Matlin (David) Papers

BIOGRAPHICAL

Scope and Content of Series

Series 1) BIOGRAPHICAL. Arranged in two subseries: A) Biographical Information and B) Writings on Matlin.

A) Biographical Information: Autobiographies, resumes, and personal statements by Matlin; award certificates from prison education programs where Matlin taught; and lists of his publications.

B) Writings on Matlin: Interview transcripts, correspondence, and drafts of interviews and articles on Matlin, reviews of his work, and drafts of poetry dedicated to Matlin.

Biographical Information

Box 1, Folder 1

Biographies and personal statements by Matlin 1992-2009

Box 1, Folder 2

Certificates 1991-1993

General note

Award certificates from prison education programs where Matlin taught. Includes photograph of David Matlin.

Box 1, Folder 3

Resumes, CV, and publications 1975-2008

Writings on Matlin

Box 1, Folder 4

Reviews and interviews of David Matlin 1975-2009

Box 1, Folder 5

Wilson, Dwight. Rhapsodia: Variations on the Name David or The Idea of Poetry - To honor a poet by that name (who writes in the morning) 1985

General note

Manuscript and calligraphy for a book dedicated to Matlin.

Box 1, Folder 6

Kelly, Robert. Poem for David Matlin 1988 June

Box 1, Folder 7

Teaching Literature in Prison. David Matlin interviewed by Judy Kravis for Teaching Literature: Writers and Teachers Talking (Cork University Press, 1995) - Transcript and correspondence 1994 August 3

Box 1, Folder 8

Luvaas, William. Introduction of David Matlin, Mt. San Jacinto College - Draft and correspondence 2004 April 11

Box 1, Folder 9

A Reinvention of Hatred: Author David Matlin on the "Unimaginable Toxicity" of the Prison Industry. David Matlin interviewed by Low Rowan for Real Change - Transcript and correspondence 2004 December 16

Box 1, Folder 10

David Matlin interview questions for Saudah Mirza, North Atlantic Books 2005

Box 1, Folder 11

Interview notes 2006

Box 1, Folder 12

David Matlin interviewed by Reiko Nitta for Eigo Seinen (The Rising Generation) - Transcript and correspondence 2007 December 19

Box 1, Folder 13

Lazzara, Grace. Profile, "David Matlin, Ph.D. '81" - Draft 2008

CORRESPONDENCE

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) CORRESPONDENCE: Correspondence with Matlin by poets, writers, artists, and publishers. Prominent correspondents include Helen Adam, Robert Coover, Robert Creeley, Clayton Eshleman, Reginald Gay, Larry McCaffery, Alice Notley, and Lou Rowan. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Box 1, Folder 14

A - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 15

Adam, Helen 1975-1984

General note

Includes photographs of Helen Adam and David Matlin, 1979.

Box 1, Folder 16

Artforum 1984

General note

Correspondence related to Matlin's responsibilities as curator of poetry and literature at PS1 (Project Studio 1) and the Clocktower.

Box 1, Folder 17

B - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 18

Blount, William (Plount, Michael) 1986-2010

General note

Includes photographs of Matlin and Blount.

Box 1, Folder 19

C - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 20

Clarke, John 1974-2009

Box 1, Folder 21

Coover, Robert 1993-2003

Box 1, Folder 22

Creeley, Robert 1973-2005

Box 1, Folder 23

D - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 24

Delp, Laurel 1977-1989

Box 1, Folder 25

Ducornet, Rikki and Jonathan Cohen 2000-2003

General note

Includes photographs of David Matlin, 2000.

Box 1, Folder 26

E - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 27

Eshleman, Clayton and Caryl (Sulfur) 1985-2004

Box 1, Folder 28

F - Miscellaneous

Box 1, Folder 29

Federman, Raymond 1993-1996

Box 1, Folder 30

G - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 1-3

Gay, Reginald (Boss Books) 1974-1996

Box 2, Folder 4

Gourfain, Peter 1984-1990

Box 2, Folder 5

Guerrilla Girls ca. 1987

Box 2, Folder 6

H - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 7

Howe, Fanny 2005-2006

Box 2, Folder 8

K - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 9

Kadish, Reuben 1972-1989

Oversize FB-459, Folder 06

Photograph of Reuben Kadish ca. 1960

Box 2, Folder 10

Kissam, Ed 1979-1984

Box 2, Folder 11

L - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 12

Lansing, Gerrit 1996-2006

Box 2, Folder 13

Lawler, Louise 1981-1984

Box 2, Folder 14

Leffingwell, Ed 1985

Box 2, Folder 15

Loewinsohn, Ron 1972

Box 2, Folder 16

M - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 17

McCaffery, Larry 1989-1998

General note

Includes photograph of David Matlin and Larry McCaffery.

Box 2, Folder 18

Metcalf, Paul and family 1994-2005

Box 2, Folder 19

N - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 20

Notley, Alice 1985-1992

General note

Includes poem by Alice Notley and Edmund Berrigan, ca. 1985.

Box 2, Folder 21

O'Rourke, William 2001-2007

Box 2, Folder 22

P - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 23

R - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 24

Rowan, Lou 2003-2008

Box 2, Folder 25

S - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 26

Schneider, Gail and Clay Matlin

Box 2, Folder 27

Spahr, Juliana 1990

Box 2, Folder 28

Spanidou, Irini 1983-1986

Box 2, Folder 29

Springtown Press 1988

Box 2, Folder 30

Strautmanis, Edvins 1982-1995

Box 2, Folder 31

T - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 32

U - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 33

W - Miscellaneous

Box 2, Folder 34

Letters from prisoners 1986-2004

WRITINGS BY MATLIN

Scope and Content of Series

Series 3) WRITINGS BY MATLIN: Drafts, notebooks, correspondence, reviews, artwork, and ephemera for Matlin's published and unpublished writings. The subseries are arranged chronologically, with undated materials arranged alphabetically at the end. Arranged in eight subseries: A) Notebooks, B) Talks, C) Poems, D) Short Fiction and Drama, E) Essays, F) Reviews by Matlin, G) Interviews and Biographies by Matlin, and H) Books.

A) Notebooks: Matlin's early notebooks contain drafts of his writings and correspondence, notes on literature, and personal notes. Starting in 1991, the notebooks contain dated journal entries with commentary on current events.

B) Talks: Ephemera, correspondence, drafts and photographs for Matlin's poetry readings and for his talks on literature and the prison industry.

C) Poems: Drafts and notes for Matlin's published and unpublished poetry from the 1960s to the 1990s.

D) Short Fiction and Drama: Drafts and correspondence for Matlin's short stories and plays from 1970 to 2006. Some of the stories were later published in Up Fish Creek Road (2013). Includes drafts for "Tom Green," a screenplay for an unproduced film based on How the Night is Divided (1993).

E) Essays: Drafts, notes and correspondence for Matlin's published and unpublished essays on literature, artists, the prison industry, and the 2003 wildfires in San Diego.

F) Reviews by Matlin: Drafts, notes and correspondence for Matlin's reviews of literature, poetry, art exhibitions, and nonfiction.

G) Interviews and Biographies by Matlin: Drafts, interview transcripts, notes, and correspondence for biographies and interviews by Matlin of artists, poets, and publisher Reginald Gay.

H) Books: Drafts, notes, correspondence, ephemera, excerpts, artwork and reviews for Matlin's books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including his 1981 Ph.D. thesis on William Blake for the State University of New York, Buffalo.

Notebooks

Box 3, Folder 1-6

Notebooks 1960s-1970s

Box 4, Folder 1-2

Notes and fragments 1970s

Box 4, Folder 3

Notebook - Poetry drafts, notes and collages 1977-1979

General note

Includes photograph of David Matlin and postcards from Robert Creeley.

Box 4, Folder 4

NYC 1970s-1980s

Box 4, Folder 5

Notes 1970s-1980s

Box 4, Folder 6

Notebook ca. 1975-1985

Box 5, Folder 1

Notes ca. 1980-1989

Box 5, Folder 2

Notes and reading for China Beach and other writings 1980s

Box 5, Folder 3-5

Notebooks and notes 1988-1997

Box 6, Folder 1

Notes 1997-2003

Box 6, Folder 2

China notes 2001

Box 6, Folder 3-6

Notebooks and notes 2003-2018

Talks

Box 7, Folder 1

Talks and readings - Correspondence and ephemera 1978-2014

General note

Includes photographs of David Matlin.

Box 7, Folder 2

Is There a Black Mountain Poetry? An Open Forum. The Black Mountain Poets: The Emergence of an American School of Poetics. Edith C. Blum Art Institute, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York 1987 June 28

Box 7, Folder 3

The Night Divided: Film and Text. Unspeakable Practices II, Festival of Vanguard Narrative, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 1993 February 24-27

Box 7, Folder 4

Poetry as Performance: A Symposium. 9th Annual OutLoud Festival, Catskill Reading Society, Rudolph Farm, Claryville, New York 1993 July 2-3

Box 7, Folder 5

Paula Cooper Gallery, with Ted Castle 1993 November 9

Box 7, Folder 6

The Ear Inn, New York City 1994 July 16

Box 7, Folder 7

Women, Multiculturalism and the Avant-Garde: Where the Action Is. New York State Writers Institute, State University of New York, University at Albany Uptown Campus 1995 April 21-22

Box 7, Folder 8

New Writing Series, UC San Diego 1997 October 29

Box 7, Folder 9

"Vocabularies and Imaginations" and Vernooykill Creek. First Annual Boston Alternative Poetry Conference, The Blacksmith House, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1998 July 18

Box 7, Folder 10

Growth of the Prison System. California Studies Association Twelfth Annual Conference, San Diego 2000 February 10-12

Box 7, Folder 11

Bumbershoot 2000 Literary Arts Program, Seattle 2000 September 1-4

Box 7, Folder 12

Contemporary Fiction Writers: Readings and Discussion. Modernist Crossings, American Literature Association Symposium, Cancun 2000 December 6-10

Box 7, Folder 13

Memory and Voice. Festival of the Arts, CSU Sacramento 2001 March 23-31

General note

Includes photographs of David Matlin.

Box 7, Folder 14

Introducing Clayton Eshleman. First Annual Translation Studies Forum, San Diego State University - Draft and ephemera 2002 February 14

Box 7, Folder 15

&Now: A Festival of Writing as a Contemporary/Conceptual Art, University of Notre Dame 2004 April 5-6

Box 7, Folder 16

Fanny Howe introduction ca. 2006

Box 7, Folder 17

Prisons and Democracy - Socialist and Marxist Studies luncheon series. Poetry reading for University of Maine New Writing Series. University of Maine, Orono 2007 October 18

General note

Includes review of Matlin's reading by Adam Davis.

Poems

Box 7, Folder 18-24

Poems 1960s-1980s

Box 7, Folder 25

Rose Grower (Juice Hive) 1980s

Box 7, Folder 26

Poems and notes 1990-1995

Box 7, Folder 27

Fragment I and II

Short Fiction and Drama

Box 8, Folder 1

The Funeral (The Grandfather) 1970

Box 8, Folder 2

Dream of a Mind Ruptured Prince and Mouth Play - Review, correspondence and ephemera 1992-1993

Box 8, Folder 3

In Out 0 2002

Box 8, Folder 4

Rooster and Leroy 2004

Box 8, Folder 5

A Mud Loosened Tree 2006

Box 8, Folder 6

The Easter Egg Hunt

Box 8, Folder 7

Her Name's Mme. Hardy

Box 8, Folder 8

Making First Nights We Know the Truth

Box 8, Folder 9

Spit, the Dream Needs

Box 8, Folder 10

Tenth-Value Thickness

Box 8, Folder 11

Untitled

Plays

Box 8, Folder 12

Alex 1980

Box 8, Folder 13-16

Tom Green 1990-1991

Box 9, Folder 1

Coco Kay

Box 9, Folder 2

Exit Chino

Essays

Box 9, Folder 3

Poems by John Haines: The Stone Harp 1971

Box 9, Folder 4

Canto XIX ca. 1975

Box 9, Folder 5

Masque of Queenes ca. 1975

Box 9, Folder 6

A White Dot ca. 1975

Box 9, Folder 7

IV 1985

General note

On Neanderthal flower burials, William Blake, and Robert Duncan.

Box 9, Folder 8

"Where are the heroes who are women" 1987 January 19

Box 9, Folder 9

Prison/Mirror 1988

Box 9, Folder 10

Summer of '98. In Teaching After the End: Apocalypse, Environment, and the Educational Imagination in the 21st Century (Derek Owens and Daniel Collins, editors) 1998-2003

Box 9, Folder 11

Introduction to A Paleontologists' Notebook (Susan Smith Nash, 1995) - Review 2003

Box 9, Folder 12

Safety Evaporated 2003 November 2

General note

On the Cedar, Paradise, and Otay fires in San Diego County in 2003.

Box 9, Folder 13

Prison Scandal is an American Tradition 2004

Reviews by Matlin

Box 9, Folder 14

Review of He Saw Her Burning (Joan Jonas, 1983) 1983-1986

Box 9, Folder 15

Open Land at Bard. Review of An Open Land: Photographs of the Midwest, 1852-1982 at the Edith C. Blum Art Institute 1984 August 16

Box 9, Folder 16

Review of The Maximal Implications of the Minimal Line at the Edith C. Blum Art Institute 1985 April 15

Box 9, Folder 17

Review of Ground Work: Before the War (Robert Duncan, 1984) 1985 June 21

Box 9, Folder 18

Review of The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley (Robert Creeley, 1982) 1985 October 19

Box 9, Folder 19

Review of Reverberation Machines: The Later Plays and Essays (Richard Foreman, 1985) 1986 February 14

Box 9, Folder 20

Review of Unbalancing Acts: Foundations for a Theater (Richard Foreman, 1992) 1992 July 21

Box 9, Folder 21

Review of New and Selected Poems, 1961-1996 (Rochelle Owens, 1997) 1996-1999

Box 9, Folder 22

Review of Poems for the Millennium (University of California Press) 1996-2009

Box 9, Folder 23

Review of William Langland's Piers Plowman, The C Version: A Verse Translation (George Economou, 1996) 1997

Box 9, Folder 24

Nixon Redux. Review of The Public Burning (Robert Coover, 1977) 1997-1999

Box 9, Folder 25

Review of Fear: A Novel (Irini Spanidou, 1998) 1998

Box 9, Folder 26

Echoes of Dionysus. Review of More Than Meat Joy: Performance Works and Selected Writings (Carolee Schneemann, 1997) 1998

Box 9, Folder 27

Review of True (Rae Armantrout, 1998) 1998

Box 9, Folder 28

Review of Apart from Freud: Notes for a Rational Analysis (Jonathan Cohen, 2001) 2001

Box 9, Folder 29

Review of Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement (University of Georgia Press, 2002) 2001

Box 9, Folder 30

The State of the Craft: Democracy, the Environment, and the Future of Imagination. Review of A New Theory of American Poetry (Angus Fletcher, 2004) 2004-2005

Box 9, Folder 31

Review of Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis (Christian Parenti, 2008) 2008

Interviews and Biographies by Matlin

Box 10, Folder 1

Philip Whalen ca. 1984

Box 10, Folder 2

Picasso ca. 1984

Box 10, Folder 3

Leon Botstein interviewed by David Matlin 1984 February 10

Box 10, Folder 4

Edvins Strautmanis 1984-1986

Box 10, Folder 5

Susan Dallas-Swann 1985-1987

Box 10, Folder 6

Ed Sanders: An Interview and Portrait 1986 August 8

Box 10, Folder 7

Reginald Gay ca. 1996

Box 10, Folder 8

Douglas Woolf 2004

Box 10, Folder 9

Angus Fletcher 2008

General note

Contribution to Annals of Scholarship special issue on Angus Fletcher.

Box 10, Folder 10

Luisa Valenzuela 2009

Box 10, Folder 11

Edward Dorn

Box 10, Folder 12

Sally Mazzerella interviewed by David Matlin

Books

Box 10, Folder 13-17

Kideta: A Study of William Blake's "Jerusalem" (1981) 1980-1981

General note

Matlin's Ph.D. thesis for the State University of New York, Buffalo in 1981.

Box 11, Folder 1-5

Kideta: A Study of William Blake's "Jerusalem" (1981), continued 1980-1981

Box 11, Folder 6-10

Fontana's Mirror (1982) 1977-1983

General note

Originally titled Waiting Song.

Box 12, Folder 1-4

China Beach (1989) 1988-1993

Box 12, Folder 5-11

Dressed in Protective Fashion (1990) 1988-1990

Box 13, Folder 1-4

How the Night is Divided (1993) 1988-2005

Box 13, Folder 5-10

Vernooykill Creek: The Crisis of Prisons in America (1997) 1995-2011

General note

Vernooykill Creek was republished in 2005 as Prisons: Inside the New America. Includes Matlin's collection of prison industry protest ephemera, circa 1998.

Box 14, Folder 1-5

It Might Do Well With Strawberries (2009) 2005-2009

Box 15, Folder 1-19

A HalfMan Dreaming (2012) 1998-2012

General note

Includes proof for the chapbook A HalfMan Dreamer (1999).

Box 14, Folder 6-12

Up Fish Creek Road (2013) - Notes, drafts, manuscripts and artwork 2013

General note

Includes the short stories "Doomed to be Rich," "Moths Will Suck First," "A Mud Loosened Tree," and "Rooster and Leroy."

Box 16, Folder 1-2

Up Fish Creek Road (2013) - Manuscripts 2013

Box 16, Folder 3

Untitled poetry collection

COLLABORATIONS WITH GAIL SCHNEIDER

Scope and Content of Series

Series 4) COLLABORATIONS WITH GAIL SCHNEIDER: Artwork, drafts, layouts, notes and a review for collaborative projects by David Matlin and Gail Schneider, including an artists' book and a poetry exhibit for PS1 (Project Studio 1) in 1989.

Box 16, Folder 4

Drawing by Gail Schneider; Writing by David Matlin (1988) - Notes and review 1988-1992

Oversize FB-459, Folder 01

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. PS1 (Project Studio 1) poetry exhibit 1989

Box 16, Folder 5

Dry Bark - BossCard 5 by David Matlin and Gail Schneider 1991

Box 16, Folder 6

David Matlin and Gail Schneider collaborations

DIAMOND T PRESS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 5) DIAMOND T PRESS: Artwork, drafts, layouts, printing plates, notes, and correspondence for poetry broadsides by Gail Schneider, David Matlin and other poets which were published by Diamond T Press.

Box 16, Folder 7

Diamond T Press - Correspondence, notes, and artwork 1975-1977

Oversize FB-459, Folder 02

Laurel Delp and Gail Schneider. Frantic flashing tennis shoes 1975

Oversize FB-459, Folder 02

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. So that there was a time when knocking on 1977

Oversize FB-459, Folder 02

Lajos Elkan and Gail Schneider. Who I will be 1979

Oversize FB-459, Folder 03

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. Coyote 1981

Oversize FB-459, Folder 04

John Clarke and Gail Schneider. Hotspur

Oversize FB-459, Folder 04

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. Butterfly

Oversize FB-459, Folder 05

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. "Dear Clay," "Eat the Sticks," and "Gentle Agreement"

Oversize FB-459, Folder 06

David Matlin. Night is the Eve of Day

Oversize FB-459, Folder 06

David Matlin and Gail Schneider. "Night and leaf," and "Room's One"

TEACHING

Scope and Contents

Series 6) TEACHING: Correspondence and ephemera for classes and workshops in creative writing and literature taught by Matlin from 1993 to 2001.

Box 16, Folder 8

Course syllabi and writing workshop ephemera 1993-1996

Box 16, Folder 9

University of Oklahoma - Correspondence and ephemera 1994-1995

Box 16, Folder 10

California College of Arts and Crafts - Correspondence and ephemera 1999-2001

SOUND RECORDINGS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 7) SOUND RECORDINGS: Audiocassette recordings of Matlin reading from his poetry and nonfiction; interviews of Matlin; interviews by Matlin of writers and poets; and poetry readings and lectures by other writers.

Box 17, Folder 1

Leon Botstein interviewed by David Matlin on education (44 minutes) 1984 February 10

Box 17, Folder 2

Philip Whalen poetry reading, introduction by David Matlin (56 minutes) 1984 March 17

Box 17, Folder 3

Philip Whalen interviewed by David Matlin (55 minutes) 1984 March 18

Box 17, Folder 4-6

Ed Sanders interviewed by David Matlin (145 minutes) 1986 June 13

Box 17, Folder 7

Raymond Federman reading Art de Fakt, 1993 and Samuel Beckett's Worstward Ho! for German radio, 1995 (90 minutes) 1993-1995

Box 17, Folder 8-9

Charles Stein lecture on "Poetry and Conscience" at New Paltz (120 minutes) 1995 October 18

Box 17, Folder 10

David Matlin interviewed by Dan Erwin about Vernooykill Creek for These Days on KPBS (45 minutes) 1998 March 16

Box 17, Folder 11

David Matlin reading from Vernooykill Creek at the UC Los Angeles Center for African-American Studies (Side B, 30 minutes) 1998 April 16

Box 17, Folder 12

Cross-over Art. Lecture by Jerome Rothenberg, introduction by David Matlin (90 minutes) 2000 November 1

Box 17, Folder 13

David Matlin poetry reading (52 minutes)

Box 17, Folder 14

Duncan McNaughton poetry reading (60 minutes)

Box 17, Folder 15

Lorine Niedecker reading poems at her home in Blackhawk, Wisconsin, by Cid Corman

Box 17, Folder 16-17

Mark Weiss lecture on the history of Western modern art, with introduction by David Matlin (144 minutes)