Musician Donates Late Father's Rare Frank Stanford Book to Special Collections

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Allison Williams holds the donated copy of "Singing Knives" alongside a picture of her late father.

Allison Williams is no stranger to the University Libraries. She worked for the libraries in the 1990s, shelving books. She performed at an event for the opening of the Ozark Folksong Collection along with her band, Old Ties, in 2015. She was selected as a master artist for the 2022 cohort of the Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Earlier this month, she presented on the ties between punk music and folk music as part of the Arkansas Folklife Web Series. And after her father's recent passing, she chose the Special Collections Division to be the home for his rare edition of Singing Knives by Frank Stanford. 

"My father got his M.F.A. at the University of Arkansas and was close to Miller Williams and other scions of the creative writing program," Williams said. "His writing career was birthed at the U of A, and I know he'd want this rare book to go to Special Collections."

Paul H. Williams was part of the U of A's creative writing program in the 1970s and knew Stanford, a poet and the founder of Fayetteville's Lost Roads Press, personally.

"Special Collections has always had a strong collection of Stanford's printed work, continuing to acquire new editions as scholarly interest in Stanford grows," said Joshua Youngblood, rare books and history librarian. "Even after acquiring a manuscript of Stanford's first collection, Singing Knives, we have lacked the very scarce and sought-after first edition, published in 1971 by Mill Mountain Press. Allison's donation of her father's copy of Singing Knives completes the libraries' collection of Frank Stanford's published works, helping solidify our ability to help students and scholars studying Arkansas poetry."  

The campus community and general public are welcome to view and use the book by making an appointment with Special Collections. The Special Collections reading room is temporarily located in Mullins Library 329 while levels 1 and 2 undergo renovations. 

"Special Collections is an asset to my work with traditional Ozark music, and I hope Fayettevillians continue to take advantage of its resources," Williams said.