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Guide to the Peter F. Neumeyer Papers
MS-0394
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Collection Title: Peter F. Neumeyer Papers
Dates: 1947-2004
Bulk Dates: 1970-1999
Identification: MS-0394
Creator:
Neumeyer, Peter F., 1929-
Physical Description: 9.06 linear ft
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Peter F. Neumeyer was born in Germany in 1929. Fleeing the Nazis, he and his family emigrated to the United States in 1936.
After receiving his undergraduate degree, master’s degree, and doctorate (in 1963) in English at UC Berkeley, Neumeyer taught
at Harvard University until 1969. It was there that Neumeyer taught one of the first literary courses on children's books
in North America. Besides Harvard, Neumeyer has taught at State University of New York (Stony Brook) and West Virginia University.
He has taught summer courses on children’s literature at Columbia University. Additionally, Neumeyer has lectured and taught
in Sweden and Finland on that subject.
Neumeyer came to San Diego State University in 1978 and retired in 1993. At SDSU, Neumeyer developed in the English Department
what has become the largest Children's Literature program in North America. Neumeyer has published extensively on children's
literature topics, especially E.B. White, including
The Annotated Charlotte's Web. Other authors that Neumeyer has written about include Franz Kafka, Tove Jansson, Richard Kennedy, and Randall Jerrell.
In addition to his work at the university, Neumeyer collaborated with illustrator and friend Edward Gorey on three books,
the
Donald and the… series. He was also a poet, and published numerous poems in literary journals. After retirement from SDSU, Neumeyer was
a prolific reviewer of children's books for various publications including
Prodigy,
Mothering Magazine,
Parent's Choice,
San Diego Home and Garden, and the
Los Angeles Times. In 2005, he received the Children's Literature Association's Anne Deveraux Jordan Award for his contributions to the field.
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Personal Papers
Publications
Neumeyer, Peter F., 1929-
White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks), 1899-1985
Children's Literature -- History and Criticism
Children's Literature -- Book Reviews
Children's Literature -- Study and teaching (Higher)
Children's Literature -- Translations
The copyright interests in the materials found in this collection will be transferred to San Diego State University on January
1, 2056. Special Collections and University Archives can only grant permission to publish materials for which it is the copyright
holder. For further information, please consult the section on copyright in the rules for using the collections, or contact
the United States Copyright Office at (202) 707-3000 or http://www.copyright.gov.
Researchers must receive Mr. Neumeyer's approval to use, duplicate, or publish materials from the collection.
Identification of item, folder title, box number,
Peter F. Neumeyer Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Edward Gorey Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University
Peter F. Neumeyer Collection, The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
Peter F. Neumeyer Papers, University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections, University of Minnesota
I. Pedagogical Work, 1947-1992
II. Professional Files, 1978-2004
III. Published Work, 1963-2001
IV. Margot Zemach Art Show, 2003-2004
The
Peter F. Neumeyer Papers document Neumeyer's professional and academic career, beginning as a student and ending as a critic. The papers date from
1950, when Neumeyer was an undergraduate, to 2004, when he and wife Helen co-curated an exhibition on illustrator Margot Zemach.
The bulk of the papers are from the 1970s through the 1990s when Neumeyer was a professor and actively published academic
articles, reviews, and poetry. The collection is divided into four series:
Pedagogical Work,
Professional Files,
Published Work, and
Margot Zemach Art Show. Neumeyer kept all of his papers in a series of labeled folders. This order was preserved, and the folders that comprise
each of the four series are arranged alphabetically based upon, in most cases, Neumeyer’s description.
The
Pedagogical Work series dates from 1947-1992. The series documents Neumeyer's career as both student and educator, as well as his role in
developing the Children's Literature Program at SDSU. It begins with coursework from Neumeyer's undergraduate and graduate
classes. The bulk of the series, however, consists of lecture notes, children’s literature course readers, quizzes and assignments,
and class handouts. These materials date back to Neumeyer’s time at Harvard, but are predominantly from courses he taught
at San Diego State. One of the most significant documents in this series is a semester project from Neumeyer’s seminar in
Children’s Literature at Harvard in 1966. This project was an early attempt to approach children’s books from a literary—in
this case structuralist—approach. This series offers an invaluable look at the progression of children’s literature as an
academic subject as taught by one of its prominent scholars. The series is filed alphabetically by file name.
The
Professional Files series dates from at least 1978, though there are many undated folders that probably predate that year, and go up to 2004.
This series documents Neumeyer's professional and academic interests outside of teaching. The
Professional Files consist of folders that Neumeyer kept on various subjects related to children's literature and literature in general. These
files pertain to Neumeyer's research interests and academic writing as opposed to his teaching. It also contains correspondence,
especially regarding
The Annotated Charlotte's Web and the introduction to the 50th Anniversary Edition of
Charlotte's Web that Neumeyer wrote. Other materials include illustrations and proofs by Richard Burhans, collaborator with Neumeyer on
an adaptation of
The Phantom of the Opera. Other subjects range from authors like Lewis Carroll and Richard Kennedy to poet John Clare, to children's literature bibliographies
and history. The series is filed alphabetically by file name.
The
Published Work series dates from 1963 to 2001. The series documents Neumeyer's written work, including published articles and poems, as
well as manuscripts of articles, reviews, and unpublished texts. There are academic articles published in scholarly journals,
poetry published in literary journals, children's books reviews, translations of children's books from German, manuscripts
of unpublished books, and a language arts and reading program entitled Interaction, co-authored by Helen and Peter Neumeyer
along with others. There are drafts of his introduction for the 50th Anniversary Edition of
Charlotte's Web, as well as many other articles about E.B. White and his career. As noted above, Neumeyer wrote book reviews for a wide
array of publications. The series is filed alphabetically by file name.
The
Margot Zemach Art Show series dates from 2003-2004. The series documents Peter and Helen Neumeyer's involvement in the preparation and operation
of this exhibit. Zemach was an artist and illustrator of children's books. The show, curated by the Neumeyers, was held
at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. The series contains biographical information on Zemach, correspondence
with the museum director, contracts, logistical and planning information, and other related materials. The series is filed
alphabetically by file name.