Robinson Jeffers Collection, 1903-2012

Summary

Abstract:

Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) was an American poet who is primarily known for the works he produced in and about the central coast of California. This collection is comprised of several donations of Jeffers' manuscripts and letters, as well as collected research materials from researchers and bibliographers, publications and newsletters on Jeffers, and correspondence with Occidental College concerning the Jeffers collection, memorial events, and exhibitions.

Extent:

105.0 Linear feet 174 boxes, 2 flat file drawers, and assorted framed works and memorabilia

Language:

Preferred citation:

Suggested citation of records contained in this collection is: [Identification of item], Robinson Jeffers Collection, Special Collections Department, Occidental College Library, Occidental College.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection is comprised of several donations of Jeffers' manuscripts and letters, as well as collected research materials from researchers and bibliographers, publications and newsletters on Jeffers, and correspondence with Occidental College concerning the Jeffers collection, memorial events, and exhibitions. Materials include limited and trade editions of Jeffers' works, autographed and inscribed manuscript copies, galley and page proofs, correspondence, journals, photographs, manuscripts, critical works relating to Robinson Jeffers, theater programs, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio recordings, and artwork.

Please see the Occidental College Library Catalog for a listing of approximately 350 volumes of Jeffers works and publications related to Jeffers that can be found at Special Collections.

The collection is open for new acquisitions and donations.

Biographical / historical:

Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) was an American poet who is primarily known for the works he produced in and about the central coast of California. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jeffers moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1903, and graduated from Occidental College in 1905. In 1913, Jeffers and Una Call Kuster were married, and moved to Carmel, California. Here, Jeffers constructed a small stone home for his family, which he named Tor House. The couple had a daughter who died after birth in 1914, and twin sons in 1916.

Jeffers’ work gained notoriety in the 1920s and early 1930s, particularly Tamar and Other Poems (1924), and Thurso’s Landing and Other Poems (1932), and he also received public acclaim for his adaptation of Euripides’s Medea (1946). Una died in 1950, and Jeffers continued to live in Tor House until his death in 1962.

Major biographical studies of Jeffers include Melba Berry Bennett's The Stone Mason of Tor House(1966) and James Karman's, Robinson Jeffers: Poet of California(1987). Also see Robert Kafka's Robinson Jeffers: A Biographical Sketchon the Robinson Jeffers Association website.

Acquisition information:

The Jeffers Collection at Occidental College was formally established in 1937 by President Remsen Bird with a donation of books, manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia from Jeffers collector and scholar, Albert M. Bender. Subsequent donations were made by Una and Robinson Jeffers, Melba Berry Bennett, Lawrence Clark Powell and Ward Richie (both Occidental class of 1928), Alex A. Vardamis, Theodore M. Lilienthal, Herbert Arthur Klein, and others.

Processing information:

Starting in the 1950s under the direction of College librarian Tyrus Harmson, librarians and student workers processed and described portions of the Robinson Jeffers Collection with item-level indexes. A collection-wide inventory was conducted in 2006, and updated in 2009 by Occidental student workers. When the collection was re-processed in 2012, an effort was made to maintain the existing order of the materials whenever possible.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into the following series:

1. Writings

2. Photographs

3. Correspondence

4. Researchers/Collectors

5. Occidental College

6. Collected Periodicals

7. Robinson Jeffers Newsletter

8. Audi-visual Material

9. Artwork and Memorabilia

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Related archival collections:

Robinson Jeffers Collection (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University)

Robinson Jeffers / Frank H. Armstrong Collection (UC Santa Barbara Library)

Papers of Robinson Jeffers, 1924-1941 (Library of Congress)

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas maintains a large collection of Jeffers' original manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, books, and diaries kept by his wife, Una Jeffers in their collection on American literature.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Jeffers, Robinson, 1887-1962

Names:

Jeffers, Robinson, 1887-1962
Jeffers, Una, 1884 or 5-1950

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from holdings must be submitted in writing to the Special Collections Department. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

Suggested citation of records contained in this collection is: [Identification of item], Robinson Jeffers Collection, Special Collections Department, Occidental College Library, Occidental College.

Location of this collection:

Occidental College Library

1600 Campus Road

Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314, US

Contact:

323-259-2852

specialcollections@oxy.edu

Website