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St. John (David) papers
5334
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: David St. John papers
Creator:
St. John, David
Creator:
Spear, Roberta
Identifier/Call Number: 5334
Physical Description:
28 Linear Feet
26 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1960-2018
Abstract: The David St. John papers consist of notes, drafts, and publication materials for all of St. John's collections of poetry,
as well as for prose works, individual and unpublished poems, and collaborative works. The collection also contains drafts
of introductions that St. John wrote for others' works, interview transcripts and recordings, scripts for and recordings of
readings and lectures, notebooks, agendas and appointment calendars, and materials from various committees and professional
activities. St. John's correspondence includes letters from Norman Dubie, Mark Irwin, Donald Justice, Galway Kinnell, R.B.
Kitaj, W.S. Merwin, Howard Norman, Adrienne Rich, and Mark Strand, among many others. The collection also holds papers from
other Fresno poets Larry Levis, Philip Levine, and Roberta Spear -- along with collaborative works involving St. John, Levis,
Levine, and Spear.
Language of Material:
English
.
Author David St. John has been honored, over the course of his career, with many prizes, including both The Rome Fellowship
and The Award in Literature from The American Academy of Arts and Letters; the O. B. Hardison Prize (a career award for teaching
and poetic achievement) from The Folger Shakespeare Library; and the George Drury Smith Lifetime Achievement Award. He is
the author of twelve collections of poetry (including
Study for the World's Body, nominated for The National Book Award in Poetry), most recently,
The Last Troubadour: New and Selected Poems; as well as a volume of essays, interviews and reviews entitled
Where the Angels Come Toward Us. St. John has written two libretti: for the opera based on his book,
The Face, by Donald Crockett, and for the choral symphony,
The Shore, by Frank Ticheli. He is also the co-editor of
American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry. A chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, St. John is University
Professor and chair of English at The University of Southern California (USC). He was born in Fresno, California, on July
24, 1949, and received his BA in 1974 from California State University, Fresno, and an MFA from the University of Iowa. He
now lives in Venice Beach, CA.
David St. John's archive contains a wealth of notes, drafts, and publication materials for all of his collections of poetry,
as well as for prose works, individual and unpublished poems, and collaborative works. These materials show both the breadth
and depth of St. John's work—in each of the various genres of writing he produces, he repeatedly returns to individual pieces
to revise, reshape, and improve them. This process is evidenced by the number of heavily annotated drafts and multiple versions
of works present in this archive.
St. John has been active within the poetry community for his entire career. In addition to mentoring young poets as a professor
at USC, St. John regularly gives readings and interviews, arranges and hosts readings by fellow poets, serves on a rotating
slate of professional, journal, and prize committees, and maintains a lively correspondence with many poet and artist friends.
In this collection, these relationships are perhaps most interestingly expressed in the series of introductions St. John has
given for readings by others, in which he describes their personal connections to him and places them within the larger poetry
community. The archive also includes interview transcripts and recordings, scripts for and recordings of readings and lectures,
agendas and appointment calendars, and materials from various committees. His correspondence melds personal and professional,
and includes letters from Norman Dubie, Mark Irwin, Donald Justice, Galway Kinnell, R.B. Kitaj, W.S. Merwin, Howard Norman,
Adrienne Rich, and Mark Strand, among many others.
A unique feature of this archive, and further evidence of St. John's key role in the poetry community, is a large amount of
material by fellow poets Larry Levis and Philip Levine. The three first converged in Fresno, California, where St. John and
Levis were students and Levine was a professor at California State University, Fresno. After Fresno, both St. John and Levis
went to the Iowa Writers' Workshop. They and Levine remained good friends and critics of one another's work until Levis's
untimely death in 1996. St. John and Levine subsequently collaborated to publish four posthumous collections of Levis's poetry
and prose, as well as a documentary about his life,
A Late Style of Fire. Materials relating to the compilation of these five works are included in this archive. The collection also includes correspondence
from both Levis and Levine to St. John, poetry and prose by Levis, and works by St. John with constructive comments by Levine.
Additional related materials are in the Philip Levine collection at the New York Public Library.
In 2023, Susan Weller donated a small collection of poet Roberta Spear's manuscripts, poem drafts, correspondence, and other
material to be added to the David St. John papers because of the collection's focus on various Fresno poets. Roberta Spear
(1948-2003) earned a BA and an MA at California State University, Fresno. Philip Levine, who was Spear's teacher and lifelong
friend, edited a posthumous collection of Spear's work,
A Sweetness Rising: New and Selected Poems (2007). Spear's other published books of poetry include
The Pilgrim Among Us (1991),
Taking to Water (1984), and
Silks (1980).
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
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.
[Box/folder no. or item name], David St. John papers, Collection no. 5334, University Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The initial acquisition was purchased from Glenn Horowitz Bookseller in March of 2019. The material relating to Roberta Spear
was a gift of Susan Weller via David St. John, April 13, 2023.
This collection is unprocessed. Glenn Horowitz, Bookseller authored two detailed inventories of the initial acquisition, which
are available upon request. However, the Horowitz inventories do not specify box and folder location information for the material
described.
Special Collections received the materials from this collection in three shipments: the first from David St. John's USC office,
the second from David St. John's home, and the third from Susan Weller via David St. John. The boxes from St. John's home
have labels written on each box lid indicating the contents of the box, while the boxes from his office were unlabeled. Other
than the differences in box labeling and former storage, the degree to which the separation into the office vs. home categories
can serve as a meaningful distinction (in terms of grouping similar material) is unclear. The material that came from Susan
Weller relates to poet Roberta Spear.
A portion of St. John's collected books and periodicals were separated from the archival collection to be cataloged as part
of the USC Libraries' circulating holdings. Once cataloged, each record will list St. John as "Contributor" in the USC Libraries
catalog search).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century -- Archival resources
American poetry -- 21st century -- Archival resources
American poetry -- California -- Fresno -- Archival resources
Fresno (Calif.) -- In literature -- Archival resources
Poets, American -- Correspondence
Poets, American -- Interviews
Poetry -- Introductions
Calendars (documents)
Correspondence
Drafts (documents)
Interviews
Manuscripts
Notebooks
Publications
Typescripts
Levine, Philip -- Archives
Levis, Larry -- Archives
Spear, Roberta -- Archives
St. John, David -- Archives
University of Southern California. Department of English -- Archives