Clinton F. Larson Papers mssLarson

Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
June 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org


Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
Title: Clinton F. Larson papers
Creator: Larson, Clinton F.
Identifier/Call Number: mssLarson
Physical Description: 1.7 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1969-1986
Abstract: The collection consists primarily of material related to the work of American poet, professor and editor Clinton F. Larson.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

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]. Clinton F. Larson papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Clinton F. Larson, in 1988; gift of Marden J. Clark in 1989.

Biographical / Historical

Clinton Foster Larson (1919-1994) was born on September 22, 1919 and grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1942 he married Naomi Barlow in the Salt Lake Temple and served in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Utah (1948) and a doctorate in English from the University of Denver. In 1947, Dr. Larson joined the faculty at Brigham Young University where he served as a professor of creative writing for the English department. After teaching for 27 years, he was appointed BYU's first poet in residence; Larson retired in 1985. He was a prolific poet and playwright who wrote hundreds of poems throughout his career. He was well known for his work in producing a multi-volume illustrated children's version of the Book of Mormon and for his devotion to portraying the Mormon theme and bringing gospel principles to light through his writings.

Biographical / Historical

William Edgar Stafford (1914-1993) was born in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1914. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in English from the University of Iowa. He was a professor of English at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, was Poet Laureate for the state of Oregon from 1975 to 1993, and served as a poet in residence of the Library of Congress in 1970. In 1963, Stafford received the National Book Award for Poetry for his first collection of poems, "Traveling Through the Dark." He died in Lake Oswego, Oregon, on August 28, 1993.

Scope and Contents

A collection of 1,695 items from 1969 to 1986; it consists primarily of correspondence and poems relating to the compilation and publication of "Modern poetry of western America, an anthology of poems written by principal 20th century poets of the western United States," the book was published in 1975 by the Brigham Young University Press. The book was compiled and edited by Clinton F. Larson and William E. Stafford, both poets and professors of English. The collection includes biographical writing, editorial materials, published reviews, published poetry with lists and waivers, rejected poetry, and miscellaneous material. The letters written between Larson and Stafford express various thoughts, opinions and criticisms regarding the poems submitted for their review as well as decision-making concerning which authors, and which of their poems, to ultimately include or exclude from the anthology. In the invitations extended by the editors to contributing authors, the following material was provided: a letter conveying their vision for the anthology and a request for samples of the author's work, a release form for permission to publish the selected works, and a cover sheet requesting biographical information of the author. The bulk of the collection is dated 1974 and consists of these returned release forms and cover sheets, in addition to copies of poems submitted for review by the authors. Both accepted poems and rejected poems from nearly all authors are included, as well as biographical profiles from contributing authors. Poets in the collection include, among others: Earle Birney, Marilyn McMeen Miller, R. A. Christmas, Marden J. Clark, Thomas H. Ferril, Brewster Ghiselin, Thom Gunn, Philip Levine, Sandra McPherson, Theodore Roethke, Ralph J. Salisbury, Karl Shapiro, Ann Stanford, A. Wilber Stevens, May Swenson, and Peter Wild.

Processing Information

Processed by Margaret Phung in 2014. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic finding aid derived from an earlier finding aid.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

General

Former call number: mssLarson papers.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

American poetry -- 20th century
American poetry -- Mormon authors
American poetry -- West (U.S.)
West (U. S.) -- Poetry
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th century
Poems -- United States -- 20th century
Birney, Earle, 1904-1995
Brown, Marilyn McMeen Miller, 1938-
Christmas, R. A.
Clark, Marden J., 1916-2003
Ferril, Thomas Hornsby, 1896-1988
Ghiselin, Brewster, 1903-2002
Gunn, Thom
Levine, Philip, 1928-2015
McPherson, Sandra
Roethke, Theodore, 1908-1963
Salisbury, Ralph J.
Shapiro, Karl, 1913-2000
Stafford, William, 1914-1993
Stanford, Ann
Stevens, A. Wilber (Arthur Wilber), 1921-
Swenson, May
Wild, Peter, 1940-

Box 1, Folder 1-13

Bell - Clark 1974-1986

Box 2, Folder 1-19

Cole - Kowitt 1971-1986

Box 3, Folder 1-16

Larson - Ostroff 1969-1986

Box 4, Folder 1-26

Rexroth - Winters ; Miscellanous Poets - Modern Poetry of Western America : reviews 1973-1986