“The Other Island Diaspora: PEI Books Abroad” Lecture by the Reverend Edward Rix

The Robertson Library at UPEI will host a public lecture titled “The Other Island Diaspora: PEI Books Abroad” by the Reverend Edward Rix in Room 308, the Library’s upper-level reading room on November 6 at 7 pm.

During the lecture, which is part of the Library’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebration, Rix, collector of Island books, will share highlights from his PEI collecting adventures, and how the careers of many Island authors in the 1800s and 1900s underscored the observation of Island essayist Sir Andrew Macphail (1864–1938), who is well-represented in his collection, that the province’s chief export for many years was “brains.”

Special selections from Rix’s library and from the Robertson Library’s own PEI Collection, the centrepiece of its University Archives and Special Collections, will be displayed at the talk.

An Islander with deep family roots in West Prince, Rix studied at the University of King’s College in Halifax, the University of Toronto’s Wycliffe College, and Dalhousie University. During his university days, he built his passion for books into a successful venture as an independent bookseller and collector, learning from some of Canada’s leading rare and antiquarian book dealers. Since 2001, he has served as priest in charge of the Parish of All Saints Episcopal Church in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where he has continued to build a remarkable personal library, including some 2000 titles relating to PEI, including the works of noted Island novelist Basil King (1859–1928) and famous Island poet Milton Acorn (1923–1986).

All are welcome, and admission is free. Donations to the ongoing Love Our Library (projects.upei.ca/robertson-library-revitalization/ fundraising) campaign will be gratefully received. Light refreshments will be served.