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Guide to the Robert Pinsky Papers
Special Collections M0697
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Table of contents
Title: Robert Pinsky Papers
Collection number: Special Collections M0697
Creator: Pinsky, Robert
Extent:
19 linear ft.
Repository:
Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Language:
English.
Materials generated from Jan. 1996 on are partially restricted. Please enquire.
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.
Purchased by Stanford University Libraries from Robert Pinsky, April, 1994. Addenda received after 1994 are part of purchase
agreement.
[Identification of item] Robert Pinsky Papers, M0697, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford,
Calif.
Robert Pinsky, poet and literary critic, was born in 1940 in Long Beach, New Jersey. He studied English at Rutgers University
(B.A., 1962) and Stanford University (M.A. and Ph.D., 1967). He has taught at the University of Chicago (1966-67), Wellesley
College (1967-1980), and the University of California, Berkeley (1980-present). Since 1979, Pinsky has been poetry editor
for The New Republic.
Pinsky has published two volumes of poetry: Sadness And Happiness (1975) and An Explanation of America (1979). His other major
works are Landor's Poetry (1968)-a revision of his Ph.D. dissertation, The Situation of Poetry (1977)-a discussion of "this
current moment" in modern poetry, and a verse translation of Dante's Inferno (1995). Pinsky's literary criticism also includes
articles written for various periodicals and a large number of book reviews for the Los Angeles Times.
The Pinsky Papers is a collection of 19 linear feet of materials relating to the life and literary work of Robert Pinsky.
The collection includes his personal and professional correspondence, poetry, literary criticism, and academic notes and papers.
Also included are published and unpublished works by other poets, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia, as well as galley
proofs for three of Pinsky's most recent books.
Note
The Robert Pinsky Papers includes several ADDENDA, each containing correspondence, manuscripts, and other materials pertaining
to Pinsky's life and career. The materials are organized within each addendum, but are not interfiled; that is, materials
that came together from the author remain together. Therefore, Pinsky's poetry (for example) can be found in several different
locations throughout the collection-in boxes 4-8 (original collection), 15-16 (Addendum 1), 19a-20 (Addendum 2), 20-21 (Addendum
3), 27 (Addendum 4), and 33 (Addenda 5 and 6). To ensure a thorough viewing of the entire contents of any given series or
subseries, please consult the ENTIRE container listing for each series and/or CONSULT SPECIAL COLLECTIONS STAFF.
Due to varying contents and time lapses between addenda, organization varies throughout the collection. Due to the nature
of the collection, there is a great deal of overlap between series. For example, personal correspondence often contains poetry;
some poetry files include correspondence and miscellany filed by Pinsky as "source material"; items from various categories
are often filed together as they came from Pinsky or as is most logical. To avoid overlooking relevant materials, researchers
should peruse the guide and browse the entire collection.
Additional materials are still arriving from Pinsky, often in small installments. These addenda will be organized as they
are received and added at the end of the collection. Check with Special Collections staff for contents updates.
Processor: September, 1996