tiger and another of a soldier on a horse. As a musician, Hopkins was self taught in harmony and composition. In writing a piece, Hopkins would use poetry by Shakespeare and others to provide the necessary inspiration. 

Sheet music called "Who is Sylvia," which is also a work of Shakespeare's, is on display in this case along with another titled "Firm Chant, old English air," which Sir Robert Stewart, a professor of music at Trinity College called "very nice" and "nice sequential work."

The last case of the collection is a recollection of Hopkins' friends and associates, such as Robert Bridges, who collected the poetry of Hopkins and preserved it until his death in 1930. Bridges made the first volume of Hopkins' poetry in 1918. Richard Watson Dixon started corresponding with Hopkins in 1878. Dixon published poetry and created the "History of the Church of England," which is six volumes long. John Henry Newman also has a spot in the case as Hopkins corresponded with him before and after Hopkins taught at the Philip of Neri Oratory Boys' School, founded by Newman. 

The exhibit runs through Sept. 30 in the Cowles Rare Books Room of Foley. For operating hours of the exhibit and to find out more, go to www.foley.gonzaga.edu