Descriptive Summary
Scope and Content of Collection
Biography
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Restrictions
Related Materials
Unprocessed Additions
Descriptive Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Kenward Elmslie Papers
Creator:
Elmslie, Kenward
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0521
Physical Description:
81.2 Linear feet
(127 archives boxes, 18 records cartons, 10 card file boxes, 10 flat boxes, and 2 map case folders)
Physical Description:
1.09 GB
of digital files
Date (inclusive): 1901-2011
Abstract: Papers of Kenward Elmslie, a writer, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School. Elmslie's lyrics
and libretti for operas and musicals,
Miss Julie (1965),
Lizzie Borden (1966),
The Sweet Bye and Bye (1966),
The Grass Harp (1972), and
The Seagull (1974), brought a contemporary style to the language of musical theatre. The collection documents his literary career and
personal life, with the bulk of the material spanning the period from 1965-2000.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of Kenward Elmslie, a writer, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School. The collection documents
Elmslie's personal life and career from the 1930s through the 2000s and includes correspondence, personal and working journals
and notebooks, drafts, revisions, original submissions, and edited galleys for most of his published writings, and much unpublished
material. Correspondence is a large and significant part of the collection, and includes letters exchanged with composers
Jack Beeson, John Latouche, Claibe Richardson, Thomas Pasatieri and Ned Rorem, and graphic artists Joe Brainard, Donna Dennis
and Kenneth Tisa. The production files of Z Magazine and Z Press contain correspondence and manuscripts of writers and artists
including John Ashbery, Jean Boulte, Joe Brainard, Ian Hamilton, Steve Gianakos, Joanne Kyger, Harry Matthews, Ron Padgett,
James Schuyler, Anne Waldman, and Marjorie Welish. There are a substantial number of photographs including formal portraits
and snapshots depicting Elmslie, his friends and colleagues, his travels and interests, as well as albums containing photographs
of members of the Pulitzer and Elmslie families in the early decades of the twentieth century. Also represented are pre-publication
drafts by other poets and writers and manuscripts and miscellaneous materials by Joe Brainard and John Latouche.
Accession Processed in 2005
Arranged in ten series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) PERFORMANCE/THEATRE WORKS, 3) WRITINGS, 4) PHOTOGRAPHS, 5) BIOGRAPHICAL, 6)
Z PRESS PRODUCTION FILES, 7) JOE BRAINARD MATERIAL, 8) JOHN LATOUCHE MATERIAL, 9) WRITINGS OF OTHERS, and 10) MISCELLANEOUS.
Accessions Processed in 2019-2020
Arranged in eight series: 11) BIOGRAPHICAL, 12) CORRESPONDENCE, 13) WRITINGS, 14) JOE BRAINARD MATERIAL, 15) WORK BY OTHERS,
16) MISCELLANEOUS, and 17-18) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS.
Biography
Kenward Gray Elmslie was born in New York City on April 27, 1929, to William Gray Elmslie, a British businessperson, and
Constance Pulitzer, daughter of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer. His early childhood was spent in Colorado Springs, Colorado,
and he attended preparatory schools in Virginia, Ohio and Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1950 with a B.A. in
literature and began his writing career as a lyricist and librettist, writing witty and melodic songs in collaboration with
several composers.
His published work for the musical theatre includes
The Sweet Bye and Bye (1966) and
Lizzie Borden (1966), music by Jack Beeson;
Miss Julie (1965), music by Ned Rorem, and three works with composer Thomas Pasatieri,
The Seagull (1974),
Washington Square (1976), and
Three Sisters (1986). Elmslie also wrote both the book and lyrics for a musical,
The Grass Harp (1972) based on Truman Capote's 1951 novel. In 1993, Elmslie wrote and subsequently performed
Postcards on Parade his one-man conceptual musical play incorporating Elmslie's collage works with performance art and his love of postcards.
In 1954 Elmslie began to publish stories, short plays and verse in little magazines and gather them into collections including:
Pavilions (1961),
Power Plant Poems (1967),
The Champ,
Album (1969),
Circus Nerves (1971),
Motor Disturbance (1971),
Orchid Stories (1973),
Tropicalism (1975),
Topiary Trek (1977),
Moving Right Along (1980),
Sung Sex (1990),
Champ Dust (1994),
Bare Bones (1995), and
Routine Disruptions: Selected Poems & Lyrics (1998).
Alice Notley in her review of
Routine Disruptions for
Jacket Magazine wrote, "Elmslie has never done what he was supposed to, and after the nearly forty years this book represents, his poetry
can be seen to be unique. You do keep reading the poems, not because they're part of an ongoing discussion as to What Poetry
Should Be Right Now, but because they continue to be unpredictable and unlike (other poetry) and lifelike (weird, patterned,
tender.)"
In addition to his theatrical partnerships, Elmslie also collaborated with several artists over the course of his career including
projects with his partner, Joe Brainard such as
The Baby Book (1965),
The 1967 Gamebook Calendar (1967),
The Champ (1968),
Shiny Ride (1972),
1984 Comics (1983),
Sung Sex (1989), and
Pay Dirt (1992); with Donna Dennis on
26 Bars; with Ken Tisa on
Bimbo Dirt (1982) and
Palais Bimbo Snapshots (1982), with Trevor Winkfield on
Cyberspace (2000), among others.
In 1973 Elmslie became the editor of Z Press which annually published the eponymous
Z Magazine - included titles Z (1973), ZZ (1974), ZZZ (1974), ZZZZ (1974), ZZZZZ (1976), and ZZZZZZ (1977). Z Press also published literary
works by Elmslie as well as John Ashbery, Bill Berkson, Jean Boulte, Joe Brainard, Ian Finlay, Steve Gianakos, Joanne Kyger,
Harry Matthews, Ron Padgett, James Schuyler, Anne Waldman and Marjorie Walsh, among others.
Elmslie became a member American Guild of Authors and Composers, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
(ASCAP) and the Dramatists' Guild. His
Power Plant Sestina (1967) received an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and
Motor Disturbance (1971) received the Frank O'Hara Award. John Ashbery commenting about Elmslie's life said, "Kenward Elmslie has led an extraordinarily
diverse and rich writing career. Master showman, poet, novelist, librettist and 'performance artist,' Elmslie is one of the
unforgettable writers of our time."
For a chronology of Elmslie's life, bibliographic information for his work and an extensive interview, see William C. Bamberger,
Kenward Elmslie: A Bibliographical Profile. Bamberger Books, 1993.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Preferred Citation
Kenward Elmslie Papers, MSS 521. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2000, 2019-2021.
Restrictions
Boxes 92-94 contain delicate originals that have been preservation photocopied. Permission is required from the director of
Special Collections & Archives to access these boxes. Original media formats in series 17) and 18) are restricted. Viewing/Listening
copies may be available for researchers.
Related Materials
Joe Brainard Letters. MSS 703. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Joe Brainard Archive. MSS 5. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Unprocessed Additions
This collection has additional unprocessed materials not described in this finding aid. See the UC San Diego Library
catalog record to view the acquisition dates and extent of unprocessed additions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century
Z Press -- Archives
Gizzi, Peter -- Correspondence
Fraser, Kathleen, 1935- -- Correspondence
Koch, Kenneth, 1925-2002 -- Correspondence
Di Prima, Diane -- Correspondence
Messerli, Douglas, 1947- -- Correspondence
Elmslie, Kenward -- Archives
Mayer, Bernadette -- Correspondence
Ashbery, John, 1927-2017 -- Correspondence
Lauterbach, Ann, 1942- -- Correspondence
Berkson, Bill -- Correspondence
Kyger, Joanne -- Correspondence
Berrigan, Ted -- Correspondence
Brainard, Joe, 1942-1994 -- Correspondence
Waldman, Anne, 1945- -- Correspondence
Chernoff, Maxine, 1952- -- Correspondence
Schuyler, James -- Correspondence
Porter, Fairfield -- Correspondence
Clark, Tom, 1941- -- Correspondence
Padgett, Ron, 1942- -- Correspondence
Corbett, William, 1942- -- Correspondence
Latouche, John, 1914-1956 -- Archives