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The online bookstore, Advanced Book Exchange, one of the largest seller of secondhand, antiquarian, and rare books, recently posted a short piece on " Collecting Kelmscott: William Morris & His Quest for Fine Books. " Admittedly an enticement for people to buy books offered by ABE's booksellers, the article reads as follows: More than 100 years after his death, William Morris – founder of the Kelmscott Press – remains an influential figure in design and art, and his Kelmscott fine press books are highly prized. The textile designer, author and artist founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891. Morris (1834-1896) published his own work as well as translations and reprints of mediaeval writing he believed should be read. A traditionalist in every sense of the word, Morris wanted to preserve the relationship between art and books. He detested the mechanisation of art during a period when the western world was embracing mechanisation. Morris was a member of the  Pre-Raphaelite B

Alison Chapman and Meagan Timney are delighted to announce the birth of the Victorian Poetry Network ( www.victorianpoetry.net ), which will provide a hub for Victorian poetry scholars, teachers and students on the web. It already has an exciting line-up of distinguished advisory board members who will write blog posts (including Isobel Armstrong, Linda Hughes, Jerome McGann, Marjorie Stone and Chip Tucker). The organizers are looking for interested colleagues and students to contribute to the website (writing blogs posts, commenting on the poem of the month, joining us as researchers for the periodical poetry database, and contributing teaching resources and star student essays to the virtual classroom). Please contact Alison Chapman or Meagan Timney for more information. Membership details can be found in the "Join VPN" page. Illustration: Oscar Wilde, The Sphinx. London: Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1894 (Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, on loan to the University of Delawa