Untermeyer mss. III, 1917-1977
This collection is open for research.
Louis Untermeyer, 1885-1977, was an author, poet, and anthologist born in New York
City. Untermeyer wrote several volumes of poetry, and also compiled several
anthologies, including "Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry" (1969). He
served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1961 to
1963.
The collection is organized into the following series: I. Biographical; II.
Correspondence; III. Writings; IV. Printed.
The Untermeyer mss. III, 1917-1977, are the papers of Louis Untermeyer, 1885-1977,
author, poet, and anthologist. The early part of the correspondence consists of two
letters, for 1917 and 1928; the bulk of the letters begins in 1945 and extends
through 1977. They refer to the All India Writers' Conference and other conferences,
the blacklisting of writers, the celebration of Untermeyer's 80th and 85th
birthdays, the presentation of the letters of Robert Frost to Untermeyer to the
Library of Congress in 1963, the protest of the writers against the Vietnamese
Conflict, and the publication of several books.
The writings, which include collected materials concerning the blacklisting of
writers, conference materials, interviews, lectures and speeches, poems and prose,
projects, and scripts for Voice of America, range from 1924 to 1977. Some of these
are: The Best Humor Annual, Burning Bush, Bygones, The Changing Voices of America
(lectures at Kyoto, Japan), Haiku, How to Hate Poetry in One Easy Lesson, How to
Kill a Poem (lecture at Suffield Conference), How to Misunderstand Poetry without
Really Trying, Marionettes, On the Birth of a Child, On the Eve of New Wars, Music
Tour on the Renaissance (diary), The Poets Speak (for Voice of America), Response to
The People's Almanac poll on Utopia, Said I to Myself..., These Bones, and This is
Christmas. A bibliographical folder notes titles by year of publication, 1919-1955
and copies sold to June 30, 1959.
Thirteen photographs are filed with the letters and writings, 1961-1965.
Printed materials include biographical clippings, 1917-1978; scrapbooks of poems,
1907-1922 and 1924-1963; prose, 1932-1976; reviews or promotional clippings for
Untermeyer's writings, 1917-1965; and clippings reporting his 80th birthday
celebration, 1965.
Note on Indexing Term - "Radio": "The Poets Speak:
Radio Scripts for Voice of America" written by Untermeyer is present in the collection.
Note on Indexing Term - "Labor unions and socialism": Includes collected materials concerning the blacklisting of writers.
Note on Indexing Term - "Travel": Of interest is a 1973 diary of a music tour on the "Renaissance"
(Paquet Line).
Untermeyer mss., Untermeyer mss. II, Untermeyer mss. IV; also located at the Lilly
Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Series:
Box 1
III. Writings
(numbers in brackets refer to original delivery inventory number)
These Bones. undated. Accompanied by clippings mounted and in folder,
1934-1950. Bound volume, with "Record" on spine.
Box 2
Bibliographical material, 1919-1959.
1924,
Jan.-1927, July. Burning Bush. bound. [#56]
1924, Feb. Folk-Songs.
bound. [#58]
1927,
Aug.-1932, July 4. Poems written since July, 1927. bound.
[#57]
1946, July 9. CBS.
Woman's Club. Interview with Louis Untermeyer. [#64]
1947. The New American Arts.
[#64]
1949,
Mar. 26-1951, Apr. 5. Speeches and statements related to
the Hollywood Ten, the Cultural and Scientific Conference for World
Peace, the Town Hall Meeting of June 19, 1950, and the House Un-American
Activities Committee. [#27, #28, #29]
1949, Mar. 26. The
other night I tried to put down some notes... T.D. 1p.
1949, Mar. 27. Text
Resolution on Cultural Freedom adopted by Plenary Session. Cultural
and Scientific Conference for World Peace Sunday, March 27, Waldorf
Astoria Hotel. Mimeo copy. 2pp.
1949, Mar. 27. Text
of Resolution Presented at Plenary Session...(not identical with the
above). Mimeo copy. 2pp.
1950, June 19. Town
Hall meeting. T.D. with extensive notes in the hand of Untermeyer.
12pp.
1950, Aug. 8. This,
as far as I know, is the first time that American writers have been
sent to jail... T.D. 1p.
1951, Mar. 4. It
seems that a number of people have begun writing to the sponsors of
"What's My Line…" T.D. (first
draft) with corrections in Untermeyer's hand. 4pp.
1951, Mar. It seems that
a number of people... (another draft of the above). T.D.S.
6pp.
1951, Apr. 5. To the
Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee:
T.(carbon)D.S. 2pp.
1951, Apr. 5. To the
Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee: T.(carbon) D.
3pp.
1951, Apr. I am deeply
distressed that any group of my fellow Americans should question my
loyalty... [basically the same statement as that of Apr. 5, 1951].
T.D.S. 4pp.
undated. I am deeply distressed that any group of my
fellow Americans should question my loyalty... T. (carbon)D.
1p.
undated. I am told that letters have been received
questioning my devotion to my country... T. (carbon)D.
1p.
(2 copies)
1951-1952. The Best Humor Annual. [#47] With notes by
Charles Angof folders
1951-1952. The Best humor Annual. Fillers.
[#47]
1952-1962. Reports to the Pulitzer Prize Committee for
Poetry. [#31]
1955. Orpheus with His Lute.
[#62]
1958, May 12. For a Novel
by Edwin Gilbert. [#59]
1958. Bryson, Lyman. Man's
Knowledge [#55]
1958. Bryson, Lyman. Man's
Knowledge Chapter 26: Louis Untermeyer, Modern American Writing.
[#51]
1961, Apr. Newell,
Professor. Introduction for Louis Untermeyer at California State
College, PA. [#55]
1961, Oct. 22. CBS.
Washington Conversation. Interview with Louis Untermeyer.
[#55]
1961,
Oct.-Dec. All India Writers' Conference. [#63]
(2 folders)
1961-1963. One Hundred American Poems of the Twentieth
Century. [#55]
1963, July. Haiku: Thunder
At Hosokawa. Ryoan-Ji Garden. [#68]
1963, July. It may seem
irrelevant for a poet to be inflicted on economists... [at Kyoto,
Japan]. [#9]
1963. The Changing Voices of
America. [#12]
1963. Letters from Robert Frost
to Louis Untermeyer. [#34]
1963. Letters from Robert Frost
to Louis Untermeyer. Reviews (printed) [#65]
1964, Mar. 23. Robert
Frost, A Backward Look. [#64]
1964, Aug. For Another
Birth. [#59]
1964. Aesops Fables, Retold.
[#45]
1964. Labyrinth of Love.
[#13]
1965, May 11. Toward an
American Poetry [Lecture at Indiana University]. [#16]
1965. Bygones, The
Recollections of Louis Untermeyer. [#32]
1965. Bygones... Galleys.
[#31]
1965. Bygones... Notes.
[#32]
1965. Bygones: Reviews
(printed). [#65]
1966, Feb. 20. Read-In
for Peace in Vietnam: On the Birth of a Child. On the Eve of New Wars.
[#64]
1966. Apr. 26. From the
Psalms. An Introduction. [#42]
1966. Alfred Kreymborg:
1883-1966. [#42]
1966. Eve. [#42]
1967. One, Two, Buckle my Shoe.
[#44]
Box 3
1967-1968. The Firebringer and Other Great Stories.
[#38]
1968,
Feb. 5-16. Prominent People Program at University of
California, Berkeley. Includes Untermeyer's schedules and poems by Jean
Brownson, John Hoffman, Robin Magowan, Rosalie Moore, Rosemary Thompson,
Elizabeth Tsuji. [#55]
1968. A Foreword to Vachel
Lindsay's "lost" poems for Children [by
Pierre Dussert] [#15]
1968-1969. Men and Women: The Poetry of Love.
[#52]
1970, Apr. 15. I am going
to start what I hope will be a discussion... [Remarks at International
Poetry Festival, Washington, D.C.]. [#64]
1970,
June 22-29. Suffield Reader Writer Conference: How to Kill
poem. [#35]
1970. A Foreword for The
Language of Flowers. [#14]
1970-1971. Portraits in Poetry. [#26]
1971. The Law of Order: The
Promise of Poetry. [#7]
1971. Story Poem Record
Project. [#55]
1972, July. Portrait of a
Girl. [#10]
1973,
Jan. 4-17. Music Tour on the Renaissance [Diary]. Bound.
[#33]
1974, Aug.
22. Extraudenary. [#41]
1974-1975. Said I to Myself, Said I... [#36]
1974-1975. Said I to Myself, Said I... Material edited
out by Bryna Untermeyer. [#36]
1977. Galaxy of Verse
[#40]
(3 folders)
1977. It will merely raise his
dander... [In the hand of Bryna Untermeyer]. [#7]
undated. Levy, Norman. Nighttime in the Adirondacks.
[#1]
undated. About Anthologies. [#64]
undated. At Last. [#59]
undated. Carnal Clerkhews. [#24]
undated. The Chart. [#67]
undated. The City has most of the advantages...
[#18]
undated. Conrad Aiken. [#19]
undated. The Contradiction of Modern Poetry.
[#55]
undated. Contrasted Greatness: Two Lives [Walt Whitman and
Emily Dickinson]. [#64]
undated. Do American Speak English. [#64]
undated. E.A.R.: A Remembrance. [#42]
undated. The Essential Whitman. [#53]
undated. Folk-Songs. [#58]
undated. A Foreword. [#42]
undated. A Foreword [to Howard Fast, Time of the Riddle]
[#55]
undated. The Glory of the Commonplace: Walt Whitman.
[#42]
undated. The Golden Book of Fun and Nonsense: collected
material. [#55]
undated. Golden Treasury of Animal Stories and Poems.
[#55]
undated. Hercules... His Twelve Labors. [#21]
undated. Home. [#61]
undated. Homo Sapiens. [#6]
undated. How to Hate Poetry... [#64]
undated. How to Misunderstand Poetry. [#64]
undated. I regret to tell you... [Remarks at Texas Tech,
Lubbock]. [#64]
undated. Jane. [#11]
undated. A Kind of Credo. [#5]
undated. The Light Fantastic. [#55]
undated. The Lighter Side of Poetry. [#64]
undated. Linus Pauling. [#64]
undated. [Lives of the Poets]. Sketch for a Preface.
[#55]
undated. The Lost Continent. [#39]
undated. LU's Commentary and Poems to Read. [#65]
undated. Makers of the Modern World. [#64]
undated. Marionettes (To the memory of Edward MacDowell).
[#3]
undated. Meaning and Magic. [#23]
undated. Misalliance. [#42]
undated. My First Book of Poems. [#48]
undated. Nativity. [#71]
undated. New Frontiers in American Culture. [#64]
undated. Notes for talks on Theodore Roethke and e e
cummings. [#64]
undated. Now that I am in my nineties... [#8]
undated. Odyssey Projects. [#54]
1. Foreign Research by Secret Agent 685A093. T.(carbon)D. 1p.
28cm. Signed L.U.
2. Lift Up Your Heart. T.(carbon)D. 6pp. 28cm.
3. Man's Best Friends. T.(carbon)D. 6pp. 28cm.
Corrections
4. Thinking of You. T.(carbon)D. 6pp. 28cm.
5. This is Christmas. T.(carbon)D. 10pp. 28cm. Many
corrections
6. Your Lucky Stars. T.(carbon)D. 9pp. 28cm.
7. Words of Wisdom or A Little Book of Wisdom. Compiled by
Bryna and Louis Untermeyer. T.(carbon)D. 19pp. 28cm.
undated. One Hundred Treasured Poems. [#22]
undated. Open the Door. [#49]
undated. The Painters Discover America. [#64]
undated. Poetry and Reality. [#64]
undated. The Poets Speak: Radio scripts for Voice of America.
[#37]
undated. Prayer. [#69]
undated. The Productive Life. [#64]
undated. The Proper Study... Review of R.D. Altick, Lives and
Letters. [#42]
undated. Publishers are again taking a chance...on poetry.
[#64]
undated. The Pursuit of Poetry. [#64 and 55]
undated. The Road Taken... Review of Lawrance Thompson,
Robert Frost. [#71]
undated. Robert Browning... [#42]
undated. Shelley... [#59]
undated. Sorrento. [#55]
undated. Der Struwwelpeter. [#46]
undated. Sturdy. [#55]
undated. Sunday Sonnet. [#59]
undated. This American Language. [#64]
undated. This is your day. [#50]
undated. Tramp, Peddler, and Poet. Review of R. J. Stansifer,
W.H. Davies… [#42]
undated. The Uncertainties of Taste. [#64]
undated. Walt Whitman and American Words. [#55]
undated. What America Reads - And Why. [#55]
undated. What Can We Expect of Our Culture. [#64]
undated. What Makes Modern Poetry Modern. [3 drafts].
[#55]
undated. What Robert Frost has to Tell Us. [#20]
undated. Whitman and other Mavericks. [#64]
Photographs
1961, Nov. 21 (with
Dec. 1961 Newsletter of
the Indo-American Society in All India Writers' Conference II,
Oct.-Dec.
1961)
1963,
July-Aug. (with Untermeyer, The Changing Voices of
America, 1963)
n.d.
(3 - with Untermeyer, Bygones - Notes, 1965)
Series:
Box 3
IV. Printed
The Britannica Library of Great American Writings. Promotional,
undated.
Including Horace. Review, 1919
Lives of the Poets. Promotional, 1959
Long Feud. Reviews, 1962
Makers of the Modern World. Promotional, undated.
Miscellaneous clippings, 1949-1967
Modern American and British Poetry. Reviews, 1962
Moses. Reviews, 1928-1930
New Era in American Poetry. Reviews, 1919
Paths of Poetry. Review, 1967
Poems (in Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, Apr. 1970)
Poems of Heinrich Heine. Reviews, 1917
These Times. Reviews, 1917
These Times and Poems of Heinrich Heine. Reviews, 1917
A Treasury of Great Poems, English and American. Promotional,
1942
A Treasury of Laughter. Promotional, undated.
A Treasury of Ribaldry. Reviews, 1956-1957
Scrapbook of Poems, 1924-1963. Bound
Oversize 1
1965, Oct. 1. Watercolor
in honor of Untermeyer's 80th birthday. Signed [Justin?]
1965, Oct. 2. Gilbert,
Edwin. A lyric to Louis
1965, Oct. 9. Barkham,
John. Among Books and Authors. Mimeo Copy
1965. Bauman, Morely and Irma.
Panel of ten cat stamps from Poland
1965. Nasatir, Iain. When I'm
eight...
1965. [Untermeyer?], Karen,
Alice and Martin. Drawing of birds in honor of Untermeyer's 80th
birthday
1965,
Sept. 28-Oct. 11. Clippings reporting Untermeyer's 80th
birthday celebrations
1965, Oct.
17. Promotional for Bygones by Louis Untermeyer
Prose clippings, 1932-1976.
Oversize 2
Scrapbook of Poems, 1907-1922. Disbound. Lacks pages 1 and 2.