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Collection Overview
Title: Robert Creeley Papers (MSS031), 1944-1978
Predominant Dates:1951-1972
ID: MSS/MSS/031
Primary Creator: Creeley, Robert (1926-2005)
Extent: 35.0 Boxes
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Series I, Correspondence, 1945-1968, bulking 1963-1968, including letters from Charles Olson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, W.S.Merwin, Witter Bynner, Louis Zukofsky, Henry Rago, Fred Eckman, others and correspondence among Creeley, Walter Hamady and Henry Wenning on publication of The Charm, Words, For Joel, letters from Creeley to Dudley Wynn, University of New Mexico, others, c. 200 items;
Series 2, Literary manuscripts, inc. those of The Charm, Divisions & other early poems, Eight [single title poem], The Finger, For Joel, For Love, The Island [printer's typescript, see Creeley I] Pieces [Black Sparrow and Scribner's editions] Seven [single title poem] Words [Scribner's and Rob Run editions]; series 2/1, material by other writers, inc. Robert Duncan's A Dancing Concerning a Form of Women [poem] David Galler's Jennings, Justice, Berryman, Creeley [review] Walter Hamady's Plumfoot poems [proof] Charles Olson's review of For Love, William Packard's and Burton' Robie's reviews of For Love, exerpt from Kenneth Rexroth's Assays, essay by Fred Wah titled Linguistic structures in the poetry of Robert Creeley.
Series 3, Essays, articles and reviews by Creeley, including transcription of 1963 Vancouver Conference panel, account of panel with John Cage, Merce Cunningham, others, essays on the experience of writing poetry.
Series 4, Journals and diaries, notebook 1966, given Creeley by Allen Ginsberg, containing drafts of poems later published in Pieces, diary entries; notebook 1968, containing drafts of poems for Pieces.
Series 5, Editorial matter emanating from The Charm, For Joel, For love, New American poetry, Pieces [Scribner's] Selected writings of Charles Olson, Words [Rob Run and Scribner's]
Series 6, Clippings, miscellany, including German language radio scripts concerning Creeley, announcements of readings, conferences, publishers' announcements, clippings concerning Creeley.
Collection Historical Note
Robert Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He entered Harvard University in 1943, but left to serve in the American Field Service in Burma and India in 1944-1945. He returned to Harvard in 1946, but eventually took his BA from Black Mountain College in 1955, teaching some courses there as well.
From 1951 to 1955, Creeley and his first wife, Ann, lived on the Spanish island of Mallorca. There they started Divers Press and published works by Paul Blackburn, Robert Duncan, Charles Olson, and others. Creeley wrote about half of his published prose while living on the island, including a short story collection, The Gold Diggers, and a novel, The Island. He traveled between Mallorca and his teaching position at Black Mountain College in 1954 and 1955. They also saw to the printing of some issues of Origin and Black Mountain Review on Mallorca because the printing costs were significantly lower there.
Creeley received an MA from the University of New Mexico in 1960. He began his academic career by teaching at the prestigious Albuquerque Academy starting in around 1958 until about 1960 or 1961. Afterward, he wandered about a bit before settling into the English faculty of "Black Mountain II" at the University at Buffalo in 1967. He would stay at this post until 2003, when he received a post at Brown University. At the time of his death, he was in residence with the Lannan Foundation in Marfa, Texas.
Creeley first received fame in 1962 from his poetry collection For Love. It was hard for many readers and critics to immediately understand Creeley's reputation as an innovative poet, for his innovations were often very subtle; even harder for some to imagine that his work lived up to the Black Mountain tenet—which he articulated to Charles Olson in their correspondence, and which Olson popularized in his essay "Projective Verse," -- that "form is never more than an extension of content," for his poems were often written in couplet, triplet, and quatrain stanzas that break into and out of rhyme as happenstance appears to dictate.
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.)
Acquisition Source:
Purchase and Gift
Acquisition Method:
Accessions numbers: 750, 769, 782, 813, 821, 893, 900, 901, 941, 963, 1051, 1044, 1078, 1275, 1282, 1294
Preferred Citation:
Name of the Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence, 1951-1972],
[
Series 2: Literary Manuscripts],
[Series 3: Essays, Articles, Reviews by Robert Creeley],
[
Series 4: Journals, Diaries, Notebooks],
[
Series 5: Personal Papers],
[
Series 6: Clippings, Announcements, Miscellany],
[
Series 7: Audiovisual],
[
All]
- Series 3: Essays, Articles, Reviews by Robert Creeley
- Box 28
- Folder 242: Account by Creeley of series of panels with Creeley, Billy Kluver, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Stan VanderBeek, Jack Tworkov, Len Lye, 1967: April 25
- Untitled, dated April 25, 1967 in Creeley's hand. Typescript, light manuscript revision. 2 pages.
- Folder 243: Black Mountain Review
- Introduction to a reprint. Typescript, manuscript revision in ink. Note by Creeley, Written for AMS reprint of BMR. Dec. 15, 1968, unsigned. 7 pages.
- Folder 244: Creeley, Bobbie
- 2 pages. Jacket copy for Creeley's complete short stories, identified verso in Creeley's hand. Manuscript, light manuscript revision.
- Folder 245: "Mehr licht..." [essay conc. Stan Brakhage], 3 pages.
- Typescript, light manuscript revision, printed signature, 1 page manuscript notes in Creeley's hand.
- Folder 246: A note on Basil Bunting, Sept. 13, 1966
- 2 pages. Typescript [carbon] light manuscript revision. Manuscript dating, September 13, 1966.
- Folder 247: A personal note [essay conc. Basil Bunting], Oct. 15, 1965
- 2 pages. Manuscript title, typescript, light revision, manuscript date Oct. 15, 1965.
- Folder 248: Contests of poetry
- Transcription of tape made at Vancouver Poetry Conference, July, 1963. Separately published v. 5, no. 1 of Audit, Spring, 1968. Includes Postscript, April 14, 1968. Typescript [xerox] with manuscript [xerox] revision.
- Folder 249: Preface to Krazy Kat and other stories, by Fielding Dawson
- 1 page. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1969. Typescript, no revision, manuscript note in Creeley's hand.
- Folder 250: Geography, by Edward Dorn [review]
- 6 pages. Typescript, manuscript title, some manuscript revision. Manuscript date April 15, 1966. With typescript [carbon] final draft.
- Folder 251: Roots and branches, by Robert Duncan [review]
- 4 pages. Typescript early draft, very lifgt revision, manuscript date November 28, 1965. Typescript [carbon] final draft, light manuscript revision.
- Folder 252: Duncan, Robert. An essay concerning Robert Duncan
- 2 pages. Typescript, no revision. Untitled, unsigned, n.d.
- Folder 253: A note for David Franks
- 1 page. Typescript, no revision, manuscript title, date May 14, 1965, signature.
- Folder 254: Notes apropos "free verse", Dec. 11, 1966
- 4 pp. Typescript, manuscript revision and dating Dec. 11, 1966.
- Folder 255: Rainer Gerhardt: A note
- 2 pages. Typescript [xerox] manuscript [xerox] revision and dating Jan. 30, 1964. Initialed in pencil R.C.'s top right page.
- Folder 256: A note for Kenneth Irby
- 1 page. Typescript, heavy manuscript revision, signed, n.d.
- Folder 257: Note for Alan Marlowe's book of poems
- 1 page. Typescript [carbon] manuscript initial, A. M. in title space, Oct. 31, 1968 in manuscript, with title.
- Folder 258: Introduction to the selected writings of Charles Olson
Typescript, light manuscript revision, manuscript. Labeled first draft., dating Feb. 12, 1965. 3 pages.
Typescript, light to moderate manuscript revision, manuscript, dating Oct. 3, 1965. 6 pages.
- Folder 259: Human universe, Proprioception and Bibliography on America for Ed Dorn, by Charles Olson [review]
Typescript, light manuscript revision, manuscript, dating April 7, 1966. 3 pages.
Typescript [carbon] titled A foot is to kick with, light manuscript revision. Incomplete. 4 pages.
- Folder 260: Preface to The charm, by Robert Creeley
- Typescript, light manuscript revision, manuscript dating July 21, 1967. Titled in manuscript ink.
- Folder 261: Frank Stella: A way to go
Typescript, very light manuscript revision, 4 pages.
Typescript [carbon] light manuscript revision, 7 pages.
- Folder 262: Introduction to Thongs [novel] by Alexander Trocchi
Manuscript, titled Preface for Trocchi, with note appended "...written as `notes' when high one afternoon..., 4 pages.
Typescript [carbon] light manuscript revision, manuscript note. Written in Annisquam, Mass. Typescript, dating July 28, 1967, 2 pages.
- Folder 263: Why bother? Essay concerning the function of an innovative magazine
- 1 page. Typescript [xerox] manuscript [xerox title, note for Tish, dating Sept. 9, 1962. Penciled R`6's on top right corner.
- Folder 264: A note [essay on Louis Zukofsky]
- 6 pages. Typescript, very light manuscript revision. Manuscript signature, date April 2, 1967, printed by Creeley.
- Folder 265: All [collection of poems] by Louis Zukofsky [review]
Typescript, heavy manuscript revision. Untitled. Signed, dating in manuscript, July 8, 1965. 3 pages.
Typescript, manuscript revision, manuscript title Review of All for Agenda (London). Manuscript, date July 4, 1965. 3 pages.
Typescript [carbon] manuscript revision. Signed, no date 3 pages.
- Folder 266: Transcription of a tape concerning the making of a poem and the nature of poetry
- 11 pages. Typescript, heavy manuscript ink revision, instruction to typist. Manuscript dating Winter 1966.
- Folder 267: Lecture on making poems, based on preceding transcription
- 10 pages. Erased title, Literarisches colloquium Berlin: Comments on poetry. Typescript [carbon] light manuscript revision, addition n.d.
- Folder 268: Essay concerning the nature of a poem
- 1 page. Typescript light manuscript revision. Manuscript dating July 30, 1965.
- Folder 269: Biographical sketch, untitled
- 2 pages. Typescript, manuscript revision, manuscript dated finished June 26, 1966 (begun about a month earlier).
- Folder 270: Biographical sketch in form of a resume
- 1 page. Typescript [carbon] manuscript note 'for record' at top left, manuscript dating July 28, 1967.
- Folder 271: Plan for Rockefeller[grant proposal]
- 1 page. Typescript, light revision, note 'first draft: March 20, 1965' upper right corner.
- Folder 272: Notes for a New Prose, 8 pages
- Folder 273: A Note on Objectivity, 3 pages
- Folder 274: How to Write a Novel, 2 pages
- Folder 275: The New Odyssey, 2 pages
- Folder 276: Note for Souster on Canadian Poems (1850-1952), 1 page
- Folder 277: Olson, 1 page
- Folder 278: The Letters of Hart Crane edited by Brom Weber [review], 2 pages
- Folder 279: The Gentle Admonition [review], 5 pages
- Folder 280: A Dilemma, 1 page
- Folder 281: Journey With Genius by Witter Bynner [review], 1 page
- Folder 282: A Character for Love, 3 pages
- Folder 283: In Cold Hell, In Thicket by Charles Olson [review], 2 pages
- Folder 284: The Collected Later Poems by William Carlos Williams [review], 2 pages
- Box 29
- Folder 284: The Collected Later Poems by William Carlos Williams [review], 2 pages
- Folder 285: The Release, 3 pages
- Folder 286: Edward Dorn in the News, 3 pages
- Folder 287: A New Testament: Williams Burroughs' The Naked Lunch [review], 3 pages
- Folder 288: For Paterson Society, 1 page
- Folder 289: Some Notes on Olson's Maximus, 4 pages
- Folder 290: The Fascinating Bore [review], 3 pages
- Folder 291: Why Bother?, 1 page
- Folder 292: The Fact, 9 pages
- Folder 293: A Note on Writing, 1 page
- Folder 294: Rainer Gerhardt: A Note, 2 pages
- Folder 295: A Note on Louis Zukofsky, 4 pages
- Folder 296: A Sense of Measure, 2 pages
- Folder 297: Selections from Ezra Pound's Letters to Robert Creeley: March 1950 to May 1952, 4 pages
- Folder 298: The New World, 5 pages
- Folder 299: Rules of Thumb, 2 pages
- Folder 300: Writing, 16 pages
- Folder 301: New American Review: Symposium, 6 pages
- Folder 302: Imaginations of the City, 24 pages
- Folder 303: The Creative, 12 pages
- Folder 304: Guggenheim Fellowship application, 2 pages
- Folder 305: Black Mountain Review, 1 page
- Folder 306: For John Chamberlain, 1 page
- Folder 307: A Note, 3 pages
- Folder 308: Review of Selected Poems of Andrei Voznesensky, 2 pages
- Folder 309: Review of The Epistemology of Loss by Frederick Eckman, 2 pages
- Folder 310: Think What's Got Away..., 6 pages
- Folder 311: A Note, 1 page
- Folder 312: Miscellaneous, 25 pages
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence, 1951-1972],
[
Series 2: Literary Manuscripts],
[Series 3: Essays, Articles, Reviews by Robert Creeley],
[
Series 4: Journals, Diaries, Notebooks],
[
Series 5: Personal Papers],
[
Series 6: Clippings, Announcements, Miscellany],
[
Series 7: Audiovisual],
[
All]
