Inventory of the Cid Corman Letters to Frank Samperi,
Sara Gunasekara
Department of Special Collections
General Library
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616-5292
Phone: (530) 752-1621
Fax: (530) 754-5758
Email: speccoll@ucdavis.edu
© 2008
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Creator:
Corman, Cid
Title: Cid Corman Letters to Frank Samperi,
Date (inclusive): 1972-1975
Extent:
120 letters; 0.2 linear feet
Abstract: Cid Corman (1924-2004) poet, editor, and translator, was the founder of the poetry
magazine Origin and the Origin Press. This collection contains 120 typescript letters to the poet Frank Samperi
written by Corman, from 1972 to 1975, while Corman was in Japan. The letters discuss poetry journals and presses
as well as the demands of writing and editing for publication, and specific works of Corman's, among other
subjects.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many
are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of Special
Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: MC013
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
Biography
Cid Corman was born on June 29, 1924 in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Tufts University in 1945. He
did graduate work at the University of Michigan, where he won the Hopwood Prize for poetry in 1947, and also at
the University of North Carolina. In 1948, Corman returned to Boston where he started a radio program on WMEX.
During this program the works of writers were read without commercial interruption.
He founded the poetry magazine Origin and Origin Press in 1951, featuring the works of Robert Duncan and Denise
Levertov, among others. Corman was known for helping other poets get their works published through Origin Press
and was an influential figure among the Beat and Black Mountain poets. In 1958, Corman moved to Kyoto, Japan
where he continued his work with Origin Press. The following year, Gary Snyder's first book,
Riprap, was published, printed in Kyoto by Corman and distributed through City Lights Books.
Corman was a prolific poet himself and his works include:
The Precious (1955)
Sun rock
man
(1970),
So Far (1973),
For the Asking (1976),
Identities
(1981),
And the Word (1987),
How Now: Poems (1995), and
For Crying Out Loud (2002). He also translated the
works of the Japanese poets Matsuo Basho and Shimpei Kusano.
Corman passed away on March 12, 2004, in Kyoto, Japan.
Frank Samperi (1933-1991), also a poet, was the author of
Lumen gloriae; poems (1974),
The prefiguration; poems (1971),
Quadrifariam; poems (1973).
Source:
"Sidney Corman Obituary Notice," in
Contemporary Authors, v. 225. Detroit: Thomson Gale,
2004.
Scope and Content
The collection contains 120 typescript letters to Frank Samperi written by Cid Corman, from 1972 to 1975, while
Corman was in Japan.
The letters discuss poetry journals and presses as well as the demands of writing and editing for publication.
Also described are Corman's philosophy, support for Samperi, comments upon the works both were reading at the
time, and upon current events, such as Nixon and the Vietnam War. Specific works of Corman's are also mentioned
including his essay, Prefiguration, and
The Gist of Origin, 1951-1971: an anthology, edited by
Corman.
The letters are arranged chronologically.
Related Collection
D-050 Gary Snyder Papers
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Corman, Cid--Correspondence
Samperi, Frank
Poets, American--20th century
Access
Collection is open for research.
Processing Information
Sara Gunasekara processed these papers and created and encoded this finding aid.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Cid Corman Letters to Frank Samperi, MC013, Department of Special Collections,
General Library, University of California, Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to
publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of
California, Davis 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 by the researcher.
Box MC013:1
1972 May 8
Physical Description:
1 letter
Box MC013:2
1972 May 18-1972 June 19
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:3
1972 June 26-1972 August 2
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:4
1972 September 8-1972 October 16
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:5
1972 October 25-1972 November 30
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:6
1972 December 12-1973 January 13
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:7
1973 January 20-1973 February 27
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:8
1973 March 9-1973 April 11
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:9
1973 April 19-1973 May 21
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:10
1973 May 22-1973 June 20
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:11
1973 June 27-1973 August 2
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:12
1973 September 12-1973 October 20
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:13
1973 October 29-1973 December 12
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:14
1973 December 25-1974 February 1
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:15
1974 February 11-1974 March 27
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:16
1974 April 6
Physical Description:
1 letter
Box MC013:17
1974 April 16-20 May 1974
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:18
1974 May 29-1974 July 4
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:19
1974 July 15-1974 September 4
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:20
1974 September 9-1974 October 22
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:21
1974 November 5-1974 December 13
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:22
1974 December 24-1975 March 7
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:23
1975 March 24-1975 May 29
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:24
1975 June 9-1975 July 21
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:25
1975 July 31-1975 September 29
Physical Description:
5 letters
Box MC013:26
1975 October 10-1975 November 3
Physical Description:
3 letters