Jennifer Atkinson Papers (MSS007), 1984-1995 | MSS Manuscripts

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Collection Overview

Title: Jennifer Atkinson Papers (MSS007), 1984-1995

Predominant Dates:1984-1995

ID: MSS/MSS/007

Primary Creator: Atkinson, Jennifer, 1955-

Extent: 3.0 Boxes

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Jennifer Atkinson Papers consists of correspondence circa 1985-1995, drafts towards published works including The Dogwood Tree, Dares, and Jepthaw's Vows. Also included are numerous drafts of indiviual works of poetry and prose.

Collection Historical Note

Jennifer Atkinson (M.F.A., University of Iowa, 1984) is the author of two collections of poetry: The Dogwood Tree, and The Drowned City. She is the winner of the University of Alabama Poetry Prize for her first book and of the Samuel French Morse Prize for her second book, Atkinson has taught in the M.F.A. programs at Washington University in St. Louis and at George Mason University.

Administrative Information

Repository: MSS Manuscripts

Access Restrictions: Open

Use Restrictions:

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Preferred Citation: Name of the Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Correspondence],
[Series 2: Poems],
[Series 3: Material towards Books and Manuscripts],
[Series 4: Prose],
[Series 5: Notebooks and Folders],
[Series 6: Printed Matter],
[Series 7: Miscellany],
[All]

Series 1: Correspondence

Box 1

Sub-Series 1: General Correspondence

Consists of personal correspondence to Atkinson from 1985-95.

Item 1: Drury, John, 10/13/85: (Typed Letter Signed, 2 pages, including poem, 1 page)
Item 2: Sinclair, Mike, 12/21/93: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page including 6 poems, 13 pages)
Item 3: Funk, Allison, 5/16/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 4: Hamilton, Jeff, 7/8/94: (Autograph Letter Signed, 2 pages including poem, 1 page)
Item 5: Funk, Allison, 11/23/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page with Autograph Letter Signed and poem, 17 pages)
Item 6: Wright, Jay, 12/20/94: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 7: Leslee, 12/20/94: (Autograph Card Signed, 1 page)
Item 8: Funk, Allison, 12/27/94: (Autograph Card Signed, 2 pages)
Item 9: Williams, Marilyn, 12/29/94: (Autograph Card Signed, 1 page)
Item 10: Tuxbury, Ann, 1/15/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 11: John, 3/23/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)

Sub-Series 2: Business Correspondence, 1985-1995

Consists of correspondence with editors, publishers, etc. Includes royalty statements and receipts.

Item 1: Academy of American Poets, 1/8/85: (Typed Letter, 1 page inckudes notes in pencil by Atkinson)
Item 2: Hopkins, Jeannette, 6/5/85: (Typed Letter Signed)
Item 3: Kistner, Diane, 10/16/85: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 4: Sontag, Kate, 9/8/87: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page with Autograph Letter Signed in red ink includes notes by Atkinson in pencil)
Item 5: Klaviter, Helen, 4/26/88: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 6: Henderson, Bill, 9/24/90: (Typed Letter [photocopy], 1 page with notes by Henderson in blue ink)
Item 7: University of Alabama Press, 3/2/92: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, royalty statement)
Item 8: University of Alabama Press, 3/4/92: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, royalty statement)
Item 9: Comfort, Connie, 3/26/92: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 10: Haubrich, Ann, 3/26/92: (Typed Letter Signed, 3 pages, reading agreement)
Item 11: University of Alabama Press, 12/?/92: (Typed Letter, 1 page, royalty statement)
Item 12: Cameron, Louise, 3/25/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 13: Cameron, Louise, 4/14/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 14: Henderson, Bill, 5/23/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 3 pages)
Item 15: Hamilton, Jeff, 5/31/94: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 16: Albergo Bolzano, 6/2/94: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page, facsimile)
Item 17: Henderson, Bill, 9/30/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 18: Poetry, 11/17/94: (Typed Letter, 1 page, acceptance notice)
Item 19: Parisi, Joseph, 11/17/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 20: Swinger, Drew, 12/7/94: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, includes note by Atkinson in pencil)
Item 21: Bradford, Gigi, 1/3/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, enclosure 1 page)
Item 22: Cameron, Louise, 2/10/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 23: Ballard, Linda, 2/13/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 24: Ballard, Linda, 2/16/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 25: Bond, Christopher S., 2/16/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 26: Parisi, Joseph, 3/15/95: (Typed Letter, 1 page with note in pencil)
Item 27: Deavel, Christine, 3/22/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page includes Autograh Letter)
Item 28: Lojek, Helen, 3/24/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 29: Ballard, Linda, 3/28/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 30: Ballard, Linda, 4/27/95: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page)

Sub-Series 3: Unidentified or Undated Correspondence

Item 1: Ball, Sally, no date: (Autograph Card Signed, 2 pages)
Item 2: Buege, Bill, no date: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, includes poem, 1 page)
Item 3: Henderson, Bill, no date: (Typed Letter Signed, 2 pages)
Item 4: Latta, John, no date: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, includes Autograph Letter same page)
Item 5: Iowa Review, no date: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, includes Autograph Letter in blue ink)
Item 6: Lesser, Wendy, no date: (Typed Card, 1 page)
Item 7: Lewis, Lisa, no date: (Typed Letter Signed, 1 page, includes Autograph Letter in black ink)
Item 8: Williams, Marilyn, no date: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page)
Item 9: Richard, Brad, no date: (Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page, fax with not in pencil)

Series 2: Poems

Box 1

Sub-Series 1: Poems by Atkinson

Individually foldered and listed alphabetically by title.

Folder 1: After the Annunciation: (1 draft, Typescript 2 page revisions in blue & red ink)
Folder 2: Afterward: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page, editorial marks in blue marker.)
Folder 3: All But One: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision in red ink.)
Folder 4: Ancient of Days: (5 drafts, Typescript 5 page heavy revisions pencil & blue ink.)
Folder 5: The Annunciation: (1 draft, Typescript 2 page dated 7/6/94 revisions blue ink.)
Folder 6: August Elegy: (1 draft, Typescript 2 pages dated 1/18/95 revisions in red ink.)
Folder 7: Backrub: (1 draft, Typescript 2 pages)
Folder 8: Beaver Meadow Road: (1 draft, Typescriot 2 pages revisions in pencil & red ink.)
Folder 9: The Birds of the Air: (2 drafts, Typescript & Manuscript 2 pages revisions in black ink.)
Folder 10: Bitter Love Song: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page)
Folder 11: Christian Island: (1 draft, Typescript, 2 pages)
Folder 12: Dares: (1 draft, Typescript, 2 pages)
Folder 13: Daughters of Jerusalem: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revisions blue & green ink.)
Folder 14: The Disfigurement of Shame: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page)
Folder 15: The End of Advent: (3 drafts, Typescript 5 page, heavy revision in pencil. 1 draft dated 1/95, 2 drafts dated 3/95.)
Folder 16: Expecting Fear: (1 draft, Typescript, 2 pages)
Folder 17: Extradition: (3 drafts, Typescript 3 pages pencil revisions 1 draft (photocopy) from Poetry)
Folder 18: Failed Attempt: (1 draft, Typescript, 1 page.)
Folder 19: Flying Kites in Late Winter Twilight: (2 drafts, Typescript, 2 pages)
Folder 20: For a Boy, 15, Shot, Who left the VCR Programmed: (1 draft. Typescript, 1 page.)
Folder 21: Haddam Meadows: (2 drafts, Typescript 2 pages, pencil revisions, dated 9/18/94.)
Folder 22: Happiness Is Easy: (1 draft, Typescript, 1 page.)
Folder 23: How Undignified a Man: (1 draft, Typescript, 1 page)
Folder 24: Honeymoon: (1 draft, Typescript, 3 pages)
Folder 25: Hypnotist: (2 drafts, Typescript 2 pages, notes in pencil.)
Folder 26: Imposing Presence: (1 draft, Typescript, 2 pages.)
Folder 27: In the Future After My Mother's Death: (1 draft, Typescript, 1 page pencil revisions.)
Folder 28: In the Interim: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision in red ink.)
Folder 29: Inheritance: (1 draft, Typescript, 1 page revision in black ink.)
Folder 30: Jacob's Dream: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision in pencil.)
Folder 31: On Wanting a Child: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision in pencil.)
Folder 32: Outside Ronda: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page.)
Folder 33: Madonna and the Bee: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page, revision in blue ink.)
Folder 34: My Woodstock: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page, light revision in black ink.)
Folder 35: Resolution: (1 draft, Typescript 2 page, heavy revision in pencil.)
Folder 36: The Rose: (3 drafts, Typescript & Manuscript 3 pages, revisions in pencil and blue ink.)
Folder 37: Seven Words: (1 draft, Typescript 2 pages.)
Folder 38: Stillness: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page. revision in black ink.)
Folder 39: Still Life With Angel: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page.)
Folder 40: Teaching School in Kathmandu Valley: Dry Season: (1 draft, Typescript 2 pages.)
Folder 41: This Dawn A Spectral Whiteness: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page.)
Folder 42: To Save the Blooming Peonies from the Storm, I Pick Them: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision and sketches in red ink.)
Folder 43: Untitled: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page.)
Folder 44: A Wedding Gift of Parrot Tulips: (1 draft, Typescript 3 pages.)
Folder 45: What There Is: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page revision in blue & black ink previously titled: The Four Blue Panes of an Evening Window.)
Folder 46: The World Is A Thing I Could Pity: (1 draft, Typescript 1 page, blue ink revisions.)
Folder 47: World Without End: (1 draft, Typescript 2 pages, light revision in pencil.)

Sub-Series 2: Unidentified or Untitled

Consists of 21 pages, Typescript & Manuscript revised in blue, black, red ink and pencil.

Sub-Series 3: Poems in Manuscript Form

Consists of handwritten drafts of unidentified or untitled poems. Blue, black, red ink & pencil.

Sub-Series 4: Poems by Others

Consists of Poems arranged alphabetically by author's name.

Item 1: Buege, Bill

Item 1: A Roll of Film: [long poem], 1 draft, Typescript 33 pages
Item 2: The Demise of the Wheel: [poem], 1 draft, Typescript 3 pages
Item 3: Forget #17: [poem], 1 draft, Typescript 2 pages with Autograph Letter Signed on 1st page in blue ink.

Item 2: Funk, Allison

Item 1: Redbud: [long poem], 1 draft, Typescript 5 pages includes Autograph Letter Signed 1 page in blue ink.

Item 3: Pankey, Eric

Item 1: Nocturne with Two Figures: [poem], 2 drafts. Typescript 2 pages.
Item 2: Approaching Accademia: single draft, revisions in pencil.
Item 3: To Anna Catherine del Valle: [poem], 1 draft. Typescript 1 page. notes in pencil and dated 10/94.
Item 4: Prayer: [table of contents], 1 draft. Typescript 1 page. with Autograph Letter Signed by Pankey in black ink & note by Atkinson in pencil.

Item 4: Schreiner, Steven

Item 1: Honeymoon: [poem], 1 draft, Typescript 3 pages, pencil revisions

Item 5: Sommer, Jason

Item 1: For X. Who Reads My Books in Solitude: [poem], 2 drafts, Typescript 2 pages, notes in black ink and pencil.
Item 2: Love Cars: [poem], 1 draft, Typescript 1 page, revision in pencil
Item 3: Tonight It Is the Shoes: [poem], 1 draft, Typescript 3 pages, revision in pencil. dated 1/95 in red ink.

Sub-Series 5: Unidentified Poems

Folder consists of 1 poem, single draft, Typescript 1 page

Series 3: Material towards Books and Manuscripts

Box 2

Sub-Series 1: Material towards The Dogwood Tree: (Typescript draft, 60 pages, includes table of contents.)
Sub-Series 2: Material towards Jephthaw's Vow: (2 Typescript drafts, 26 pages. 1 draft with heavy revisions & notes in black ink signed M including Typed Letter Signed 1 page.)
Sub-Series 3: Material towards the manuscript Dares: (2 Typescript drafts, 69 pages light editorial marks in pencil.)

Series 4: Prose

Box 2

Item 1: Explaining the ocean from the Kathmandu Valley: (1 draft, Typescript 8 pages, light revision in black ink.)
Item 2: The Grammar of Generosity

Series 5: Notebooks and Folders

Box 2

Item 1: Ringbound Iowa Hawkeyes Folder: Folder includes class notes and drafts of poems.
Item 2: Class Papers: Folder includes notes, photocopies, articles, syllabus, prose, and other class papers.

Series 6: Printed Matter

Consists of various journals or periodicals of poetry, some including work by Atkinson.

Box 2

Item 1: Hudson Review. Vol. XXXIX. No.2, Summer 1986

Item 1: Milosz and the Moral Authority of Poetry by Emily Grosholz

Item 2: Poetry. Vol. CLXV. No.1, April 1994

Item 1: Extradition a poem by Atkinson page 24.

Item 3: Poetry. Vol. CLXV. No.6, March 1995

Item 1: The Miraculous a poem by Atkinson page 311. includes 2 copies.

Item 4: Princeton University Library Chronicle. Vol. LV No.3, Spring 94.

Item 1: Poetry & Science in America by Emily Grosholz

Item 5: Umbra. New Orleans Center for Creative Arts journal, 1995

Series 7: Miscellany

Box 3

Item 1: Readings and Other Announcements
Item 2: Clippings. Consists of newspaper and magazine articles
Item 3: CV. Consists of Atkinson's CV, circa 1985.
Item 4: Travel materials: Consists of brochures, maps, tickets.
Item 5: Diploma. Atkinson's MFA diploma from Univ. of Iowa, 1984.
Item 6: Campaign Button. Clinton-Gore, 1992.