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Davidson (Michael) Papers
MSS 0824
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Michael Davidson Papers
Creator:
Davidson, Michael, 1944-
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0824
Physical Description:
2.6 Linear feet
(7 archives boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1967-2008
Abstract: Correspondence of Michael Davidson, poet, Professor Emeritus of American literature, and first curator of the Archive for
New Poetry at the UC San Diego Library.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains Michael Davidson's correspondence, arranged alphabetically. Notable correspondents include Rae Armantrout,
Bill Berkson, Joe Brainard, Fanny Howe, Jerome Rothenberg, and most extensively, Michael Palmer. This collection also contains
letters from Michael Davidson's brother, John Davidson. Additions to this collection may occur in the future.
Michael Davidson was born on December 18, 1944 in Oakland, California. Davidson attended graduate school at the University
of Buffalo from 1968-1969. Davidson has written eight books of poetry, notably including
The Landing of Rochambeau. He has also created many works of prose and collaborated with other poets, including, Lyn Hejinian, Ron Silliman, and Barrett
Watten. Davidson has also focused on disability issues, authoring many critical works such as
Distressing Language: Disability and the Poetics of Error, and
Invalid Modernism: Disability and the Missing Body of the Aesthetic. Davidson's topics of study include modern poetry, cultural studies, gender studies, and modern American literature. Davidson
also works as a literary theorist and an editor, and edited George Oppen's
New Collected Poems.
Michael Davidson was the first curator of the Archive of New Poetry (ANP) at the UC San Diego Library, Special Collections
& Archives (SC&A). Davidson was the creator of many primary records preserved in the Archive for New Poetry Curator's files
(RSS 1034), also held in SC&A. Davidson began as a post-doctoral appointee in 1974. Two years later he was permanently hired
by the Library to serve as "Associate Research Historian," the official title for the ANP curator. Davidson strongly influenced
the shape and vision of the ANP, encouraging and aiding in the acquisition of a number of its most significant papers and
collections. Throughout most of his term at the library, Davidson also taught in the Department of Literature. In 1985, after
receiving tenure in the Literature Department, he resigned his position at the ANP in order to teach literature full-time.
Michael Davidson Papers. MSS 824. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Acquired 2020
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
UC San Diego. Archive for New Poetry Curator's Correspondence and Subject Files. RSS 1034. Special Collections & Archives,
UC San Diego Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Poets, American -- 20th century
Davidson, Michael, 1944- -- Archives
Davidson, Michael, 1944- -- Correspondence
Allen, Donald, 1912-2004 -- Correspondence
Armantrout, Rae, 1947- -- Correspondence
Bernstein, Charles, 1950- -- Correspondence
Brainard, Joe, 1942-1994 -- Correspondence
Bromige, David -- Correspondence
Creeley, Robert, 1926-2005 -- Correspondence
Hejinian, Lyn -- Correspondence
Oppen, George -- Correspondence
Oppen, Mary, 1908-1990 -- Correspondence
Palmer, Michael, 1943- -- Correspondence
Scalapino, Leslie -- Correspondence