Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Funsten, Kenneth, 1952-
- Abstract:
- A collection of material related to the California poet Bert Meyers collected by Kenneth Funsten.
- Extent:
- 0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Kenneth Funsten research collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of letters, manuscripts, and printed material assembled by Kenneth Funsten related to the California poet Bert Meyers. Funsten wanted to publish a tribute to Meyers so in May and June 1979 sent letters to various poets, friends, colleagues, and students of Meyers requesting their help. The collection contains copies of Funsten's letters, letters and memoirs in response, and printed material related to Meyers collected by Funsten. Significant persons in the collection include: Sam Bluefarb, Alvaro Cardona-Hine, Dennis Cooper, French R. Fogle, Leland Hickman, George Hitchcock, Denis Levertov, Oscar Mandel, Odette Meyers, Robert Mezey, John B. Nomland, Maximillian E. Novak, Robert Peters, William Pillin, Benjamin Saltman, Ann Stanford, and the West Coast Poetry Review.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Kenneth Funsten (1952-) is a native Californian. He worked in the Rare Books stacks in the Huntington Library in the 1970s and, since then, Funsten has had a multifaceted career as a poet, journalist, speech writer, and businessman. Bert Meyers (1928-1979) was born in Los Angeles, his parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Meyers dropped out of high school to become a poet and during the 1940s and 1950s he was involved with the communist youth in Los Angeles. He married Odette Sarah Miller in 1957 and they had two children. In 1964, he was admitted to the Claremont Graduate School and in 1967 earned a Master's degree in English Literature; he was then hired to teach literature and poetry at Pitzer College in Claremont. He published various poetry collections including: "Early Rain" (1960), "Sunlight on the Wall" (1976), and "The Wild Olive Trees" (1979). Meyers died of lung cancer in 1979.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Kenneth Funsten, 1987.
- Processing information:
-
The collection was processed by Gayle Richardson in July 2022.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged alphabetically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Poetry, Modern -- 20th century
Poets, American -- California
Women poets, American -- California
Ephemera -- California -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Poems -- California -- 20th century - Names:
- West Coast Poetry Review
(Firm)
Bluefarb, Sam
Cardona-Hine, Alvaro
Cooper, Dennis, 1953-
Fogle, French R.
Hickman, Leland
Hitchcock, George
Levertov, Denise, 1923-1997
Mandel, Oscar
Meyers, Bert, 1928-1979
Meyers, Odette
Mezey, Robert
Nomland, John B., 1923-
Novak, Maximillian E. (Maximillian Erwin)
Peters, Robert, 1924-2014
Pillin, William
Saltman, Benjamin
Stanford, Ann - Places:
- California -- Poetry
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Kenneth Funsten research collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191