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Guide to the Kenneth Patchen Festival Records
MS 166  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography / Administrative History
  • Chronology
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Related Material

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Kenneth Patchen Festival records
    Dates: 1927-1991
    Bulk Dates: 1989-1991
    Collection number: MS 166
    Creator: Trumbull Art Gallery
    Collection Size: 4 archival boxes
    Repository: University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library. Special Collections and Archives
    Santa Cruz, California 95064
    Abstract: Contains correspondence, publicity including catalog layout sheets, photographs, slides, recordings, an artifact and mail art material generated and collected mainly by Trumbull Art Gallery director during the Kenneth Patchen Festivals held between 1987-1991 in Warren, Ohio. Included are festival exhibit material; Warren G. Harding High School yearbooks and newspapers from 1927-1929.
    Physical location: Stored offsite at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access to the papers.
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Access

    Collection open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to publish or to reproduce the material, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

    Preferred Citation

    Kenneth Patchen Festival records. MS 166. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Trumbull Art Gallery c/o William E. Mullane, 1988, & C. M. James, 1991; Vivian Pemberton, 1988; Judith Wray 1989; Joel Climenhaga, 1988.

    Biography / Administrative History

    In the Spring of 1987 Artist and Curator at the Trumbull Art Gallery, William Mullane organized a major celebration of Kenneth Patchen's work in his home town of Warren, Ohio. Kenneth's sisters and other members of Patchen's family were involved in four days of events, commemorative poetry readings and exhibitions. During this first gathering the Ohio Arts Council decided to sponsor an annual Kenneth Patchen Festival to celebrate the poet's work beginning in 1989.
    Account of Events:
    Kenneth Patchen: An Exhibition of painted poems, books, sculptures and documentation on Kenneth's early years in Warren, Ohio, Mar 7-Apr 5, 1987. Trumbull Art Gallery (TAG) with the cooperation of the Kenneth Patchen Archives located at the UCSC presented an exhibit. In addition to presenting Patchen's works, the exhibit explored the Warren from 1910-1930 in an attempt to document the community, industry, and schools, which influenced the writer's vision. Special program was held on Mar 5, 1987 at Kent State University Trumbull Campus featuring Kenneth's wife Miriam, who spoke about her late husbund's work and read his poetry.
    Kenneth Patchen: Literary Festival, Apr 27-30, 1989. Scheduled events consisted of exhibition of Patchen' Art; production of Patchen play Don't Look Now (Apr 28, 30, May 5-7, 1989), video presentation of "Kenneth Patchen; an Art of Engagement", readings, panel discussion, presentation on Kenneth Patchen Archive, and a tour of Kenneth Patchen Coffee Shop at Trumbull Memorial Hospital. "Don't look now" opend at the Kent State University Trumbull Campus theatere for a two week run. It was directed by Joel Climenhaga, poet, playwright and professor of speech and theatre from Tarkio College, Missouri. Some of the program participants included Miriam Patchen; poet, teacher, freedom fighter Dennis Brutus; poet, artists, publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Patchen bibliographer Larry Smith.
    Kenneth Patchen Festival: A Celebration of the Arts, Apr 27-29, 1990 Scheduled events included a reading by Miriam Patchen, panel Discussion of "The Role of the Small Press in American Letters", video presentation of "Kenneth Patchen and Art of Engagement", reproduction of Kenneth Patchen's radio play "City Wears a Slouch Hat" undet direction of Joel Climenhaga, soundscaped by Gary Boggess, and an exhibit of Patchen's silkscreens. Program participants included Dennis Brutus, Carlos Cortez, C. M. James, Miriam Patchen, Bern Porter, Larry Smith, Jonathan Williams, and Al Young.
    Kenneth Patchen Mail Art Festival, 1991. Project was sponsored by the Kenneth Patchen Festival Group, and was housed at the Trumbull Art Gallery in Warren, Ohio. C. M. James, the event organizer, culminated year's worth of mail art from around the world.

    Chronology

    Mar 7-Apr 5, 1987 Kenneth Patchen: An Exhibition of painted poems, books, sculptures and documentation on Kenneth's early years in Warren.
    Apr 27-30, 1989 Kenneth Patchen: Literary Festival
    Apr 27-29, 1990 Kenneth Patchen Festival: A Celebration of the Arts
    1991 Kenneth Patchen Mail Art Festival

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Contains correspondence, publicity including catalog layout sheets, photographs, slides, recordings, an artifact and mail art material generated and collected mainly by Trumbull Art Gallery director during Kenneth Patchen Festivals held between 1987-1991 in Warren, Ohio. Of special interest are the festival exhibit material, Warren G. Harding High School yearbooks and newspapers dating to 1927-1929.

    Arrangement

    Material is devided into three series. Series 1. General Festival Business; contain correspondence, festival publicity ,and event photographs, slides & audio recordings accumulated during the first three Patchen festivals. Series 2. Kenneth Patchen Exhibit Material, 1987; consists mainly of historical items relating to Patchen's High School Years shown in 1987. Series 3. Mail Art Material, 1991; consists of year's worth of mail art items and a few business records collected by the event cordinator C. M James, 1991. Mail art is arranged alphabetically by sender.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Kenneth Patchen Festival--Archives
    Trumbull Art Gallery
    Trumbull Art Guild
    Kenneth Patchen Literary Festival
    Art museums--Ohio--Warren
    Mullane, William E.
    James, C. M.
    Climenhaga, Joel
    Patchen, Kenneth--d1911-1972--Kenneth Patchen archive
    Correspondence
    Photographs
    Sound recordings
    Artifacts
    Mail Art
    Newspapers

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