If you love old books – if you love how they smell, if you love imagining their journeys through the world into your hands, if you can’t pass by a used bookstore without popping inside – then you’ll love today’s episode.

Our guest is Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ, a Jesuit priest and the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. The Rare Book School runs courses for students and practitioners from all disciplines on the history of written, printed and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field. Fr. Suarez is also an English professor and an honorary curator of UVA’s special collections.

Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him about the work of the Rare Book School and why he is fascinated by books (and all matter of printed material) as cultural objects. They also discussed how Fr. Suarez’s work has deep connections to his faith, and how the Jesuits through the centuries have often been at the forefront of writing and making books around the world. Fr. Suarez is so clearly passionate about his work and teaching that it’ll make you want to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, to check out all the fascinating stuff housed in the special collections at the university.

Rare Book School: https://rarebookschool.org/

Fr. Michael Suarez, SJ: https://rarebookschool.org/faculty/general/michael-suarez/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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