Poets Garden records, 1876-1971

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Summary

Creators:
Le Prade, Ruth
Abstract:
The Poets Garden records contains publications, letters, diaries, and memorabilia of the literary group created by Los Angeles poet Ruth Le Prade. The collection also contains materials relating to the poet Edwin Markham (1852-1940) and the labor and socialist activist Eugene Debs.
Extent:
103 Linear Feet 102 boxes, 1 map-case folder
Language:
English and English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Poets Garden records, Collection no. 0110, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Background

Scope and content:

The records of Poets Garden contain Ruth Le Prade's personal papers, those of her friends she considered part of the Poets Garden, a small section on Eugene Debs (who died before the Garden was established as such), and publications collected either by Le Prade or one of the Garden's other members. Le Prade's personal papers include her correspondence with people not individually represented at the series level in the collection, financial records, typescript and manuscript drafts of her works (both prose and poetry, published and unpublished), her manuscript notes, scrapbooks, photographs and newspaper and periodical clippings. The records for the people named at the series level generally include their correspondence both to and from Ruth Le Prade. However, they may also include any combination of the following: typescript and manuscript drafts, correspondence with people other than Le Prade, correspondence to or from Le Prade about the series's namesake, clippings by, about or collected by the series's namesake, photographs, awards, plaques and scrapbooks.

Biographical / historical:

Edwin Markham dedicated the Poets Garden, located in Ruth Le Prade's backyard at 1622 S. Spaulding Street, in April 1927 with the planting of a sycamore tree called the Song Tree in honor of Ruth Le Prade and a wisteria tree for Peace. Between 1927 and Le Prade's death in 1969, other trees were planted in honor of poets and literary figures, including a Gingko tree to honor the Chinese poet Moon Kwan, an oak tree for Chaucer and trees honoring William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling and Edwin Markham. There were also trees in the Poets Garden dedicated to Jesus, the Divine Mother (Mary) and Brotherhood. The slogan of the Garden was "Bread, Beauty and Brotherhood." Le Prade hosted events at Christmas and Markham's birthday every year in the garden, and many of the people represented in this collection were attendees of these events.

However, the Poets Garden was not just a physical garden. It also consisted of Ruth Le Prade's circle of acquaintances, friends and correspondents, most of whom were writers and/or poets. Le Prade kept much of her correspondence with "members" of the Poets Garden (there was, however, no official membership). In some cases, most notably Gordon Norris and Robert Whitaker, Le Prade received the papers and correspondence of her friends to add to her collection. Beginning in 1953, Le Prade began to donate most of her collection (both books and paper records) to the University of Southern California. She also gave a collection documenting Florence Hamilton's relationship with Edwin Markham to the Library of Congress in 1953.

Arrangement:

The Poets Garden records are organized into 26 series. 25 of the series reflect Ruth Le Prade's original arrangement of the collection and are based on specific people. These series contain the correspondence both to and from Ruth Le Prade with these people, along with any other files Le Prade created or received from them. The last series consists of the publications found throughout the collection. The series of the Poets Garden records are:

1. Ruth Le Prade

2. Edwin Markham

3. Florence Hamilton

4. Alzire Adrienne "Faith" Chevaillier

5. Eugene Debs

6. Robert Whitaker

7. Guy Bogart

8. Genevieve Farnell Bond

9. Verne Bright

10. Grace Bush

11. Ethelean Tyson Gaw

12. Moon Kwan

13. Seumas MacManus

14. Eric Mayne

15. Juanita Miller

16. Angela Morgan

17. Dion O'Donnol

18. Gordon Norris

19. Ruth Clay Price (Ruth Price Simpson)

20. Adeline de Walt "Grandma" Reynolds

21. Luther Standing Bear

22. John Milton Scott

23. Ruth Forbes Sherry

24. Selman Warren Stone

25. Lucia Trent

26. Publications

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
American literature -- 20th century -- Archival resources
American poetry -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Christian socialism -- Archival resources
Dakota Indians -- Archival resources
Families of prisoners of war -- Archival resources
Poets, American -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Prison reformers -- Archival resources
Prisoners -- Correspondence
Religious poetry, American -- California -- Archival resources
Socialism -- California -- Archival resources
Socialism and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Socialists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Women -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Women social reformers -- United States -- Archival resources
World War, 1939-1945 -- Repatriation of war dead -- United States -- Archival resources
World War, 1939-1945 -- United States -- Archival resources
Clippings
Correspondence
Diaries
Ephemera
Manuscripts
Memorabilia
Periodicals
Scrapbooks
Typescripts
Names:
Le Prade, Ruth -- Archives
Le Prade, Ruth -- Correspondence
Bogart, Guy -- Archives
Bogart, Guy -- Correspondence
Bond, Genevieve Farnell -- Archives
Bond, Genevieve Farnell -- Correspondence
Bright, Verne -- Archives
Bright, Verne -- Correspondence
Bush, Grace E. -- Archives
Bush, Grace E. -- Correspondence
Cheyney, Ralph -- Archives
Chevaillier, Alzire A. (Alzire Adrienne) -- Archives
Chevaillier, Alzire A. (Alzire Adrienne) -- Correspondence
Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor) -- Archives
Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor) -- Correspondence
Gaw, Ethelean Tyson -- Archives
Gaw, Ethelean Tyson -- Correspondence
Hamilton, Florence -- Archives
Hamilton, Florence -- Correspondence
Kwan, Moon -- Archives
Kwan, Moon -- Correspondence
MacManus, Seumas -- Archives
MacManus, Seumas -- Correspondence
Markham, Edwin -- Archives
Markham, Edwin -- Correspondence
Mayne, Eric -- Archives
Mayne, Eric -- Correspondence
Miller, Juanita Joaquina -- Archives
Miller, Juanita Joaquina -- Correspondence
Morgan, Angela -- Archives
Morgan, Angela -- Correspondence
Norris, Gordon W. -- Archives
Norris, Gordon W. -- Correspondence
O'Donnol, Dion -- Archives
O'Donnol, Dion -- Correspondence
Price, Ruth Clay -- Archives
Price, Ruth Clay -- Correspondence
Reynolds, Adeline de Walt -- Archives
Reynolds, Adeline de Walt -- Correspondence
Scott, John Milton -- Archives
Scott, John Milton -- Correspondence
Sherry, Ruth Forbes -- Archives
Sherry, Ruth Forbes -- Correspondence
Standing Bear, Luther -- Archives
Standing Bear, Luther -- Correspondence
Trent, Lucia -- Archives
Trent, Lucia -- Correspondence
Wells, Wesley Robert -- Correspondence
Whitaker, Robert -- Archives
Whitaker, Robert -- Correspondence
Places:
United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Archival resources

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Terms of 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.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Poets Garden records, Collection no. 0110, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
Website