Remarkable for its range and depth, the Danowski Poetry Library represents collector Raymond Danowski’s desire to gather every book of poetry published in English in the twentieth century—a goal he largely achieved. He assembled the collection over the course of 30 years, without a computer or database. In 2004, Danowski decided to place his library at Emory University, in part because of the Rose Library’s long-term emphasis on student scholarship and community access. Born in the United States, Danowski currently lives in South Africa.

In 2008, he reflected back on what motivated him to start collecting poetry and why he chose Emory.