By Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words Center
Literary Identities, a new exhibit in the Worlds of Words Center featuring the De Natura Libris project, offers people the opportunity to examine themselves as readers. The exhibit of altered photographs about books and reading also includes picturebooks where reading is central to the book or characters’ identities along with hands-on activities to encourage visitors explore their own identities as readers.
“While public media overemphasizes the mechanics of reading, this exhibit highlights our identities and joy as readers — how we view ourselves as a reader, what we enjoy reading, where we like to read and what stories have changed our lives,” says Kathy Short, director of Worlds of Words and Regents Professor.
For most people, the connection to books begins with the stories told to them by parents, teachers and others. As a person develops strategies for reading, they also develop a practice of and identity around reading as well. The book selection, location and preparation for these moments can be cozy, but many have also read in unexpected places.
Typically, identities as readers grow out of being immersed in a book — of not wanting to turn the last page for fear of experiencing book death; of staying up all night reading with a flashlight; of pausing responsibilities out of a need to learn what comes next. One person who has explored those experiences in his work is Mexico-City-based photographer Álvaro Alejandro López.
López’s photographic series, De Natura Libris, portrays the interactions we have with books: physical and abstract. He says the corporeity of a book is recorded through its structures, textures, forms and signs of use. The experiences are individual, evoked by any number of attributes — the content of a book, its textures and smells, the memories it awakens or the aesthetic beauty of its parts.
De Natura Libris is an invitation to delve into the nooks and crannies of the “book” concept as an object and as a composition that each observer and reader must build from the creative proposal. For inspiration, López collaborated with various writers, including Jacqueline Woodson, Salman Rushdie and Cornelia Funke.
“Through De Natura Libris, visitors are encouraged to reflect on the role of books in their lives and to understand who they are as readers. They will leave with deeper insights into both books and reading,” says Short.
In addition to the work of López, the center presents a special display exploring its own connections to reading through the lens of local photographer, Bob Bingham. These photos portray multiple uses of the Worlds of Words space that include reading areas, digital approaches to reading and readers in solo and group settings.
Literary Identities will be on display in the Worlds of Words Center through May 15, 2026. The center is free to visit and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays-Fridays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays (excluding holidays and closures). For more information contact wow@arizona.edu or to schedule a field trip or guided tour through our online form.
- Themes: Álvaro Alejandro López, Bob Bingham, De Natura Libris, Exhibits, Literary Identities, Rebecca Ballenger
- Descriptors: WOW News