Penn State Beaver professor publishes works on medieval Spanish poetry

Robin Bower stands with her book in front of a UTP sign

Penn State Beaver Professor Robin Bower’s book “In the Doorway of All Worlds: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Translation of the Saints” has been published by the University of Toronto Press (UTP).

Credit: Contributed

MONACA, Pa. — Robin Bower, associate professor of Spanish at Penn State Beaver, had a book, “In the Doorway of All Worlds: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Translation of the Saints,” published by the University of Toronto Press (UTP).
 
The work focuses on Berceo, a 13th century poet, who is the first known named author of verse in medieval Spain and is a major figure in the transfer of cultural, religious and poetic authority from Latin to the emergent forms spoken by the people, Bower explained. Bower’s work focuses on four hagiographies — or biographies of saints — written by Berceo “as a unified body of poetic expression and world-building,” according to the UTP description.

"It’s a look at medieval structures of belief and the artistic expression and cultural and political ramifications of those structures,” Bower said. “There is power that resides in language. What does poetry do but harness that power?”

Bower spent seven years crafting her manuscript and going through the editing and publishing process. She expressed gratitude to Beaver campus administration for the support she needed to finish.
 
“Dr. Bower’s ability to write a monograph while simultaneously co-editing an anthology in her field, as well as providing outstanding instruction, advising our liberal arts students and serving both her field, the campus and the University is testament to her excellence,” said Penn State Beaver Chancellor Carey McDougall. “In her heart is an incredible commitment to all students at our campus, as she, on a daily basis, teaches them an appreciation for the arts and language, inspiring them to expand the way they see the world. This book, as does so much of her research, does the same for her field.”
 
Later this summer, “A Companion to Mester de Clericia Poetry,” part of the peer-reviewed handbook series called Brill’s Companions to Medieval Literatures and Culture, will be published. Bower served as a volume editor with Matthew V. Desing, associate professor of medieval and early modern Spanish literature at the University of Texas at El Paso, as well as contributing several essays to the work.

The volume is a collection of essays from prominent scholars all over the world.
 
Bower said editing a manuscript like Brill’s Companions presented its own unique challenges because it involved directing the works of other scholars. It also involved working with a team and helping to ensure everyone was working at the same pace.
 
The audience for both “In the Doorway of All Worlds” and “A Companion to Mester de Clericia Poetry” is scholars in religious studies, medieval Spanish literature, graduate students and professors.
 
Bower said she hopes the works will “spread knowledge into other academic fields and break down discipline barriers.”

Dr. Bower’s ability to write a monograph while simultaneously co-editing an anthology in her field, as well as providing outstanding instruction, advising our liberal arts students, and serving both her field, the campus and the University, is testament to her excellence.

—Carey McDougall , Penn State Beaver chancellor