Inventory of the Philip Whalen Correspondence,
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
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collector:
Whalen, Philip
Title: Philip Whalen Correspondence,
Date (inclusive): 1978-1987
Extent:
0.8 linear feet
Abstract: Philip Whalen (1923-2002), American poet of the beat generation, authored
Like I
Say,
On Bear's Head, and
The Invention of the Letter, among other works. This
collection contains letters to Whalen from his fellow poets, Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Bernadette Mayer,
Michael McClure, Alice Notley, Gary Snyder, and Anne Waldman.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many
are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special
Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-492
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
Biography
Philip Whalen (1923-2002) graduated from Reed College in 1951 on the GI Bill after serving in the Army Air
Corps in World War II. It was at Reed that Whalen met and became friends with poets Gary Snyder and Lew Welch.
Several years later, Whalen was one of the poets who read with Snyder and others at the historic Six Gallery
reading in San Francisco on October 13, 1955. Allen Ginsberg first performed his poem, Howl, at the Six Gallery
reading.
After spending several years in Japan, Whalen was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1973 and spent two decades in Zen
Centers in San Francisco and New Mexico.
Whalen wrote nearly two dozen books including
Memoirs of an Interglacial Age,
Like I Say,
On Bear's Head,
The Kindness of Strangers: Poems, 1969-1974,
Canoeing up Cabarga Creek: Buddhist Poems, 1955-1986, and
Overtime: Selected
Poems.
He passed away on June 26, 2002.
Scope and Content
The collection contains correspondence from poets, Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Bernadette Mayer, Michael
McClure, Alice Notley, Gary Snyder, and Anne Waldman. The letters which span from 1978-1987 discuss topics such
as poetry, fellow poets, and arrangements for poetry readings, among other topics.
The letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Related collections
The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley holds the Philip Whalen Papers.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Whalen, Philip--Archives
Creeley, Robert, 1926-2005--Correspondence
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997--Correspondence
Mayer, Bernadette--Correspondence
McClure, Michael--Correspondence
Notley, Alice, 1945---Correspondence
Snyder, Gary, 1930---Correspondence
Waldman, Anne, 1945---Correspondence
Poets, American--20th century--Correspondence
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Michael Sherick in 1988.
Processing Information
Sara Gunasekara processed these papers and created and encoded this finding aid. Student employee Linda Trach
assisted with data entry work.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Phillip Whalen Correspondence, D-492, 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 1:1
Creeley, Robert
1983 December 19
Box 1:2
Creeley, Robert
1984 January 17
Box 1:3
Creeley, Robert
1984 February 1
Box 1:4
Creeley, Robert
1984 February 13
Box 1:5
Creeley, Robert
1984 March 28
Box 1:6
Ginsberg, Allen
1979 February 10
Box 1:7
Ginsberg, Allen
1979 June 19
Box 1:8
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 May 8
Box 1:9
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 May 12
Box 1:10
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 May 15
Box 1:11
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 May 23
Box 1:12
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 October 31
Box 1:13
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 December 9
Box 1:14
Ginsberg, Allen
1980 December 13
Box 1:15
Ginsberg, Allen
1982 February 28
Box 1:16
Ginsberg, Allen
1982 December 21
Box 1:17
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 February 4
Box 1:18
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 February
Box 1:19
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 April 24
Box 1:20
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 June 28
Box 1:21
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 July 20
Box 1:22
Ginsberg, Allen
1983 November 1
Box 1:23
Ginsberg, Allen
1984 October 29
Box 1:24
Ginsberg, Allen
1985 November 5
Box 1:25
Ginsberg, Allen
1986 August 31
Box 1:26
Ginsberg, Allen
1987 February 7
Box 1:27
Ginsberg, Allen
1987 March
Box 1:32
Lance, Jeanne
1983 April 7
Box 1:33
Mayer, Bernadette
1982 September 1
Box 1:34
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 January 25
Box 1:35
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 February 8
Box 1:36
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 February 20
Box 1:37
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 March 2
Box 1:38
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 March 15
Box 1:39
Mayer, Bernadette
1983 June 3
Box 1:40
McClure, Michael
1976 July 20
Box 1:41
McClure, Michael
1980 February 11
Box 1:42
McClure, Michael
1982 November 29
Box 1:43
McClure, Michael
1986 November 6
Box 1:44
McClure, Michael
1986 November 21
Box 1:45
McClure, Michael
1987 January 18
Box 1:46
McClure, Michael
1987 January 22
Box 1:47
McClure, Michael
1987 January 26
Box 1:48
McClure, Michael
1987 February 8
Box 1:49
McClure, Michael
1987 February 28
Box 1:50
McClure, Michael
1987 May 8
Box 1:51
McClure, Michael
1987 June 29
Box 1:52
McClure, Michael
1987 September 23
Box 1:53
Notley, Alice
1979 April 10
Box 1:54
Notley, Alice
1980 October 11
Box 1:55
Notley, Alice
1981 March 5
Box 1:56
Notley, Alice
1981 September 16
Box 1:58
Notley, Alice
1982 September 22
Box 1:59
Notley, Alice
1983 April 2
Box 1:60
Notley, Alice
1983 April 8
Box 1:61
Notley, Alice
1983 July 12
Box 1:62
Notley, Alice
1983 October 17
Box 1:63
Notley, Alice
1983 October 28
Box 1:64
Notley, Alice
1984 January 5
Box 1:65
Notley, Alice
1984 February 22
Box 1:66
Notley, Alice
1984 March 1
Box 1:67
Notley, Alice
1984 May 13
Box 1:68
Notley, Alice
1984 August 19
Box 1:69
Notley, Alice
1985 July 31
Box 1:70
Notley, Alice
1986 May 30
Box 1:71
Notley, Alice
1986 June 10
Box 1:72
Notley, Alice
1987 January 6
Box 1:73
Notley, Alice
1987 March 30
Box 1:74
Notley, Alice
1987 May 22
Box 1:75
Notley, Alice
1987 June 2
Box 1:76
Notley, Alice
1987 August 28
Box 2:1
Snyder, Gary
1979 April 3
Box 2:2
Snyder, Gary
1979 November 15
Box 2:3
Snyder, Gary
1980 June 21
Box 2:4
Snyder, Gary
1980 August 6
Box 2:5
Snyder, Gary
1980 September 24
Box 2:6
Snyder, Gary
1980 October 26
Box 2:7
Snyder, Gary
1980 November 21
Box 2:8
Snyder, Gary
1980 December 3
Box 2:9
Snyder, Gary
1981 January 19
Box 2:11
Snyder, Gary
1981 November 7
Box 2:12
Snyder, Gary
1982 March 17
Box 2:13
Snyder, Gary
1982 August 15
Box 2:15
Snyder, Gary
1983 December 20
Box 2:16
Snyder, Gary
1984 June 13
Box 2:17
Snyder, Gary
1984 August 22
Box 2:18
Snyder, Gary
1985 January 15
Box 2:19
Snyder, Gary
1986 November 6
Box 2:20
Waldman, Anne
1978 March 3
Box 2:21
Waldman, Anne
1979 September 25
Box 2:22
Waldman, Anne
1979 October 11
Box 2:23
Waldman, Anne
1979 November 26
Box 2:24
Waldman, Anne
1980 January 31
Box 2:25
Waldman, Anne
1980 October 16
Box 2:26
Waldman, Anne
1981 May 24
Box 2:27
Waldman, Anne
1982 November 28
Box 2:28
Waldman, Anne
1982 December 18
Box 2:29
Waldman, Anne
1983 January 20
Box 2:30
Waldman, Anne
1983 May 22
Box 2:31
Waldman, Anne
1984 August 15
Box 2:32
Waldman, Anne
1985 April 9
Box 2:33
Waldman, Anne
1987 September 22
