Frank Samperi Papers, 1940-2020 (bulk 1960-1991)

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Samperi, Frank
Abstract:
Papers of Frank Samperi, self-taught poet, writer, and translator associated with the themes of spirituality and transcendence. Championed by Louis Zukofsky and Cid Corman, and most well-known for his trilogy of poetry collections, The Prefiguration, Quadrifariam, and Lumen Gloriae, Samperi left a mark on poetics of the 20th century. This collection contains many of Samperi's limited edition works, as well as correspondence.
Extent:
4.8 Linear feet (12 archives boxes, 1 oversize folder) and .2 GB of digital files
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Frank Samperi Papers. MSS 859. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of Frank Samperi, self-taught poet, writer, and translator associated with the themes of spirituality and transcendence. This collection documents the personal life and career of Frank Samperi from the 1940s until 1990, including poetry, prose, translations, drafts, hand-made bindings, and a selection of notebooks. The correspondence is a significant portion of this collection. Will Petersen and Cid Corman are prominent correspondents, writing about personal and professional topics, philosophy, and religion. Multiple numbered editions of works by Petersen, as well as Samperi's works published by Petersen, are included in this collection.

Supplemental materials created posthumously, as well as correspondence between his daughter Claudia Samperi-Warren and other poets dating through 2020, is also included in this collection.

Arranged in seven series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS BY SAMPERI - POETRY, PROSE &T RANSLATIONS, 4) NOTEBOOKS AND JOURNALS, 5) WORKS BY OTHERS, 6) AUDIOCASSETTE RECORDINGS, and 7) BORN DIGITAL.

Biographical / historical:

Frank Samperi, poet and translator, was born on May 19th, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. The child of an Italian immigrant, Samperi was raised after age thirteen by aunts. At twenty years of age, Samperi joined the army and served until he was honorably discharged after facing mental hardships. Samperi then moved back to New York and began writing poetry. After releasing his first book, Song Book, in 1960, he was noticed by renowned Objectivist poet Louis Zukofsky. As Samperi grew more notable in the poet community, he also met, and corresponded heavily with, Cid Corman, the editor of the poetry magazine Origin.

In 1964, Samperi moved to Japan and worked as a teacher. Cid Corman also resided in Japan, as well as the artist and poet Will Petersen, who Samperi also became close with. Both Cid Corman and Will Petersen corresponded, published, and collaborated with Frank Samperi during his career.

Samperi dedicated a portion of his work to translation, most profoundly with the study and translation of Dante's Paradisio. Samperi was fluent in both Italian and Latin. As a Dante researcher as well as a translator, Samperi's own work was influenced by Paradisio and Dante's other works.

Some of Samperi's published works include: The Prefiguration, Quadrifariam, Lumen Gloriae, and A Remotis. Collections of his poetry have also been published posthumously, including, Spiritual Necessity. Frank Samperi was married to Dolores Samperi, and they had two children, Claudia and David. The family lived in Brooklyn, New York after returning from Japan, and then settled in Arizona in the 1980s. Frank Samperi passed away on June 28, 1991 after complications with pneumonia.

Acquisition information:
Acquired 2024
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Preferred citation:

Frank Samperi Papers. MSS 859. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.

Location of this collection:
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
Contact:
(858) 534-2533