Finding Aid for the John Conley Papers, 1934-1993
Processed by Victoria Steele; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2001
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
Finding Aid for the John Conley Papers, 1934-1993
Collection number: 569
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Los Angeles, CA
Contact Information
- Manuscripts Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
- URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
- Processed by:
- Victoria Steele, 4 October 2001
- Encoded by:
- Caroline Cubé
- Online finding aid edited by:
- Amy Shung-Gee Wong, November 2001
© 2001 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: John Conley Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1934-1993
Collection number: 569
Creator:
Conley, John, 1912 Jan. 2-
Extent:
1 oversize box
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Abstract: John Conley was a scholar, educator, short story writer, poet, and translator. He was a student of Yvor Winters and remained
a lifelong friend of Winters and his wife, Janet Lewis. As a student at Stanford, he met and became the lifelong friend of
J.V. Cunningham. In addition to carrying on a correspondence, Cunningham sent him many manuscripts (some 84 of them) of his
poems and verse translations that are included among the papers. Additionally, at Stanford and also at Berkeley, Conley became
acquainted with the scholar, poet, and novelist, Howard Baker (a large number of whose manuscripts are among the papers) and
the poet, Lincoln Fitzell (a fair number of whose manuscripts, most of them signed, are also among the papers). Conley published
fiction in a journal edited by Alan Swallow, two of whose letters are present.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John Conley Papers (Collection 569). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
John A. Conley was born January 2, 1912 and died November 4, 1999. Originally from Montana, he was educated at Berkeley (B.A.
English, 1934) and Stanford (Ph.D. English, 1956). He taught at Stanford, Ohio State University, John Carroll University,
Brandeis University, Queens College (New York City), University of California, Riverside, and University of Illinois at Chicago
(where he was named professor emeritus in 1977). His specialties were Old English, Middle English, and Middle Scots. He was
the author of
The Middle English Pearl: Critical Essays (University of Notre Dame Press, 1970) and he co-authored
The Mirror of Everyman's Salvation: A Prose Translation of the Original Everyman (Rodopi, 1985).
Scope and Content
John Conley was a scholar, educator, short story writer, poet, and translator. He was a student of Yvor Winters at Stanford
and remained a lifelong friend of him and his wife, Janet Lewis. While at Stanford he met and became lifelong friends with
J.V. Cunningham. In addition to carrying on a correspondence, Cunningham sent him many manuscripts (some 84 of them) of his
poems and verse translations that are included among the papers. Additionally, at Stanford and also at Berkeley, Conley became
acquainted with the scholar, poet, and novelist, Howard Baker (a large number of whose manuscripts are among the papers) and
the poet, Lincoln Fitzell (a fair number of whose manuscripts, most of them signed, are also among the papers). Conley published
fiction in a journal edited by Alan Swallow, two of whose letters are present.
Portions of this collection are in German.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- J.V. Cunningham letters to John Conley (1939-1959).
- J.V. Cunningham letters to John Conley (1960-1984).
- J.V. Cunningham poetry manuscripts.
- J.V. Cunningham essays and miscellaneous.
- J.V. Cunningham miscellaneous.
- Letters to John Conley.
- Yvor Winters on
The Gyroscope.
- Lincoln Fitzell poetry.
- Howard Baker poetry.
- Howard Baker prose.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Conley, John, 1912 Jan. 2- --Archives.
Baker, Howard, 1905- .
Cunningham, J.V. (James Vincent), 1911- .
Fitzell, Lincoln, 1903- .
Lewis, Janet, 1899- .
Winters, Yvor, 1900-1968.
Scholars--United States--Archival resources.
Scholars--United States--Correspondence.
Poets--United States--Archival resources.
Poets--United States--Correspondence.
English language--Middle English--Study and teaching--Archival resources.
J.V. Cunningham letters to John Conley (1939-1959)
Box 1, Folder 1
1. November 14, 1939.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
2. n.d. [1940s].
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
3. October 13, 1942.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Scope and Content Note
2nd sheet with 2 handwritten, signed poems:
- a. In this child's game where you grow warm and warmer...
- b. This was my goal. In this despair I find...
Box 1, Folder 1
4. January 9, 1946.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Scope and Content Note
Appended handwritten, signed poem:
- Dear, my familiar hand in love's own gesture...
Box 1, Folder 1
5. July 29, 1946.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p. with handwritten note at end.
Box 1, Folder 1
6. May 18, 1947.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p. with handwritten note at end.
Box 1, Folder 1
7. October 22, 1947.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 1
8. December 6, 1947.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
9. June 21, 1948.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
10. August 26, 1948.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
11. November 16, 1953.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
12. January 14, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Scope and Content Note
With 2 handwritten notes at end.
Box 1, Folder 1
13. February 11, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
14. February 11, 1959.
Physical Description: Carbon-1.
Scope and Content Note
Letter from J.V. Cunningham to Dean Roche, recommending John Conley's appointment to a one year visiting professorship at
Brandeis. J.V. Cunningham adds a handwritten sentence, signed, to John Conley.
Box 1, Folder 1
15. [Conley to J.V. Cunningham]. April 14, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
16. April 15, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
17. April 25, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Scope and Content Note
This letter is followed by 2 typed pages of directions to Brandeis and vicinity.
Box 1, Folder 1
18. May 7, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 1
19. June 27, 1959.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 1
20. August 5, 1959.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 2pp.
J.V. Cunningham letters to John Conley (1960-1984)
Box 1, Folder 2
1. April 16, 1960.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
2. May 18, 1960.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
3. September 13, 1966 [postmark].
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p. with envelope.
Scope and Content Note
2 handwritten, signed poems at end:
- a. Prue loved her man: to clean, to mend,...
- b. Illusion and delusion are that real...
Box 1, Folder 2
4. September 21, 1964.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
5. March 27, 1967.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p. with envelope.
Scope and Content Note
The letter verso has 4 handwritten, signed poems:
- a. Old love is old resentment, novelty...
- b.
Toward Tucson.
- c.
Watching Television.
- d. Prue loved her man: to clean, to mend...
Box 1, Folder 2
6. December 11, 1967.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p. with envelope.
Box 1, Folder 2
7. December 19, 1967.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
8. June 21, 1970.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 2
9. January 21, 1970.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 2
10. September 21, 1970.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
11. August 6, 1972.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
12. September 4, 1972.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 2
13. February 23, 1980.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 2
14. April 17, 1984.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 2
15. June 30, 1984.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp. with envelope.
Box 1, Folder 2
16. August 24, 1984.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 2pp. with envelope.
Box 1, Folder 2
17. October 5, 1984.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p. with envelope.
J.V. Cunningham Poetry Manuscripts
Note
Note: There are an additional 9 poetry manuscripts among the letters.
Box 1, Folder 3
1. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Retreating Friendship (Our testament has read).
- b.
Inscription with a Wedding Gift (My dear, not in possession).
- c.
Hymn for the Sixth Hour (From the unshriven sun we heard).
Box 1, Folder 3
2. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Saint Agnes Eve (Swaying by cities through the grass,).
- b.
The County Fair (Carnival time is tumbling cars).
Box 1, Folder 3
3. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Foreword: To the Reader (Like Greek, a language of the dead).
- b.
Sonnet in the Still Night (The brittle streets with midnight walking flung).
- c.
Meeting and Passing (Meeting and passing, we).
- d.
Imitated from Callimachus (One told me you were dead and i, walking).
Box 1, Folder 3
4. Carbon, dated.
Scope and Content Note
With a new final line handwritten by J.V. Cunningham:
With a Commencement Gift (A small lifetime spent).
Box 1, Folder 3
5. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Come to me sweet, come soon.
Box 1, Folder 3
6. Typescript (perhaps typed by John Conley):
Scope and Content Note
Ditty for the Dense (I could have loved them all;).
Box 1, Folder 3
7. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Bookplate (Read me, ere age).
Box 1, Folder 3
8. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Song (I know not whence she came).
Box 1, Folder 3
9. Handwritten, signed:
Scope and Content Note
To a Lady Who Desired Me to Write Her Some Poems (To meet, to love, to part!).
Box 1, Folder 3
10. Handwritten, signed:
Scope and Content Note
In the Doyle's Garden (Briefly: I have some hours to pass).
Box 1, Folder 3
11. Handwritten, 5 of the 6 poems signed:
Scope and Content Note
- a. Love was my word...
- b. Plato, despair!
- c.
Dead Reckoner (By watch and compass fly!).
- d. My friends who felt that time's the cure...
- e. If I take trouble to explain...
- f. None knows her name (with long headnote).
Box 1, Folder 3
12. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a. O Schwester nimm den drug aus grauen thon (Stefan George).
- b. Dear sister, take the pitcher of gray clay (J.V. Cunningham translated).
Box 1, Folder 3
13. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
- a. Der hugel wo wir wandeln liegt im schatten (Stefan George).
- b. The mountain where we wander lies in shadow (J.V. Cunningham translated).
Box 1, Folder 3
14. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
- a. Am grauen Strand, am grauen Meer, (Theodor Storm).
- b. By the grey shore, by the grey sea (J.V. Cunningham translated).
Box 1, Folder 3
15. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Wir schreiten suf und ab im reichen flitter (Stefan George).
Box 1, Folder 3
16. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
We wandered carelessly in the bright tinsel (J.V. Cunningham translated; see #15 above).
Box 1, Folder 3
17. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
- a. Fruh, wann die Hahne krahn (Eduard Morike).
- b. Early, at cock-crow, (J.V. Cunningham translated).
Box 1, Folder 3
18. Typescript, dated and signed:
Scope and Content Note
Dear Jack, you say advancement in this world...
Box 1, Folder 3
19. Handwritten, signed [on verso of final exam dated August 22, 1942]:
Scope and Content Note
My life from seventeen to thirty-one.
Box 1, Folder 3
20. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Headpiece for Duns Scotus (Comparison of part to whole).
Box 1, Folder 3
21. Carbon, dated and signed by hand:
Scope and Content Note
Letter to Don Stanford (Let each keep what he hath,).
Box 1, Folder 3
22. Carbon, corrected and signed by hand:
Scope and Content Note
The Beacon (Men give their heart away;).
Box 1, Folder 3
23. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Letter to Don Stanford (Crane was ever at sea;).
Box 1, Folder 3
24. Carbon, dated and signed by hand:
Scope and Content Note
Lector Aere Perennior (Poets survive in fame.).
Box 1, Folder 3
25. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Allegiance is assigned.
Box 1, Folder 3
26. Carbon, dated and signed by hand:
Scope and Content Note
Song (I know not whence she came).
Box 1, Folder 3
27. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Poems Number Nine (Wisdom is distance from the mind bereaved,).
Box 1, Folder 3
28. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
For Amaryllis (I learnt thee vein by vein and thought by thought).
Box 1, Folder 3
29. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
The Chase (The wind swelling the eyes with tears).
Box 1, Folder 3
30. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Among my silent books alone I'll stay.
Box 1, Folder 3
31. Typescript:
Creator/Collector:
Landorian (Were you not dearer than my eyes,).
Box 1, Folder 3
32. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
A Letter (A letter is the heart's good will in brief.).
Box 1, Folder 3
33. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Invitation to Dinner (A precious duck, so nice to eat).
- b.
Dedication to my Friends (Models for envy, I am glad).
Box 1, Folder 3
34. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Memento Mori (Swathed in the wasting shades of fog and night,).
- b.
With Stevens Harmonium (Receive a gift which more rewards myself [6 lines only]).
Box 1, Folder 3
35. Typescript, 1 handwritten line (not J.V. Cunningham) added:
Scope and Content Note
The Dogmatic Sestina (Misfortune finds him calm amid the ruins;).
Box 1, Folder 3
36. Carbon, signed:
Scope and Content Note
Few Men Write Poems to Their Wives (My naked rhymes no more recite).
Box 1, Folder 3
37. Handwritten, signed:
Scope and Content Note
High in the acacia sang...
Box 1, Folder 3
38. Handwritten, signed:
Scope and Content Note
Morning receives the room. The air is gay...
Box 1, Folder 3
39. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Xmas Card for Yvor Winters (Over the social wine,).
Box 1, Folder 3
40. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Sonnet (My shadow fleshens in the window glass,).
Box 1, Folder 3
41. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Sonnets
- a. If I might credit you with coyness, love,...
- b. My dear, if you could see them walk to death...
Box 1, Folder 3
42. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
The Rape of a Lock (Dear child, we cut your hair).
- b.
Hic Iacet Cicada (Fifteen nights I have lain awake and called thee).
Box 1, Folder 3
43. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Dedication (You, Friend or Foe, politely unaware).
Box 1, Folder 3
44. Carbon, torn in half, roughly (see note):
Scope and Content Note
Give way what goddesses were seen
Note
Note: J.V. Cunningham handwritten note at top of page:
It is quite possible that you will dislike both of these poems; the subject-matter is certainly difficult to render with dignity
in English. Stanza one below, cf. Prop. II.x.13-14.
[Presumably, John Conley has torn off and discarded the second poem, although I can't imagine why.].
Box 1, Folder 3
45. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Valedictory (Your birth and childhood were well written of).
Box 1, Folder 3
46. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Meditation (That my guardian angel might walk before).
Box 1, Folder 3
47. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
When I awoke with cold...
Box 1, Folder 3
48. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Distinctions at Dusk (Closed in a final rain).
- b.
Bookkeeper of the Classics (Washing the brow when whistles blow).
Box 1, Folder 3
49. Typescript (tanned), signed and with a handwritten note:
Scope and Content Note
Most beautiful, most dear!
Box 1, Folder 3
50. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
From many years of lectures heard,...
Box 1, Folder 3
51. Typescript (probably typed by John Conley in an age before photocopy machines; poems from
Hound & Horn):
Scope and Content Note
- a.
Velox Amoenum (The morning changes in the sun).
- b.
The Wandering Scholar's Prayer to St. Catherine of Egypt (Past ruined cities down the grass,).
Box 1, Folder 3
52. Typescript, signed:
Scope and Content Note
The Helmsman: An Ode (The voyage of the soul is simply).
Box 1, Folder 3
53. Typescript:
Scope and Content Note
Sir William Temple (I'll turn Sir William Temple's fine,).
Box 1, Folder 3
54. Typescript, dated December 7, 1962:
Scope and Content Note
Who am I? I have pondered with my peers,...
Box 1, Folder 3
55. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
An Oedipean mom and dad.
Box 1, Folder 3
56. Carbon:
Scope and Content Note
Of all the gods that were.
Box 1, Folder 3
57. Typescript, dated and with handwritten title:
Scope and Content Note
For a Woman with Child (We are ourselves but carriers. Life).
Box 1, Folder 3
58. Carbon, with 2 handwritten corrections:
Scope and Content Note
Monday Morning (The flattery has been infrequent).
J.V. Cunningham Essays and Miscellaneous
Box 1, Folder 4
1.
Hamlet III iii 7: An Emendation.
Physical Description: Carbon-2.
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten corrections and note from J.V. Cunningham (top of first page).
Box 1, Folder 4
2.
Reason Panders Will.
Physical Description: Carbon, 4pp.
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten signed note from J.V. Cunningham (top of first page).
Box 1, Folder 4
3.
Introduction.
Physical Description: Typescript, 6pp.
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten signed note from J.V. Cunningham (top of first page).
Box 1, Folder 4
4.
Manuscript [Several Kinds of Shorter Poems].
Physical Description: Signed and dated. Carbon, 16pp.
Scope and Content Note
This appears to be a carbon of the original talk eventually broadcast over the Voice of America (September 21 & 24, 1964)
and published in
Poets on Poetry, edited by Howard Nemerov, Basic Books, 1966. J.V. Cunningham's handwritten additions support this statement. On page 1,
there are the following: For VOA; signature; 4 copies; Please return. On page 16, J.V. Cunningham dates the work: Sudbury,
Mass. / Jan. 1964.
Box 1, Folder 4
5.
Several Kinds of Shorter Poems.
Physical Description: Signed. Carbon, 13pp.
Scope and Content Note
- This manuscript makes an interesting complement to item #4 above. The original title here (Voice of America / Central Program
Services Division / Forum Branch) has been crossed out and the proper title handwritten by J.V. Cunningham. Also in J.V. Cunningham's
hand on page 1 are broadcast information and his presentation inscription. At the top of page 2, in J.V. Cunningham's hand,
is the following: Sent to Nemerov 1/13/64 For VOA.
- Despite the relative similarity of length (13pp. to 16pp.), #5 is considerably shorter than item #4. Where #4 omits the texts
of poems to be read, merely noting the poem by number, #5 supplies full texts of the poems and also gives a page to footnotes
not present in #4. (Note: J.V. Cunningham has crossed out most of the footnotes and added another by hand.) In brief, the
earlier version of the essay contains a good deal more of J.V. Cunningham's prose.
Box 1, Folder 4
6.
Edwin Arlington Robinson: A Brief Biography.
Physical Description: Carbon, 9pp. & photocopy, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 4
7. Review of
Shakespeare Survey in Shakespeare Quarterly (Autumn 1963).
Physical Description: pp.471-473.
Scope and Content Note
Off-print with J.V. Cunningham's presentation inscription.
J.V. Cunningham Miscellaneous
Box 1, Folder 5
1. Henry Fellowship Application Form, 1933-34.
Scope and Content Note
- John Conley only preserved 2 pages, comprising sections 11 & 12, of the form. These would have interested him, however. The
first page, section 11, is a list of J.V. Cunningham's publications; the second page, section 12, contains biographical information.
- Section 11 is a carbon. Section 12 is an original typescript, to which J.V. Cunningham has added by hand 4 lines of additional
information. John Conley has added in his hand additional biographical information.
Box 1, Folder 5
2. Academic Biography of J.V. Cunningham (n.d.).
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p. & carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 5
3. Stanford papers.
Scope and Content Note
12pp. of assorted papers (carbon, typescript, ditto, mimeo) relating to J.V. Cunningham's tenure at Stanford: a reading list
for a class he taught, an exam, etc. There are also a number of pages (mostly carbons) of poems by other writers (e.g., Baudelaire,
Elizabeth Daryush, Barbara Gibbs [his first wife], et al.).
Box 1, Folder 5
4. Instructor-Poet Tells of Youth, Philosophy. Photocopy, 1p. (2 copies).
Scope and Content Note
Brief article on J.V. Cunningham from
The Stanford Daily (January 11, 1939).
Box 1, Folder 5
5.
Chicago Sun Book Week (July 20, 1947).
Scope and Content Note
On p. 6, J.V. Cunningham is discussed briefly by Henry Rago in Distinguished Figures at the University of Chicago and contributes
his own brief article, California Poets Are Examined by An Unblinking Eye (Gullans cites this work in his bibliography but
notes that he has not seen a copy, nor did J.V. Cunningham have one himself).
Box 1, Folder 5
6. Letter from John Conley to J.V. Cunningham, September 22, 1984.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 5
7. Memorial Service for J. V. Cunningham: Program.
Physical Description: In an envelope with autographed letter signed, 4pp., from Jessie Cunningham, J.V. Cunningham's widow.
Box 1, Folder 6
1. Janet Lewis to John Conley, May 30, 1960.
Physical Description: Autographed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 6
2. John Conley to Janet Lewis, October 27, 1993.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 6
3. John Conley to Janet Lewis, November 3, 1993.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 6
4. Alan Swallow to John Conley, August 24, 1946.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 6
5. Alan Swallow to John Conley, April 17, 1956.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 6
6. Allen Tate to John Conley, March 2, 1960.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Winters on
The Gyroscope.
Note
Note on items #4 and #5 below: Because he made a serious effort to destroy his own correspondence and burned all incoming
correspondence as well as his own manuscripts once the work appeared in print, original manuscripts of Winters's critical
prose are very rare. In the Winters bibliography generally, The Gyroscope and materials associated with it are among the least seen items.
Box 1, Folder 7
1.
Socrates [poem].
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 7
2. Yvor Winters to John Conley, February 9, 1947.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 7
3. Yvor Winters to John and Erma Conley, November 20, 1960.
Physical Description: Typed letter signed, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 7
4.
The Gyroscope.
Physical Description: Typescript, 2pp.
Scope and Content Note
Winters's announcement and statement of principles for his little magazine,
The Gyroscope. This is a complete work. However, following it, there are two lines of Further Explanation (for which, see next item).
Box 1, Folder 7
5.
Further Explanation.
Physical Description: Typescript, 4pp.
Scope and Content Note
Although a separate essay, it is a continuation of item #4 above.
Box 1, Folder 8
1.
On the Mountain (One last, gaunt effort and we surge).
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Scope and Content Note
This is inscribed to John Conley, signed and dated (June 27, 1934) by Fitzell.
Box 1, Folder 8
2.
On the Mountain (The peak above, in giant hush).
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
3.
Contemporary.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
4.
Morning Passional.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
5.
Rich Gulch.
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
6.
Two and A Spade.
Physical Description: Signed typescript (a few small tears), 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
7.
Exile.
Physical Description: Signed typescript (with handwritten correction), 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
8.
A Village Dial.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
9.
Family Tomb.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 3pp.
Box 1, Folder 8
10.
Museum Piece.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
11.
Knoll Oak.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
12.
Antique Carol.
Physical Description: Signed typescript (with 1 handwritten addition), 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
13.
Galaxy.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 3pp.
Box 1, Folder 8
14.
The Road to San Joaquin.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
15.
Combat.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
16.
Epilogue.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
17.
Statue and Ruins.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
18.
Hymn to Labor.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 8
19.
Ancestors House.
Physical Description: Signed typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
1.
A Letter from the Country.
Physical Description: Typescript, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 9
2.
To Dr. Johnson.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
3.
Destiny: An Ode.
Physical Description: Carbon, 3pp.
Box 1, Folder 9
4.
The Passing Generation.
Physical Description: Carbon, 2pp.
Box 1, Folder 9
5.
Ode on the Sea.
Physical Description: Carbon (but with numerous handwritten corrections), 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
6.
Two Sonnets on Idealistic Beauty: I. La Beaute II. A Sonnet for Charles Baudelaire.
Physical Description: Carbon (with handwritten corrections), 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
7.
If Accident Should Strike Me Down.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
8.
Psyche.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
9.
Salvage.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
10.
Air Manoeuvres.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
11.
Theme.
Physical Description: Ditto, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
12.
Birth Certificate [and]
Cluny.
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
13.
For Certain Literary Mystics [&]
Sonnet (So he was first to love you, first to hold).
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
14.
The Quiet Folk [&]
Poem (The room is dead. Oh, the seeping).
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
15. Two Poems:
Pont Neuf [&]
Pages for a History.
Physical Description: Typescript, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
16.
Patria.
Physical Description: Carbon, 1p.
Box 1, Folder 9
17.
Poems by Howard Baker.
Physical Description: Typescript, 12pp.
Scope and Content Note
It is not possible to tell who put this together (some of the sheets are clipped together), whether Baker himself or someone
else. Curiously, it closes with 2 poems by Yvor Winters: The Still Small Voice and For a Young Writer. Whatever the facts
behind this manuscript, it contains 11 Baker poems in the following order:
- a.
Prelude
- b.
Doves
- c.
March
- d.
Sun
- e.
To a Woman Before Her Mirror
- f.
Old Man
- g.
Morning Song
- h.
On Hearing a Symphony by Cesar Franck
- i.
Cluny
- j.
Almanac
- k.
Sonnet (When I think that sometime I'll look on you).
Box 1, Folder 10
1.
Thesis: The primary intention to present the American scene in fiction is artistically and morally invalid.
Physical Description: Carbon, 8pp.
Scope and Content Note
The pages are clipped together, but it doesn't seem to be the complete work. It may have had a title page to make its intended
audience more clear, and it seems to break off before concluding.
Box 1, Folder 10
2.
Belief and Dogma.
Physical Description: Carbon, 15pp.