Zukofsky Manuscripts & Papers

 

The LZ Collection at the Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas is the primary repository for LZ’s manuscripts and papers, as LZ intended. He began sending material to the HRC around 1963 in an arrangement that included the publication of Bottom in a deluxe edition by the University of Texas, and in various large batches over the years and CZ even sent further materials after LZ’s death. CZ also sent her own materials, both her various collaborative projects as well as her very extensive bibliographical work on LZ. The collection has been further augmented by papers and letters from others, particularly those held by Lorine Niedecker. Since LZ was quite meticulous in preserving his working papers and notebooks, the collection is remarkably complete.

            Additional manuscripts and typescripts, usually copies, sent out to friends and/or for publication can be found in various other collections. Letters can be found scattered all over. Below, following the HRC listing, I have listed those collections which include manuscripts and papers, followed by those collections that appear to only consist of letters. Particularly with regard to correspondence, the list below is certainly incomplete. Annotations not in bracket are copied from the respective on-line inventory descriptions.

 

University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00138/hrc-00138.html

[The major repository of LZ’s papers; aside from the online inventory, see Booth and Henderson for descriptive catalogues]

             Holograph and typescript manuscripts and correspondence make up the bulk of the Louis Zukofsky Collection (1910-1985). The collection is organized into five series: I. Works, 1921-1978 (17.5 boxes), II. Letters, 1930-1968 (3.5 boxes), III. Recipient, 1924-1977 (9.5 boxes), IV. Miscellaneous, 1910-1985 (6.5 boxes), and V. Subject Files, 1936-1975 (7 boxes).

            The Works Series covers Zukofsky's writing career thoroughly between 1921 and 1968, including the "A" series of poems from "A"-1 to "A"-21/Rudens, typescripts and galley proofs for all three versions of All: The Collected Poems, and various individual poems, short stories, and radio scripts. Of particular interest in this series are the working notebooks in which Zukofsky and his wife translated Catullus. The Latin text runs on the left-hand page while the English is written on the right. The same method was used by Zukofsky in editing "A"-14 and "A"-15 with one version of the poem written on the left-hand page and an edited version on the right. Individual poems, as well as the major titles, are listed in the Index of Works in this guide.

            The Letters Series is relatively small but does contain a large collection of letters from Zukofsky to fellow poets Cid Corman, Lorine Niedecker and Carl Rakosi. Most of the letters in this series are personal, however some communications with publishers and organizations are present. The Recipient Series is much larger and contains substantial numbers of letters to Zukofsky from Basil Bunting, Cid Corman, Guy Davenport, Hayden Carruth, Robert Creeley, Hugh Kenner, Marianne Moore, Samuel Newberry, Lorine Niedecker, Ezra Pound, Mary Ellen Solt, Jonathan Williams, and William Carlos Williams.

            The Miscellaneous Series is composed largely of works by other authors and correspondence between other people about Zukofsky. There are three theses, several reviews of Zukofsky's publications, works by Lorine Niedecker, a series of holograph poems by Whittaker Chambers in a travel diary, and a quantity of envelopes and folders. Also included are a few newspaper clippings, notes on the publication of Zukofsky's works and an honorary degree from Bard College.

            The Subject Files Series contains more holographs and typescripts of Zukofsky's later work, including "A"-22 through "A"-24; Little, for Careengers; Autobiography, and the French translation for First Half of "A"-9. Material for "A"-24 is particularly complete, ranging from holograph notes in a spiral notebook to the typescript scores for individual characters and including production notes. Celia Zukofsky's listing of Zukofsky's works, titled A Bibliography, is also found here, along with the correspondence which lead to its publication. Correspondence regarding Catullus and Arise, Arise! is also included, as is the correspondence between Zukofsky and about a dozen institutions where he gave readings.

Elsewhere in the Ransom Center are an extensive collection of newspaper clippings and other printed materials covering the publication and criticism of Zukofsky's work (Vertical Files), 17 sound recordings (Manuscript Sound Recordings Index), some video footage, a series of collages and drawings by and of Zukofsky in the Art Collection, a few photographs in the Literary Files of the Photography Collection, and a wallet that belonged to Zukofsky in the Personal Effects Collection.

 

University of Alberta Libraries, Black Sparrow Press Archive

http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/bsp/index.cfm

[Correspondence, galleys and other papers related to the Black Sparrow Press editions of Little and CZ’s A Bibliography of LZ].

 

University of British Columbia, Louis Zukofsky Collection

http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/collenglish.html

The collection of the published work of LZ. The collection includes “every word in every book in every possible variant edition” with the exception of Le Style Apollinaire (a book destroyed by fire in the publisher’s Paris warehouse in 1934), which is present here only in a unique manuscript copy, in English, stapled together and marked by Zukofsky “First American Edition.” Half the books and pamphlets are signed and/or inscribed by Zukofsky. There are also anthologies and periodical issues [many very difficult to obtain] containing his work; four translations; four critical works; manuscripts; ephemera; and a photograph.

 

University of California, San Diego, Geisel Library, Mandeville Special Collections Library

http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/testing/mscl-fa1.html

            A collection of poems, some set to music composed by Celia Thaew Zukofsky: “A”-9, first half, with explanatory preface; Paris [“A”-10]; Anew 3; “Happier, happier, now”; “Motet”; “To my wash-stand”; “When in winter spring?” Also two versions of the essay "Charles Reznikoff: Sincerity and Objectification," one in Zukofsky's hand and the other a typographical transcription by Kathryn Shevelow.

[Correspondence to and/or from John Taggart, David & Rose Ignatow, George Oppen, Carl Rakosi, Charles Reznikoff, June Oppen Degnan, Jerome Rothenberg, Paul Blackburn, Donald Allen]

 

Columbia University Library, Rare Book Library

[LZ’s MA thesis: Henry Adams: detached mind and the growth of a poet (1924)].

 

University of Durham, Basil Bunting Poetry Centre

http://www.dur.ac.uk/basil-bunting-poetry.centre/

[The Bunting Archive includes significant LZ materials: typescripts of “A”-8 (various passages), First Half of “A”-9, “A”-9 (second half), Arise, Arise, “‘Further Than’—,” “Song 23” (“The Immediate Aim”), “‘Mantis’” and “‘Mantis,’ An Interpretation,” “Modern Times,” “Thanks to the Dictionary,” “Song 28” (“Specifically a writer of music”), “Trio for Workers” (“A madrigal for 3 voices”), A Worker’s Anthology; 6 letters and a postcard to Bunting; 6 letters to Karl Drerup; typescript (7 pages) of poems by Robert Allison Evans, almost certainly forwarded to Bunting by LZ]

 

University of Indiana, Lilly Library

http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/lilly/mss/html/zukofsky.html

[Poetry archive after 1961; letters to René Taupin and drafts of both “A” and short poems from the period 1928-1944; further correspondence with D.G. Bridson, Cid Corman, Leroi Jones, Henry Rago, Mary Ellen Solt, William Carlos Williams and Oscar Williams].

            The Zukofsky mss., 1928-1933, consist of letters and writings of Louis Zukofsky, 1904-1978, poet. The letters are addressed to René Taupin, French critic and translator, who for part of this period was living in New York City, and are written from New York City, Berkeley, California, Madison, Wisconsin (where he was an instructor of English for a year) Chicago, Illinois, and one letter from Budapest, Hungary. There are no letters for the year 1932. They are concerned largely with his work "A," his application for a Guggenheim fellowship, classes at the University of Wisconsin, financial matters, publication and writing problems. Some of the writers mentioned in the letters include: Basil Bunting, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Theodore Hecht, Norman Wicklund Macleod, Harriet Monroe, Ezra Loomis Pound, Andre Salmon, William Carlos Williams. Theodore Hecht has also written a letter in French to Taupin on the verso of Zukofsky's of August 7, 1933.

            Writings present include various drafts and stages of Zukofsky's long poem "A," manuscripts of his "Immature Pebbles" and "Prop. LXI" and two fragments of miscellaneous notes and aphorisms. Also present is Zukofsky's translation of René Taupin's review "Three Poems by Andre Salmon," published in Poetry (Feb. & Mar. 1931). Collection size: 62 items

 

Kansas State University Library, University Archives & Manuscripts

http://www.lib.ksu.edu/depts/spec/findaids/pc1994-07.html

The Louis Zukofsky Papers (1928-1969) chronicle his relationship with a number of his contemporaries, particularly René Taupin, as well as describing what life was like for a poet in the 1930's. The papers contain correspondence, printed material and typescripts.

The papers are divided into four series: 1) Correspondence (1928-1969), 2) Literary works (1931, n.d.), 3) Printed material (1930-1933) and 4) Miscellaneous.

The most significant part of this collection is the correspondence. It is divided into four sub-series: a) Louis Zukofsky to René Taupin (1930-1941), b) Louis Zukofsky to various others (1942-1969), c) various individuals to René Taupin (1923-1946) and d) other correspondence (1927-1940). The correspondence from Zukofsky to Taupin is the largest and most significant part of the collection (70 items) containing references to works in progress and contemporaries, such as Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Harriet Monroe, George Oppen, Basil Bunting, Jesse Loewenthal, Tibor Serly and Robinson Morton. Other comments offer insight into the economy and social atmosphere of 1930's America. The second sub-series of correspondence (22 items, 7 correspondents) focuses primarily on Zukofsky's literary career: responses to inquiries to reprint his poetry, notification of new works and mention of reviews. His family and contemporaries are mentioned in a number of letters. Primary correspondents are: Clayton Hoagland and Tom Pickard. The third sub-series of correspondence (60 items, 47 correspondents), various individuals to Rene Taupin, focuses primarily on the creation of La France en Liberte (13 items) and responses to a questionnaire concerning France's survival under German occupation (8 items). A significant portion of these letters (29 items) is in French and has not been translated. Notable correspondents include: Ivan Goll, Sommerville Story, Germaine Sinclair, Warre Bradley Wells, Carl Van Doren, Patrick Braybrooke, Dorothy Canfield Fischer, A. E. Bacon, Charles A. Beard, Charles M. Stern and Tibor Serly. The fourth sub-series of correspondence is primarily in French and has not been translated. The correspondence in English contains comments on Taupin's abilities and promotional information about La France en Liberte. Correspondents include: Jean de Gourmont, Raymond Arne and Fernand Baldensperger.

The literary works series includes typescript reviews by Zukofsky of Hidden Flame by Bunichi Kagawa and Redimiculum Matellarum by Basil Bunting. Also included is an essay in French on Andre Salmon by René Taupin.

The printed material series contains a review of Zukofsky's Objectivists' Anthology, an essay on Ezra Pound by Zukofsky, a review of Maldorer by Taupin and reviews of Taupin's L'Influence du symbolisme Francais sur la poesie Americaine (de 1910 a/ 1920). The final series contains a prescription sheet, a bibliographical sketch of Taupin (1923-1930) and the first page of an essay entitled Profession of Faith.

 

New York Public Library, Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/brg/berg.html

Uncatalogued Manuscript Holdings: includes some “A” materials, poems, photos and a few letters.

Cid Corman Collection: a few postcard/letters to Babette Deutsh (1957-1968).

E.E. Cummings Collection: holograph essay on Pound and Cummings.

 

Washington University in St. Louis Library

Trigram Press Archive: library.wustl.edu/units/spec/manuscripts/mlc/findingaidshtml/wtu00115.html

[Correspondence, typescript and proof concerning publication of Catullus Fragmenta (1969) by Turret Books]

Zukofsky Collection: library.wustl.edu/units/spec/manuscripts/mlc/zukofsky/zukofsky.html

3 items. Louis Zukofsky to Babette Deutsch 1958: Jan. 24. 1 item (3 pp.): ALS, concerning birthdays and some of his recent works, including Bottom: On Shakespeare, and a Test of Poetry. Discusses hope of having her meet with William Carlos Williams and his wife and promises to return the fiddle. Letter 1956. 1 item. Letter laid in Zukofsky, Louis, Some Time, Stuttgart. Louis Zukofsky to Henry Wenning 1963: Mar. 30. 1 item (1 p.): ALS, thanking him for the safe return of his manuscript “A” 1-12.

Robert Creeley Papers: [3 letters]

http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/manuscripts/mlc/findingaidshtml/wtu00031.html

George Marion O’Donnell Papers: [1 letter]

library.wustl.edu/units/spec/manuscripts/mlc/findingaidshtml/wtu00091.html

 

Bellarmine College, Thomas Merton Center

http://www.merton.org/Research/Correspondence/zb861.html

[Correspondence to and from Thomas Merton].

 

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/

[Correspondence with League of American Writers and SF State College Poetry Center (9 letters)].

 

University of Chicago, Regenstein Library, Harriet Monroe Modern Poetry Collection

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/mopo.html

[Correspondence with Poetry magazine 1912-1961]

 

University of Delaware Library, Special Collections

http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/pagany1.htm

[Correspondence with Pagany magazine 1929-1932].

 

Kent State University

http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/literature/poetry/zukofsky.html

This collection contains correspondence between Louis Zukofsky and Will Petersen and Hank Chapin (55 items).

 

New York University, Fales Library & Special Collections

http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/cdfa.htm

[Various correspondence in the Avant Garde Collection, primarily related to little magazines: Caterpillar, Lines, Maps (John Taggart Archive), Outburst—also further correspondence in the Theodore Enslin Papers.]

 

Princeton University Library, Rare Books Special Collections

http://libweb.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/putnam-nr.html#Box

[13 letter from and 5 letter to LZ from Samuel Putnam in relation to the New Review (1930-1932)].

 

Stanford University Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/

[Correspondence with Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Nathaniel Tarn, Denise Levertov].

 

SUNY Buffalo Libraries, Poetry Collection

http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/pl/collections/manuscripts/index.html

[Various correspondence, including to William Carlos Williams, as well as correspondence and papers related to Jargon Society publications]

 

UCLA Library, Special Collections, Young Research Library

http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/index.htm

[Correspondence and some manuscripts in the papers of Kenneth Rexroth, Robert Payne and Joglars magazine].

 

Yale University, Beinecke Library

http://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/

[Correspondence to and/or from Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Henry Seidel Canby, Sister Mary Bernetta Quinn, Harry Roskolenko, William Rose Benet, Basil Davenport, Norman MacLeod, Dorothy Norman and Golden Goose, mostly related to journal publications]

 

Zurich James Joyce Foundation

http://www.joycefoundation.ch/

“Scenario and Continuity” film script adapted from Ulysses by Jerry Reisman and LZ (carbon copy), 132 sheets [part of the Hans E. Jahnke Bequest].