Burns (Gerald) Manuscripts and Other Documents, 1978-2013 (bulk 1980-1997)
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Gerald Burns Manuscripts and Other Documents
- Dates:
- 1978-2013 (bulk 1980-1997)
- Creators:
- Burns, Gerald
- Abstract:
- Literary papers, correspondence, and artwork of Gerald Burns (1940-1997), "postmodern" poet, critic, artist, and editor. Includes typescripts of Burns' poetry collections; galleys for Burns' critical books Toward a Phenomenology of Written Art (1979) and Prose (1982); and correspondence with poet Barbara Jordan.
- Extent:
- 1.4 Linear feet (1 carton and 1 archives box)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Gerald Burns Manuscripts and Other Documents. MSS 221. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A small collection of the literary papers, correspondence and artwork of Gerald Burns (1940-1997), "postmodern" poet, critic, artist, and editor. Includes typescripts and drafts of Burns' poetry; galleys for Burns' critical books Toward a Phenomenology of Written Art (1979) and Prose (1982); and correspondence with Barbara Jordan. It also contains page proofs of Robert Trammell's Epics, for which Burns set the type; some prose writings such as essays; and artwork (principally line drawings, doodles, and sketches).
The second part of the collection consists of papers by and on Gerald Burns from the collection of poet Barbara Jordan, a friend of Burns and his wife, Clio Dunn. This material primarily consists of their letters and drafts of poems that Burns shared with Jordan.
Arranged in two series: 1) PAPERS, and 2) MATERIALS FROM BARBARA JORDAN.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Gerald Burns was born in 1940 in Detroit, Michigan. He was educated at Harvard, Trinity College (Dublin), and taught at Southern Methodist University and New York University. In 1975 Burns moved to Dallas. In 1985, he was awarded an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship for poetry. Burns found employment as an English teacher and editor, but his life's work was as a writer, poet, and artist. He illustrated several of his own books and designed many of their covers (most notably, Boccherini's Minuet and Prose).
Burns is considered a leading practitioner of long-lined, thickly-textured verse. His wide reading and close observation of a panoramic range of subjects allows his poetry to bridge formal and expressive gaps between the 19th-century Romantics, early 20th-century Modernism, and later 20th-century language-oriented writing.
Burns passed away in July 1997.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired 1992, 2014, 2025.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-05-16 12:34:13 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
- Terms of access:
-
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Gerald Burns Manuscripts and Other Documents. MSS 221. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533