Robert D. Brotherson collection of the Activist group of poets and other materials, approximately 1912-2004

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Summary

Creators:
Brotherson, Robert
Abstract:
Consists of correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, poems and publications from members of the Activist group of poets; business correspondence and administrative records related to the publishers Woolmer/Brotherson Ltd.; correspondence and personalia from Activist member and publisher Robert Brotherson; and materials related to Works: A Quarterly of Writing, which Brotherson edited. Includes correspondence and/or writings from Stuart Friebert, Jean McGahey Hart, Lawrence Hart, Rosalie Moore, Lois Moyles, Fred Ostrander, and Laurel Trivelpiece.
Extent:
9.1 linear feet (6 cartons, 4 boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], The Robert D. Broterson collection of the Activist group of poets and other materials, BANC MSS 2008/111,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, manuscripts (some final, some annotated), newspaper clippings, original copies of poems, and publications from members of the Activist group of poets. Also contains business correspondence and administrative records related to Woolmer/Brotherson Ltd., which published works by members of the group and other writers. There is also correspondence and personalia from Activist member and publisher Robert Brotherson, and materials related to Works: A Quarterly of Writing, which he edited. Includes correspondence and/or writings from Stuart Friebert, Jean McGahey Hart, Lawrence Hart, Rosalie Moore, Lois Moyles, Fred Ostrander, and Laurel Trivelpiece.

Biographical / historical:

The Activist group had its origins in classes taught by poet Lawrence Hart (1901-1996) in Oakland. Three "especially promising young students" - Robert Horan, Jeanne McGahey, and Rosalie Moore - attended a class in 1937 and, under Hart's leadership, they began to regard themselves as a group. The word "Activist" didn't have a political connotation. It was meant capture their belief that poetry should be exciting, with every line active. The label first appeared in their 1946 publication, "Ideas of Order in Experimental Poetry." Then W.H. Auden used it in his introduction to Moore's 1949 collection, "The Grasshopper Man," and the label stuck. The prominent journal, Poetry, featured the Activists in a special issue in 1951, and in a special half-issue feature in 1958. New writers joined the group in the fifties, including Robert Dale Brotherson, who co-edited the magazine the Activists published from 1950-1955 (with Don Wobber). Hart and his colleagues openly criticized the Beats in the San Francisco Chronicle. Hart "saw 1958 as the end point of the Modernist era in poetry," one that began with the publication of Les Fleurs du Mal by Baudelaire in 1858, and ended with the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl a century later. Subsequntly, the popularity of the Activists was eclipsed by that of the Beats and other writers in the "San Francisco Renaissance." Hart, however, continued to teach and attract new students. All told, he taught poetry in the Bay for 50 years. For more information on Hart and the Activists, see: https://lawrencehart.org/the-activist-poets/

Robert Dale Brotherson changed his last name from Botherson. His father, Robert Joseph Botherson, was a Canadian military officer and participated in World Wars I and II. Nellie Keas, Brotherson's mother, was a silent film actress. J. Howard Woolmer (1929-2023), Brotherson's publishing partner, was born in Montreal. He moved to New York City in 1958, and began a career as a professional bookseller in the early 1960s. Woolmer also compiled bibliographies and collections of (among others) American and Irish poets.

Acquisition information:
The Robert D. Brotherson collection of the Activist group of poets and other materials was given to The Bancroft Library between 2008-2009 by J. Howard Woolmer, on behalf of Robert D. Brotherson.
Processing information:

Arranged to the folder level

Processed by Marjorie Bryer in 2023.

The collection was stored in manila envelopes, and folder titles were transcribed from those envelopes. Materials were arranged intellectually in alphabetical order, by name or type of material.

Accruals:

No future additions are expected.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], The Robert D. Broterson collection of the Activist group of poets and other materials, BANC MSS 2008/111,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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