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Shiffert, (Edith M.) papers
MS.186
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Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Edith M. Shiffert papers
Creator:
Shiffert, Edith Marcombe
Creator:
Maloney, Dennis
Identifier/Call Number: MS.186
Physical Description:
20.75 Linear Feet
35 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1916-2002
Abstract: Contains biographical material,
diaries, correspondence, manuscripts and typescripts of published and unpublished poetry,
prose, and translations, notebooks, books and other printed material, photographs, art work,
and video recordings documenting Edith Shiffert's life and literary activity in United
States and Japan.
Physical Location: Collection stored, in part, off-site at
NRLF: Advance notice is required for access.
Language of Material:
English
Collection open for research. MAY CONTAIN RESTRICTED MATERIALS. Additions to this
collection have not been processed but are open for research. Special Collections staff must
review this material prior to access. Please contact Special Collections and Archives in
advance to request access.
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Edith M. Shiffert papers. MS 186. Special Collections and Archives, University Library,
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Gift of Dennis Maloney, 1998.
Additional material donated by Edith Shiffert, 2002-2004.
Additional material donated by Edith Shiffert, 2002-2004.
The Time of Our Lives
The circuses we get
Are our own lives.
The fight for survival is
Our own tyranny and
Our own entertainment.
Edith M. Shiffert
The circuses we get
Are our own lives.
The fight for survival is
Our own tyranny and
Our own entertainment.
Edith M. Shiffert
These lines spring from Edith Marion Marcombe Shiffert, Canadian born poet and translator
of Japanese haiku masters. Her books are inspired by the natural and human worlds, and the
aesthetic, philosophical and literary traditions of Japan. Many call her a religious poet,
but she rejects such labels by stating; "I have no religion. It's a religious feeling that
holds me, watching the birds or the sunshine moving on leaves. To me that's religion..."
She was born in Toronto, Canada, in January 19, 1916 to John Benjamin Marcombe and Annie M.
Drew. The family immigrated to United States when Edith was only three. Growing up in
Rochester, New York and Detroit, Michigan, she frequently attended concerts, art museums and
libraries with her father. These activities sparked her interest in Greek philosophy,
Shakespeare, as well as Buddhism and Japanese culture. She was very responsive to poetry
from early on, and as a teen began to write poems about music and imagined landscapes.
In 1936 her family moved to Redondo Beach, California, where she worked as a secretary to
Dr. Hans Nordevin von Koerber, the head of Asian Studies Department at the University of
Southern California. Encouraged by the von Kroebers, she spent many hours in Dr. von
Koerber's study reading translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry.
During these years, Shiffert also gave regular readings of her poetry on local radio
stations, and saw her first poems published in various newspapers and journals. In her early
twenties she became known as the "young poet" in local writing circles.
In 1938, at the age of twenty three, Edith traveled to Hawaii, a visit which lasted until
1945. In 1940 she married Steven Ricardo Shiffert, whom she had met in a writers' group in
California, and became a U.S. citizen. Throughout the war years she frequently assisted her
husband in surveying the local mountains for the United States government. Together they
explored the island, its volcanoes and natural life. Later on some of these experiences were
included in a published set of poems,
For a Return to Kona: Island Poems
(1964). While enjoying the simple life and natural beauty of the area, she furthered her
studies in Chinese and Japanese culture by attending lectures and performing arts events at
the University of Hawaii, the Art Academy, and libraries.
Back on the main land the couple first lived for short periods in Alaska (1947-1949) and
San Diego, California (1954-1956), before finally settling in North Bend, Washington, where
they built a two story log cabin on twenty five acres of wilderness at the base of Mt. Si.
Already in her forties, Edith attended the University of Washington, Seattle from 1956 to
1962, specializing in Anthropology, Far Eastern Studies and Creative Writing. Her teachers
included Theodore Roethke, Louise Bogan, and Leonie Adams. While at school she published her
first collection of poetry. In addition she was active in Seattle with the magazine
Poetry Northwest and gave regular poetry readings at the city library,
University, public radio stations, and on TV. Her first book,
In Open Woods
(1961) is based on her hiking and backpacking experiences in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Cascade
Mountains.
Since 1963 she has lived in Kyoto, Japan. She was initially invited to teach English at
Dashisha University. After five years of residence, she accepted a position at Kyoto Seika
University as a professor of English where she taught until her retirement in 1983. She
divorced Steven Shiffert in 1970, and married Minoru Sawano in 1981.
In Kyoto she has steadily published poetry and collaborated in multiple translations. Her
first collection of poetry written abroad was
The Kyoto Years (1971), which
contains poems influenced by Buddhism and her studies of Japanese literature. The same year
she teamed up with Yuki Sawa to publish
Anthology of Modern Japanese Poetry
(1971) and
Haiku Master Buson(1978), which was the first book in English to
feature writings of Buson. Some other translation work includes
Chieko, and
When a Bird Rests & Other Tanka by Taeko Takaori both published in
1974. Stimulated by exposure to Buson's writing, Shiffert put out her fourth set of poems
A Grasshopper, which was published as a chapbook by White Pine Press in
1976. This was followed by
The New and Selected Poems (White Pines Press,
1979),
A Way to Find Out (Raiju Press, 1979),
Kyoto Dwelling
(C.E. Tuttle Co., 1987),
When at the Edge (White Pine Press, 1991), and
Forest House with Cat (Unio Corp, 1991). Two of her most recent works
include
The Light Comes Slowly (Katsura Press, 1997), and the
Ninth
Decade
(Katsura Press, 1999), which feature illustrations of traditional ink
paintings by Kohka Saito, a renowned artist of the genre.
Today Edith Shiffert is one of several American poets currently living and writing in
Kyoto.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of biographical files, correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks,
printed material, photographs, art work, video recordings covering the years 1916-2001. The
material is accordingly arranged into eight series.
The writings document Shiffert's literary output from early youth to present time. There
are both manuscripts and typescripts of published and unpublished poems, prose and
translation work. Manuscripts of published works includes
For A Return To
Kona
(1964),
Kyoto Dwelling (1987),
Forest House With
Cat
, (1991) and
The Ninth Decade (1999). Many of the unpublished
sets of poems are a mixture of typescript, carbon, photocopied and printed pages. The
original order of these sets has been retained. None of the short stories or novella were
published.
Of special interest is the outgoing correspondence to her parents documenting her
experiences in Hawaii, Alaska and Kyoto between 1938-1949, and 1962-1978.
Books and video recordings are cataloged separately.
- Series 1. Biographical Files, 1916-2000;
Further subdivided into General, Activity, Teaching, Studies, and Diaries. Arranged chronologically within each subseries. - Series 2. Correspondence, 1938-1992;
Further subdivided into Outgoing and Incoming letters. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. - Series 3. Writings, 1930-2000;
Further subdivided into Poetry (Published and unpublished), Prose (Novella, Short Stories, Essays), Translations (By and Of Shiffert's works) and writings By Other Authors. Published works are arranged chronologically, others by title where available. - Series 4. Notebooks, 1938-2001; Loosely arranged in chronological order.
- Series 5. Printed Material, 1923-2001;
Further subdivided into Books (By Edith and By Other Authors), Serials, Other Printed Material. Books are cataloged separately. - Series 6. Photographs, 1919-1998;
Further subdivided into Portraits, Family, People, Pets, Documentary, Landscape, Architecture, and Computer printouts. - Series 7. Art Work, undated
Books and videos are cataloged separately. See online catalog for holdings.
Boxes 1-28 have been processed. There are unprocessed additions included.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century
Hawaii -- Poetry
Japanese poetry -- Translations into
English
Haiku
Nature in literature
Charles E. Tuttle Co.
White Pine Press
Saito, Kohka, 1930-
Sawa, Yuki, 1945-
Rexroth, Kenneth, 1905-1982
Shiffert, Edith Marcombe