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Eshleman (Clayton) Papers
MSS 0021  
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Description
The papers of Clayton Eshleman, American poet, translator, and editor. Included is extensive correspondence dating from 1963 to 1992; original typescripts and manuscripts of Eshleman's prose and verse writings; travel notebooks; interviews; original typescript and manuscript drafts of original works; drafts and correspondence pertaining to Eshleman's translations of Antonin Artaud, Bernard Bador, Aime Cesaire, Michel Deguy, Juan Guzman Cruchaga, Cesar Vallejo, and others; original submissions, later drafts with editorial changes, and paste-ups, all relating to the publication of Sulfur; and various personal ephemera. The collection comprises an extensive source of information on the American, Latin American, and European poetry scene of the post-Beat era.
Background
Born June 1, 1935, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Clayton Eshleman is the only child of Gladys and Ira Eshleman. In 1953, Eshleman declared himself a music major at the University of Indiana but switched departments several times before receiving his BA in Philosophy in 1958. For three years he travelled in Mexico and Latin America. Returning to Indiana, he married Barbara Novak in the summer of 1961. Also in 1961, Eshleman's first book of poetry, Mexico and North, was printed privately in Japan. Eshleman spent three years in Japan, teaching English and studying Asian religion. He returned briefly to the United States and then moved, in 1965, to Lima, Peru. In Lima, in 1966, his only son, Matthew, was born. Eshleman returned to New York City in 1966 and soon separated from Barbara and Matthew. Two years of Reichian therapy followed.
Extent
66.4 Linear feet (148 archives boxes, 42 oversize folders)
Restrictions
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.