David Meltzer Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection is made up of a variety of different materials, mostly correspondence, from the San Francisco beat poet David Meltzer. The bulk of the collection consists of letters between David Meltzer and his friend and publisher, Robert Hawley. These letters illustrate the relationship between Meltzer and Hawley from the mid 1960s up to the publishing of Meltzer’s book, Two-Way Mirror,in 1977.
The collection also contains retention letters that Meltzer sent to his mother as a young college student. These letters reveal Meltzer’s strained relationship with both his mother and his father. The correspondence with fellow poet Doug Palmer also shows the working relationship between the two poets, specifically Palmer's attempt to book Meltzer for a poetry reading.
The remainder of the collection includes several documents associated with the publishing of Two-way Mirror, including two edited gallery proofs of the book. There are also several pieces that relate to Meltzer’s career as a poet, several original illustrations by Meltzer, and a working draft of Meltzer’s poem Oyez!
This collection relates to the San Francisco Renaissance, a poetry movement that was born in post-World War II San Francisco. Meltzer was part of a group of poets that wanted to break free of the literary traditions and social norms of the time. This collection shows the relationship between poet and publisher, fellow poets, and also some works of Meltzer that are contemporary to this time period.
Dates
- Creation: 1956-1977
Language of Materials
Material in English
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Daivd Meltzer Papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Biographical Note
David Meltzer was born in 1937 in Rochester, New York. His career as a poet began to take off during the beat generation of poetry in San Francisco during the 1950s. In addition to being a successful poet, Meltzer is also an accomplished musician and author. At the time of processing he lived in Oakland California. Some notable contemporaries of David Meltzer and Robert Hawley include poets: Kenneth Rexroth and Robert Duncan.
Robert Hawley was born in Stockbridge, Wisconsin in 1929. Hawley was the founder of the publishing company Oyez in 1964, a press that mainly published poetry books by students of Black Mountain College and the Bay Area Renaissance poets. Oyez first published book was a collection of poems by David Meltzer, and his later book, Two-Way Mirror, in 1977.
Extent
2 boxes (2 linear feet)
Abstract
This collection contains the papers of San Francisco-based poet David Meltzer. This collection is made up of a variety of different materials, mostly correspondence, from David Meltzer.
Arrangement
This collection is arragned by document type, then chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were purchased by Special Collections and Archives in 2016 from Ken Sanders Rare Books.
Bibliography
General
- "David Meltzer." Poetry Foundation. Accessed March 18, 2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/david-meltzer#poet
- "Robert Hawley." Social Archive. Accessed March 18, 2016. http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w60s0f5c
- "A Brief Guide to the San Francisco Renaissance." Poets.org. May 28, 2004. Accessed March 18, 2016. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-san-francisco-renaissance
Processing Information
Processed in March of 2016
- Title
- Guide to the David Meltzer Papers 1956-1977
- Author
- Finding aid/Register created by Cody Patton and Clint Pumphrey
- Date
- ©2016
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English.
Revision Statements
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu