Archives Online at Indiana University

View options:

Search within this document:

 

Contents:

Want to learn more?

  • Do you have a question about this collection?
  • Would you like to view the original items in this collection?
  • Are you seeking permission to publish or reproduce items in this collection?

Please contact the holding repository: Lilly Library, IU Bloomington

Email: liblilly@indiana.edu

Bookmark and Share

Kessler, mss., 1966-2018

Summary Information

Repository
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu

Creator
Stephen Kessler

Title
Kessler, mss., 1966-2018

Collection No.
LMC 2688

Extent
4000 items

Language
Materials are in English.

Abstract
The Kessler mss., 1966-2018, consist primarily of manuscripts, drafts, correspondence and other material reflecting the creative life of Stephen Kessler (b. 1947), poet, translator, essayist and editor.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Stephen Kessler (b. 1947) is a poet, translator, essayist and editor. He is the author of eight books and chapbooks of original poetry, most recently Burning Daylight (2009); and fourteen books of literary translation, most recently Desolation of the Chimera: Last Poems by Luis Cernuda (2009). His essays and articles have appeared in dozens of periodicals; since 1999 he has been the editor of The Redwood Coast Review. His translations include works by Pablo Neruda, Vicente Aleixandre, Julio Cortazar, Mahmoud Darwish, Raymond Queneau, and Ernesto Cardenal, among others. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Lambda Literary Award for his translation of Written in Water: The Prose Poems of Luis Cernuda. His translations of Cernuda have also been recognized with the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award (2010) for Desolation of the Chimera: Last Poems by Luis Cernuda and the PEN Center USA Translation Awards (2016) for Forbidden Pleasures: New Selected Poems 1924-1949 by Luis Cernuda. His translation Save Twilight: Selected Poems by Julio Cortázar won the Northern California Book Award (2017).

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists primarily of manuscripts, drafts, correspondence and other material reflecting the creative life of Stephen Kessler (b. 1947).

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information
Acquired: 2008-2009
Usage Restrictions
Prior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however, patrons from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in advance of their visits to ascertain availability of materials.

Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly Library.

Preferred Citation
Kessler mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Box 1 Greenwood. Into the Center of America and letters
Misc. printed items - broadsides, announcements, programs
Notes on contributors. Alcaraz 2.
Alegria, Fernando
Aleixandre, Vicente
Barnstone, Aliki
Braverman, Kate
Cirino, Leonard
Coleman, Wanda

(2 folders)

Box 2 Doubiago, Sharon
Fisher, David
Foster, Sesshu
Frym, Gloria
Green Horse Press
Herrera, Juan Felipe
Hickman, Lee
Hirschman, Jack
Maderos, Tom
Stock, Doreen
Weaver, Kathleen
Young, Gary
Box 3 Alegria, Fernando. Changing Centuries: Selected Poems of Fernando Alegria.
Alegria, Fernando. The Funhouse.
Alegria, Fernando. Tahoe
Alegria, Fernando. War Chorale
Borges, Jorge Luis. Selected poems, translations, and business.
Cernuda, Luis. Written in Water. Promotional business.
Cernuda, Luis. Written in Water. Drafts.

(4 folders)

Cernuda Luis. Desolation....Proofs.

(3 folders)

Cernuda, Luis. Desolation....Final.

(2 folders)

Box 4 Cernuda, Luis. Desolation....Drafts.

(5 folders)

Cortazar. Save Twilight. Correspondence. Aurora Bernardez and Jorgellina Corbatta.
Cortazar. Save Twilight. Neruda. Heights of Macha Picchu.
Cortazar. Save Twilight. Outtakes/drafts.
Cortazar. Save Twilight. Corrections.
Cortazar. Save Twilight. Semifinal draft.
Cortazar. Save Twilight. Master draft.
Darwish, Mahmoud. From Beirut.
Dorfman, Ariel. Putamadre.
Dorfman, Ariel. Widows.
Box 5 Herrera, Juan Felipe. Akrilica.

(8 folders)

Kirsch, Sarah. Poems. Jack Hirschman.
Neruda, Pablo. Joaquin Murieta.
Neruda, Pablo. Ode to Typography.
The Essential Neruda. Drafts and correspondence.
Queneau, Raymond. Eyewaters. Drafts.
Queneau, Raymond. Eyeseas. Business.
Stock, Doreen. Transitional Object.
Vallejo, Ceasar. Aphorisms.
Winnick, Doreen. The Man I Loved on the Island.
Box 6 Kessler, Stephen. Living Expenses.
Kessler, Stephen. Lost in the Future.
Kessler, Stephen. Nostalgia of the Fortuneteller.
Kessler, Stephen. Stress Supplement.
Kessler, Stephen. Poems. 1966-1969. 
Kessler, Stephen. Poems. 1970-1971. 
Kessler, Stephen. Early unpublished poetry collection (1972). 
Kessler, Stephen. Poems. 1972-1973. 
Kessler, Stephen. Poems. (1974-1975?) 
Kessler, Stephen. A Study in the Novels of Saul Bellow.
Miscellaneous Poems. 1960s-1970s 

(2 folders).

Box 7 Miscellaneous poems and drafts. 1980s-1990s. 
Miscellaneous drafts - mostly poems. 1990s. 
Business correspondence re: Asis (eventually After Modigliani).
Afer Modigliani. Original mss.
After Modigliani and Tell It to the Rabbis. Rough cuts and original typescripts.
Writing Business. 1990-1991. 
Writing Business. 1994-1995. 
Miscellaneous Literature Business. 1996. 
Miscellaneous Literature Business. 1997. 
Miscellaneous Literature Business. 1998. 
Box 8 Miscellaneous Literature Business. 1999. 
Miscellaneous Literature Business. 2000. 
Miscellaneous Literature Business. 2001. 
Audio recordings: readings, radio shows, interviews by and with Stephen Kessler.
Box 9 Kessler, Stephen. The Tolstoy of the Zulus. Drafts.

(5 folders)

Borges, Jorge Luis. Sonnets. Drafts.

(2 folders)

Borges, Jorge Luis. Sonnets. Final (Original).

(2 folders)

Borges, Jorge Luis. Sonnets. Page Proofs.

(2 folders)

Box 10 Nettelback, F.A. Americruiser. Draft.
Aleixandre, Vicente. Poems of Consummation. Draft.
Kessler, Stephen. Scratch Pegasus. Draft.
Kessler, Stephen. Moving Targets. Edits.

(2 folders)

Kessler, Stephen. Moving Targets. Drafts.

(3 folders)

Kessler, Stephen. Burning Daylight. Drafts.

(5 folders)

Series: Biographical
Box 11 Articles about Kessler, 1979-1986
Articles about Kessler, 1986-1996
Articles about Kessler, 1987-2008
Series: Correspondence
A3: Contributors, 1983-1984
About Books, 1976-2006
After Modigliani, 2000
Promotional Business, 2000
Alcatraz, 1979-1982

(2 folders)

Alcatraz, 1983-1984
Alcatraz 2, 1981-1984

(2 folders)

Alcatraz/An Assemblage, 1979-1982
Brickner, Richard P., 1992-2006
Coleman, Wanda, 1999-2007
Cook, Carolyn, 1998-2008
Cortazar & Offerhouse: High Peru, 1994-1997
Cortazar Business, 1995-1997

(3 folders)

Hofstadter, Marc, 1999-2008

(2 folders)

Box 12 Moore, Richard, 1993-2007

(2 folders)

NEA Business, 2002
Tell It to the Rabbis, 2000-2004

(2 folders)

The Tolstoy of the Zulus..., 2005-2006
Weisman, Steven, 1984-2006
Series: Translations
Subseries: Alegria, Fernando
Dialogue of the Americas,1983
The Goose Step, undated
War Chorale, undated
Subseries: Aleixandre, Vicente
Poems of Consummation,2012
First Complete Translation
Subseries: Borges, Jorge Luis
Poems of the Night,2009
The Sonnets,2009
Selected Poems,1999
Subseries: Cernuda, Luis
A Garden, undated
Bottle In the Sea, undated
Desolation of the Chimera,2015
Forbidden Pleasures, Annotated Typescript Draft 1, 2015
Forbidden Pleasures, Annotated Typescript Draft 2, 2015

(2 folders)

Los Placeres Prohibidos, Spanish Version, undated
Los Placeres Prohibidos, Annotated Typescript Draft

(2 folders)

Reality and Desires, Annotated Typescript Draft 1, undated

(2 folders)

Reality and Desires, Annotated Typescript Draft 2, undated

(2 folders)

Box 13 Reality and Desires, Bound Draft, 2 Sept. 2013-4 Nov. 2014
Reality and Desires, Last Edit Draft, undated

(2 folders)

Mostly Cernuda translations, 2012-2013
Subseries: Cortazar, Julio
El Examen and Save Twilight scrapbook, 1997-2000
Save Twilight: Selected Poems, drafts, 1997

(4 folders)

Save Twilight: Selected Poems, typescript draft, 1996-1997
Fuentes Film: As Old as the World, draft translation, 2010
Machu Picchu, manuscript and business file, 1999-2002
Series: Writings
Charles E. Hayes Project, Tripping, 1998-1999
Gustafson, Mark, Captain Robert Bly, Ortega y Gasset..., undated
Subseries: Kessler, Stephen
Undated
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2018
Boardwalk Odyssey, Good Times, Vol. 39, No. 17, 2013
The Bohemian, 2000
The Bohemian, 2001
Burning Daylight, annotated typescript draft 1, 2006
Burning Daylight, annotated typescript draft 2, 2006
Burning Daylight, annotated typescript draft 3, 2006
Coast Weekly, 1999
Coast Weekly, 2000
Coast Weekly, 2001
Express, 1998
Express, 1999
Express, 2000
Independent Coast Observer, 1997
Independent Coast Observer, 1998
Independent Coast Observer, 1999
Independent Coast Observer, 2000
Independent Coast Observer, 2001
Independent Coast Observer, 2002
Independent Coast Observer, 2003
Independent Coast Observer, 2004
Independent Coast Observer, 2005
Independent Coast Observer, 2006
Jack's Last Words, This Is Important, 1997
Lost In the Future, This Is Important, 1980
Box 14 The Mental Traveler, original draft, 2002

(2 folders)

The Mental Traveler, drafts, 2002

(4 folders)

Metro Santa Cruz, 1995
Metro Santa Cruz, 1997
Metro Santa Cruz, 2001
Metro Santa Cruz, 2002
Metro Santa Cruz, 2004
Metro Santa Cruz, 2007
Need I Say More? 1982-2014

(3 folders)

Need I Say More? annotated typescript draft, p. 1-353

(2 folders)

Need I Say More? annotated typescript draft 1

(3 folders)

Need I Say More? annotated typescript draft - final corrections

(2 folders)

Box 15 Need I Say More? annotated typescript draft - SK corrections
Nostalgia of the Fortuneteller, 1975
Scratch Pegasus, early version, 2010
Scratch Pegasus, typescript draft 1, 2010
Scratch Pegasus, typescript draft 2, 2010
So Long, Mr. Chips: Democracy, Elitism, and the Arts, annotated typescript draft, undated
Stress Supplement: 47 Poems, unpublished manuscript, 1980s
A Timeless Contemporary, annotated typescript draft, undated
Where was I? page proofs and printed final, 2015
Sharpio, Daniel, "Review of Poems of Consummation, American Book Review, Vol. 34, no. 5, 2013
Mendocino County Outlook, undated
Mendocino County Outlook, 2 April-16 April 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 20, 30 April-May 30 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 21, 14 May-27 May 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 26, Sept. 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 27, Oct. 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 29, Dec. 1993
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 30, Jan. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 31, Feb. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 32, Mar. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Issue 33, Apr. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, May 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, June 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, July 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Aug. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Oct. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Nov. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Dec. 1994
Mendocino County Outlook, Aug. 1996
The Nation, 2006
The New York Times Book Review, 2005
OR: A Literary Tabloid, Issue 9, 2012
OR: A Literary Tabloid, Issue 10, 2013
OR: A Literary Tabloid, Issue 11, 2013
OR: A Literary Tabloid, Issue 12, 2014
Poetry Flash, page proofs, undated
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 153, Dec. 1985
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 233, Aug. 1992
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 238, Jan. 1993
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 252, May 1994
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 259, Mar. 1995
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 271, Feb.-Mar. 1997
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 272, Jun.-Jul. 1997
Poetry Flash, page proofs, Jan.-Feb. 1998
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 286, Sept.-Oct. 2000
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 289, Jan.-Mar. 2002
Poetry Flash, page proofs, No. 291, Summer 2003
Poetry Flash, page proofs, Winter/Spring 2006
Poetry Flash, page proofs, Fall 2007/Winter 2008
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Fall 1999
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 1, No. 1, Winter 1999
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 2, No. 1, Winter 2000
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 2, No. 4, Fall 2000
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 2001
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 4, No. 1, Winter 2001
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2002
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 4, No. 3, Summer 2002
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 4, No. 4, Fall 2002
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 5, No. 1, Winter 2003
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 2003
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 5, No. 3, Summer 2003
Box 16 The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 2003
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 6, No. 1, Winter 2004
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 6, No. 2, Spring 2004
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 6, No. 3, Summer 2004
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 6, No. 4, Fall 2004
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter 2005
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 7, No. 2, Spring 2005
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 7, No. 3, Summer 2005
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 7, No. 4, Fall 2005
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 8, No. 1, Winter 2006
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 8, No. 2, Spring 2006
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 8, No. 3, Summer 2006
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 8, No. 4, Fall 2006
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 9, No. 1, Winter 2007
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 9, No. 2, Spring 2007
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 9, No. 3, Summer 2007
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 9, No. 4, Fall 2007
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 10, No. 1, Winter 2008
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring 2008
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 10, No. 3, Summer 2008
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 10, No. 4, Fall 2008
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter 2009
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 11, No. 2, Spring 2009
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 11, No. 3, Summer 2009
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 11, No. 4, Fall 2009
Box 17 The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 12, No. 1, Winter 2010
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 12, No. 2, Spring 2010
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 12, No. 3, Summer 2010
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 12, No. 4, Fall 2010
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 13, No. 1, Winter 2011
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 13, No. 2, Spring 2011
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 13, No. 3, Summer 2011
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 13, No. 4, Fall 2011
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter 2012
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring 2012
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 14, No. 3, Summer 2012
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 14, No. 4, Fall 2012
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 2013
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 15, No. 2, Spring 2013
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 15, No. 3, Summer 2013
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 15, No. 4, Fall 2013
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter 2014
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 16, No. 2, Spring 2014
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 16, No. 3, Summer 2014
The Redwood Coast Review, page proofs, Vol. 16, No. 4, Fall 2014
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Opinion, 2013
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Opinion, 2014
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Opinion, 2015
Series: Additions 2018
Subseries: Translations
Box 18 Aleixandre, Vicente, Poems of Consummation, business files
Aleixandre, Vicente, Poems of Consummation, typescript

(2 folders)

Borges, Jorge Luis, Sonnets, business files
Cernuda, Luis, Desolacion de la Quimera, business files
Cernuda, Luis, Forbidden Pleasures, corrected page proofs
Cernuda, Luis, Forbidden Pleasures, corrected page proofs (round 2)
Cernuda, Luis, Forbidden Pleasures, bound typescript
Cernuda, Luis, New Selected..., business files
Cernuda, Luis, "Poems (Ocnos)"
Cernuda, Luis, Written in Water, business files
Cortazar, Julio, Save Twilight, "new edit"
Cortazar, Julio, Save Twilight, review
Darweesh, Mahmoud, "From Beirut"
Gaspar, Lorand, The House by the Sea
Manea, Norman, "To Ernesto Sabato"
Queneau, Raymond, Les Ziaux

(2 folders)

Subseries: Writings
Specter of Freedom, business files
Specter of Freedom, typescript
After Modigliani, business files
Tell It to the Rabbis and Other Poems, outtakes; Burning Daylight, cuts
Box 19 Burning Daylight, business files
Burning Daylight, "subscribers"
Moving Targets, business files
Moving Targets, orders
Moving Targets, orders; The Tolstoy of the Zulus, letters
The Tolstoy of the Zulus, business files
The Tolstoy of the Zulus, final manuscript and page proofs
The Mental Traveler, "post-publication clips, letters, orders, etc."
The Mental Traveler, promotion/PR and post "Creative Arts"
The Mental Traveler, "Creative Arts" business
The Mental Traveler, typescript
The Mental Traveler, unrevised typescript

(2 folders)

The Mental Traveler, page proofs

(2 folders)

Scratch Pegasus, outtakes, 2006-2010
Scratch Pegasus, business files and correspondence
Box 20 Need I Say More? business files
Need I Say More? page proofs
Where Was I? semi-final/rough draft
Where Was I? responses, outtakes, and business files
Where Was I? review in "Rain Taxi"
Garage Elegies, "various drafts and proofs"
Garage Elegies, "next-to-last draft"
Garage Elegies, "ms. in progress"
Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2015
Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2016
Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2017

(2 folders)

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2018
Essays and articles, 1990-1993
Essays and articles, 1994-1996
Essays and articles, 1997-1998
Essays and articles, 1999-2000
Essays etc., 2001-2003
"Short proses (lit.)"
Miscellaneous drafts - prose (essays)
Miscellaneous essays
"Column clips/ideas"
Box 21 "Year of the Rat," poem by Kessler with print by his wife
"Essays in progress"
Assorted clippings
Articles/essays, 1989
Maps to the Stars Homes, typescript (unpublished?)
Miscellaneous literary business, 2002-2003
Miscellaneous literary business, 2004
Miscellaneous literary business, 2005
Miscellaneous literary business, 2006
Subseries: Correspondence
Alarcon, Francisco X.
Baker, Devreaux
Boffey, Peter

(2 folders)

Bukowski, Charles
Codrescu, Andrei
Coleman, Wanda, 2007-2013
Coover, Robert
Deutch, Richard
Durham, Flora
Elgrably, Jordan

(3 folders)

Express correspondence
Foster, Sesshu

(Folder 1)

Box 22 Foster, Sesshu

(Folders 2-3)

Fruchter, Barry
Fruchter, Barry, 2009-2013
Fruchter, Barry, 2014-2015
Harms, Norman

(6 folders)

Holcomb, Robin
Kadetsky, Elizabeth

(4 folders)

Moore, Richard O., 2008-2015
Matthews, Joseph

(Folder 1)

Box 23 Matthews, Joseph

(Folders 2-5)

Power, Kevin
Randall, Margaret
Redwood Coast Review, "Antler" letters/poems
Redwood Coast Review, R. O. Moore
Redwood Coast Review, editorial correspondence, 1999-2004
Redwood Coast Review, editorial correspondence, 2005-2012
Redwood Coast Review, letters, 2013-2014
Redwood Coast Review, writers correspondence
Stamaty, Mark Alan
Stock, Doreen, 2000
Sumrall, Amber

(3 folders)

Tipton, Carolyn, 2002-2007
Tipton, Carolyn, 2007-2015

(Folder 1)

Box 24 Tipton, Carolyn, 2007-2015

(Folders 2-3)

Wagner, Venise
Wills, Rich, "Kuumbwa Jazz Center Origins"
Young, Gary, 2000
Subseries: Walter Martin Files
Writings and correspondence, 2009-2012
Writings and correspondence, 2012-
Writings and correspondence, 2012-2013
Writings and correspondence, 2014-2015
Writings and correspondence, 2015-

(2 folders)

Writings and correspondence, 2016

(3 folders)

The Dust Behind the Door, typescript
"Miscellaneous classical knockoffs"
Accessibility Help