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Robert Lowell:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center



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Descriptive Summary
Repository: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin
Creator: Lowell, Robert, 1917-1977
Title: Robert Lowell Papers
Dates: ca. 1845-1988 (bulk 1970-1977)
Extent: 23 boxes (oversize materials in box 23), 9 galley folders, 14 sound recordings (11.5 linear feet)
Abstract: Although this body materials spans more than a century, the bulk of the materials document Lowell's writings as a poet, playwright, and translator during the last seven years of his life. Heavily edited drafts of poems published in The Dolphin, Lizzie and Harriet, History, and Day by Day illustrate Lowell's propensity for revision. The collection also includes photographs, medical files, and legal papers that provide biographical information about Lowell's early and later life. In addition, the collection contains letters and manuscripts from several of Lowell's contemporaries.
RLIN Record #: TXRC94-A10
Language English.

Administrative Information

Acquisition

Purchase, 1968-1992 (#4289, #9580, #12247, #12617)

Provenance

Materials relating to Endecott and the Red Cross were purchased in 1968 from the Gotham Book Mart, but the bulk of the manuscripts and correspondence comprising this collection were acquired from the Estate of Robert Lowell in 1982. Important additions (including additional manuscripts and correspondence, clippings, family documents, honorary degrees, medical files, memorial service materials, obituaries, photographs, school publications, and sound recordings) were received in 1991 from Elizabeth Hardwick, and another three items of correspondence were acquired through the Argosy Book Store in 1992.

Processed by

Jennifer Patterson and Joan Sibley, 1993-1994

Restrictions

Access

Open for research

Biographical Sketch

American poet Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was born in Boston on March 1, 1917, to Robert Traill Spence Lowell III and Charlotte Winslow Lowell, a relation of writers James Russell Lowell and Amy Lowell. In addition to being the descendant of poets, Lowell encountered and was taught by numerous prominent poets during his classicist education. Lowell attended St. Mark's School (1930-1935), where he was influenced by Richard Eberhart, and Harvard University (1935-1937). In 1937, Boston psychiatrist and poet Merrill Moore sent young Lowell to meet Ford Madox Ford, who was visiting Allen Tate in Tennessee at the time. It was there that Tate introduced Lowell to John Crowe Ransom, and Lowell subsequently transferred to Kenyon College (1937-1940) where Ransom had accepted a new post. It was at Kenyon that Lowell made the acquaintance of lifelong friends Randall Jarrell and Peter Taylor. Lowell also came under the tutelage of Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks when he undertook further study at Louisiana State University (1940-1941).

After college, Lowell worked as an editor and as a teacher at several institutions, including the State University of Iowa, the Kenyon School of Letters, Boston University, Harvard University, the University of Essex, and Kent University, among others. During his career, he taught such poets as W. D. Snodgrass, Anne Sexton, and Sylvia Plath.

His first volume of poetry, Land of Unlikeness, was published in 1944 and was followed in 1946 by his Pulitzer Prize winning effort Lord Weary's Castle. Lowell also won the National Book Award for his 1959 work Life Studies, and again received the Pulitzer for The Dolphin, published in 1973. His final work, Day By Day, was published in 1977 and was awarded the National Book Award Critics Circle Award. His other major works include: Poems 1938-1949 (1950), The Mills of the Kavanaughs (1951), For the Union Dead (1964), Near the Ocean (1967), Notebook 1967-1968 (1969), For Lizzie and Harriet (1973), and History (1973).

Lowell also wrote and translated plays ( Phaedra and Figaro, 1961; The Old Glory, 1965; Prometheus Bound, 1969; The Oresteia of Aeschylus, 1978), and published translations of poetry by Eugenio Montale ( Poesie di Montale, 1960), Baudelaire ( The Voyage and Other Versions of Poems by Baudelaire,1968), and others ( Imitations, 1961).

His work especially during the 1960s and 1970s stressed his preoccupations with political and social issues, such as protest of the

Vietnam War and support of presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy. During this same period, Lowell's early formal style gave way to a controversial personal or confessional style of poetry under the influence of such poets as John Berryman, William Carlos Williams, and Ezra Pound.

Lowell was married to Jean Stafford (1940, divorced 1948), to Elizabeth Hardwick (1949, divorced 1972), and to Caroline Blackwood (1972), and had two children, Harriet Winslow Lowell (born 1957) and Robert Sheridan Lowell (born 1971). He lived primarily in England after 1970 and died September 12, 1977, while on a visit to New York City.

For further information on the life and work of Robert Lowell, see

Axelrod, Steven Gould. Robert Lowell: Life and Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 5: American Poets Since World War II. Detroit: Gale, 1980. Fein, Richard J. Robert Lowell. Twayne's United States Author Series, no. 176. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1970. Hamilton, Ian. Robert Lowell: A Biography. New York: Random House, 1982.

Scope and Contents

The Robert Lowell Papers, ca. 1845-1988, consist mainly of Lowell's working papers for the period 1970-1977. As such the papers include heavily revised drafts of manuscripts, galleys, and page proofs for Notebook (1970), The Dolphin (1973), For Lizzie and Harriet (1973), History (1973), and Day By Day (1977). Also present are an early notebook, manuscripts for a few earlier works such as "Endecott and the Red Cross" (1965) and "Prometheus Bound" (1969), manuscripts for works published posthumously such as The Oresteia of Aeschylus (1978) and Collected Prose (1987), as well as some unfinished and/or unpublished items. The balance of the collection contains manuscripts by friends, colleagues, and students, as well as correspondence, clippings, financial and legal papers, honorary degrees, medical papers, music scores, photographs, school publications and yearbooks, and sound recordings.

The bulk of this collection was acquired in 1982 and came in two large suitcases, largely unorganized and unlabelled. Lowell was frequently assisted by the poet Frank Bidart during the 1970s, who was consulted for advice regarding the organization and arrangement of manuscripts in this collection. The collection has been arranged into four series: I. Works, ca. 1930s-1987 (14 boxes), II. Correspondence, 1938-1977 (2 boxes), III. Personal Papers, 1845-1988 (5 boxes), and IV. Sound Recordings and Music Scores, 1958-1987 (19 items).

The papers serve to document various aspects of Robert Lowell's life, chiefly his activities as poet, translator, and playwright, especially during the last seven years of his life. His working practices as a poet, his propensity for revision, and his evolving style during this later period are especially well represented in his manuscripts. His correspondence from colleagues and friends deals in part with his divorce from Elizabeth Hardwick and subsequent marriage to Caroline Blackwood, and his controversial treatment of these events in his poetry. Among Lowell's correspondents in this collection are William Alfred, Rolando Anzilotti, Frank Bidart, Elizabeth Bishop, Caroline Blackwood, Blair Clark, Elizabeth Hardwick, Stanley Kunitz, Harriet Winslow Lowell, Eugene J. McCarthy, Mary McCarthy, William Meredith, Marcia Nardi, Adrienne Cecile Rich, I. A. Richards, W. D. Snodgrass, Jean Stafford, Allen Tate, Peter Hillsman Taylor, Robert Penn Warren, and others.

In addition to the manuscripts and correspondence, various clippings of reviews and other critical assessments of Lowell's life and works are present, which further understanding of Lowell and his work. Some clippings, programs, handbills and other materials concerning productions of Lowell's plays ( "Benito Cereno," "Endecott and the Red Cross," "The Old Glory," "The Oresteia," and "Phaedra") are present, as are reviews and recordings of some musical settings of his work (Elliott Carter's In Sleep, In Thunder, Benjamin Britten's Phaedra, and John Hopkins' White Winter, Black Spring).

Lowell's early life is documented by photographs, family documents, school publications, and medical files which detail Merrill Moore's psychiatric treatment of Lowell, ca. 1935-1941. Correspondence to Moore includes letters from Lowell, as well as from family members and friends: Blair Clark, Anne Dick, Richard Eberhart, James Laughlin, Charlotte Winslow Lowell, Robert Traill Spence Lowell III, David McDowell, Frank Parker, John Crowe Ransom, Robb Ransom, Jean Stafford, Milton Starr, Allen Tate, Peter Hillsman Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren, and others.

His life in later years is chiefly detailed by the aforementioned manuscripts and correspondence, but further documentation of his activities is found among the financial and legal papers. Obituaries and items collected from various memorial services round out the collection, recording the response to Lowell's death by his contemporaries and the press.

There is also substantial information in the correspondence from other poets and writers which will assist the researcher interested in these various figures. Additionally, there are manuscripts present by some of these writers, such as Elizabeth Bishop, Seamus Heaney, Stanley Kunitz, Marcia Nardi, I. A. Richards, Peter Hillsman Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. To a lesser extent, there are also manuscripts from some of Lowell's students, as well as his own notes regarding students, which relate to his role as educator.

Related Material

For other Robert Lowell materials at the HRHRC, see the following manuscript collections:

The Elizabeth Hardwick Papers at the HRHRC form an important adjunct to this collection, as they contain Lowell's letters to Hardwick, 1949-1977, and to his daughter Harriet, 1968-1977. Also present are numerous letters of condolence received by Hardwick upon Lowell's death.

The HRHRC Library also holds numerous published works both by and about Lowell (accessible through the book card catalog and the online catalog, UTCAT), as well as information in the Vertical File Collection.

The HRHRC Art Collection includes a watercolor and pastel caricature of Robert Lowell with Allen Ginsberg, W. H. Auden, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti by Zdzislaw Czermanski.

The HRHRC Theatre Arts Collection has costume and property designs by Robert LaVigne for the 1968 American Place Theater production of "Endecott and the Red Cross."

Harvard University has a major collection of Robert Lowell Papers, spanning approximately 1935-1970. The collection is described in The Robert Lowell Papers at the Houghton Library, Harvard University: A Guide to the Collection, compiled by Patrick K. Miehe. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.

Index Terms

Correspondents

Alfred, William, 1923- .
Alvarez, A. (Alfred), 1929- .
Anzilotti, Rolando.
Belitt, Ben, 1911- .
Bidart, Frank, 1939- .
Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979.
Blackwood, Caroline.
Clark, Blair, 1917- .
Cousins, Norman.
Cowley, Malcolm, 1898- .
Davie, Donald.
Eberhart, Richard, 1904- .
Ewart, Gavin.
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926- .
Giroux, Robert.
Hamilton, Ian, 1938- .
Hardwick, Elizabeth.
Hazo, Samuel John.
Heaney, Seamus.
Hellman, Lillian, 1906- .
Jarrell, Mary.
Joyce, Lucia, d. 1982.
Kazin, Alfred, 1915- .
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968.
Kunitz, Stanley, 1905- .
Larkin, Philip.
Laughlin, James, 1914- .
Lish, Gordon.
Macauley, Robie.
Malanga, Gerard.
McCarthy, Eugene J., 1916- .
McCarthy, Mary, 1912- .
McClatchy, J.D., 1945- .
Meredith, William, 1919- .
Moore, Merrill, 1903-1957.
Nardi, Marcia.
Nemerov, Howard.
Nolan, Sidney, 1917- .
Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929- .
Parker, Francis.
Powers, J.F. (James Farl), 1917- .
Rahv, Philip, 1908-1973.
Ransom, John Crowe, 1888-1974.
Rich, Adrienne Cecile.
Richards, I.A. (Ivor Armstrong), 1893- .
Schlesinger, Arthur Meier, 1917- .
Snodgrass, W.D. (William De Witt), 1926- .
Stafford, Jean, 1915- .
Tate, Allen, 1899- .
Taylor, Eleanor Ross, 1920- .
Taylor, Peter Hillsman, 1917- .
Trilling, Diana.
Van Duyn, Mona.
Voznesenskii, Andrei, 1933- .
Walcott, Derek.
Warren, Robert Penn, 1905- .
Weeks, Edward, 1898- .
Wilbur, Richard, 1921- .
Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972.

Subjects

Poets, American--20th century.

Document Types

Galley proofs.
Juvenilia.
Medical records.
Photographs.
Poems.
Postcards.
School yearbooks.
Scores.
Scripts.
Sound recordings.

Container List

Series I. Works, ca. 1930s-1987 (bulk 1970-1977),  
14 boxes

Heavily revised drafts of manuscripts, galleys, and page proofs for Lowell's major works published between 1973-1977 ( The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, History, and Day By Day) form the majority of this series. Less complete is the material present for the revised edition of Notebook (1970), which is represented by galleys and page proofs. Additional major works present include the plays "Endecott and the Red Cross" (scripts and production materials for a 1968 staging) and "Prometheus Bound" (manuscripts and page proofs). Drafts of several prose pieces, such as "A Moment in American History" and "New England and Further," which formed the basis for the posthumous Collected Prose (1987), are also part of this collection.

Numerous unidentified and/or unpublished poems, such as the late poem "Summer Tides" and an unpublished poem to Randall Jarrell are also among these papers, as are unpublished essays on John Crowe Ransom, Lieutenant William L. Calley, and others. There is one early undated notebook of Lowell's, probably dating back to his school days, which appears to contain Latin and Greek texts, translations, transcriptions of poems, and some original poems.

The Works are arranged alphabetically by title, except for several folders of manuscripts gathered after Lowell's death by Frank Bidart and Elizabeth Hardwick, which have been left intact and have been placed at the end of the series. For the published volumes of poetry, the manuscripts of individual poems are generally arranged according to the order in which they appear in the publication. Some drafts of the poetry reflect a variant order of poems from the final published version, and the presumed original order of these drafts has been left intact. Individual manuscripts are grouped by title or first line in alphabetic folders, i.e. A-D, E, F, etc. An outline of the arrangement of the manuscripts appears on page 21 of this guide. An index to all manuscripts, by title or by first line (if untitled), has been compiled and also forms a part of this guide.

Lowell's scrupulous attention to detail and propensity for revision is amply demonstrated in the multiple drafts of most of his poems: frequently there are more than ten versions, and some have as many as one hundred different renditions. Numerous revisions and corrections to the manuscripts appear in Lowell's hand, as well as those of Frank Bidart and Caroline Blackwood. Lowell sometimes left drafts of poems untitled, though frequently he also revised the titles of poems as he progressed through these drafts. Often these are manuscript pages with a draft of one poem on the front, and a draft of a different poem on the verso. Due to the large number of revisions, the index to manuscripts in this guide should be consulted as a first step to locate variants of individual poems which are scattered amongst the manuscripts for these books.

The manuscripts for Notebook (1970) and for the three works published in 1973 ( The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, and History) document the complexities of Lowell's changing poetic style during this period and his perceptions of his poetry. Notebook (1970) included revisions of about 100 poems from Notebook 1967-1968, along with 97 new poems. Lowell himself sheepishly admitted in a note to the publication"I am loath to display a litter of variants... I couldn't stop writing and have handled my published book as if it were manuscript." His continuing dissatisfaction with the work resulted in yet further revision, breaking Notebook (1970) up into two new volumes, For Lizzie and Harriet (67 poems) and History (which incorporated 283 Notebook poems among its 368 poems). Careful analysis of the manuscripts of For Lizzie and Harriet and History will illuminate the evolution of these works, especially in regard to which of the Notebook poems in what sequences appeared in which drafts as compared with their final published versions.

Lowell further revised some poems that had appeared in The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, and History when Selected Poems was compiled and published in 1976. While Selected Poems is not represented in this collection by a group of manuscripts, it is possible that some of the drafts identified as belonging to one of the three 1973 works could represent the earlier discarded versions Lowell indicated he used for this publication.

The materials gathered by Frank Bidart largely concern Day By Day, although there are numerous poems from other works or some which may be unpublished. Manuscripts that were published after Lowell's death, such as The Oresteia of Aeschylus (1978), are also present, as is Lowell's "Cursory list of errors with HarrietCursory list of errors with Harriet" in which Lowell enumerated what he thought were his mistakes on his daughter's visit to England.

Manuscript items gathered by Elizabeth Hardwick also contain materials relating to Day By Day, various poems from other works, and unpublished poems, as well as several prose pieces including "Art and Evil" and "New England and Further," which appeared in Collected Prose (1987). Several of these manuscripts are photocopies, and may represent copies of originals held by other repositories.

boxfolder
1 1 Unidentified manuscripts or incomplete fragments
2 A-D manuscripts
Day by Day (1977)
boxfolder
1 3 Unidentified poems & fragments
4 Contents pages & corrections
Individual poems
boxfolder
1 5 Ulysses and Circe
6 Homecoming
7 Last Walk?
8 Suicide
9 Departure
10 Our Afterlife I
11 Our Afterlife II
12 Louisiana State University in 1940
13 For John Berryman
14 Jean Stafford, a Letter
15 Since 1939
16 Square of Black
17 Fetus
18 Art of the Possible
19 In the Ward
20 Burial
21 Ear of Corn
   
2 1 Off Central Park
2 Death of a Critic
3 Endings
4 The Day
5 Domesday Book
6 We Took Our Paradise
7 Lives
8 The Spell
9 This Golden Summer
10 Milgate
11 Realities
12 Ants
13 Sheridan
14 Marriage
15 The Withdrawal
16 Logan Airport, Boston
17 Wellesley Free
18 To Mother
19 Robert T. S. Lowell
20 For Sheridan
21 Bright Day in Boston
22 St. Mark's, 1933
23 To Frank Parker
24 Morning after Dining with a Friend
25 Return in March
26 Suburban Surf
27 Turtle
28 Seventh Year
   
3 1 Shaving
2 Runaway
3 Caroline in Sickness
4 Stars
5 Seesaw
6 Ten Minutes
7 Visitors
8 Three Freuds
9 Home
10 Shadow
11 Notice
12 Shifting Colors
13 Unwanted
14 The Downlook
15 Thanks-Offering for Recovery
16 Epilogue
17 Rabbit, Weasel, and Cat
18 George III
19 Arethusa to Lycotas
20 Draft A
21 Draft B
22 Page & galley proofs
23 New Review Tearsheets
The Dolphin (1973)
boxfolder
4 1 Contents page & corrections
Individual poems
boxfolder
4 2 Fishnet - Diagnosis
3 Shoes - Old Snapshot from Venice 1952
4 Flashback to Washington Square 1966 - Fall Weekend at Milgate I-III
5 Records - They
6 The Friend - Flounder
7 Mastodon - Day
8 Artist's Model - Heavy Breathing
9 Late Summer at Milgate - Ivana
   
5 1 Alimony - Sick
2 Facing Oneself - New York Again
3 No Messiah - Dolphin
4 Draft A
5 Draft B
6 Draft C
7 Draft D
8 Draft E
9 Draft F
10 Draft G
11 Draft H
12 Draft I
13 Draft J
   
6 1 Draft K
2 Draft L
3 Faber drafts
4 Page & galley proofs
5 E manuscripts
"Endecott and the Red Cross" (Published in The Old Glory, 1965)
boxfolder
6 6 Production notes, [1968]
7 Working drafts, [1968]
8 Revised scripts, Feb. 9, 1968
9 F manuscripts
For Lizzie and Harriet (1973)
boxfolder
7 1 Incomplete draft poems & contents page
2 Draft A
3 Draft B
4 Draft C
5 Draft D
6 Paste-up draft
7 Faber drafts
8 Page & galley proofs
9 G-H manuscripts
History (1973)
boxfolder
7 10 Corrections
Individual poems
boxfolder
7 11 History - The Spartan Dead at Thermopylae
12 Xerxes and Alexander - Rome In the Sixteenth Century
13 Northmen - Christians
14 Life and Civilization - Main Street
   
8 1 Revenants - Scar-Face
2 Wolverines, 1927 - Sylvia Plath
3 In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - The Just Forties
4 Under the Moon - De Gaulle est mort
5 Levi-Strauss in London - Ice
6-7 Draft A
8-9 Draft B
   
9 1 Draft C
2-3 Draft D
4 Paste-up draft 1
5 Paste-up draft 2
   
10 1 Paste-up draft 3
2 Paste-up draft 4
3 Paste-up draft 5
4-6 Faber drafts
7 Notes & galley proofs  
(2 sets)
   
11 1 I-M manuscripts
2-3 "A Moment in American Poetry"
4 N manuscripts
Notebook (1970)
boxfolder
11 5 Faber page proofs
   
12 1-2 Faber page proofs
3 Galley proofs and production materials
4 O-P manuscripts
5 Prometheus Bound (1969)
6 Q-Z manuscripts
   
13 1 Materials gathered by Frank Bidart
2-3 Materials gathered by Elizabeth Hardwick, April-July 1977
4 Materials gathered by Elizabeth Hardwick, Summer 1977
Materials gathered by Elizabeth Hardwick, 1991 [folder titles are EH's except those in brackets which were supplied]
boxfolder
14 1 Articles and poems (printed), 1963-1973, nd
2 [Collected Prose], 1987
3 Drafts of essays, poems, nd
4 Lowell's papers (poems, xerox of a children's story, and notes), nd
5 [ "New England and Further"], nd
6 [School notebook], ca. 1930s. Contains Latin and Greek texts, translations, various poems (some copied, some are early works by Lowell)
7 Xeroxed copies of drafts of poems and essays, nd


Series II. Correspondence, 1938-1977 (bulk 1970-1977),  
2 boxes

The majority of this series consists of incoming correspondence, often addressed to both Lowell and Caroline Blackwood, his third wife. It is arranged alphabetically by author.

Among the correspondents are William Alfred, A. (Alfred) Alvarez, Rolando Anzilotti, Ben Belitt, Frank Bidart, Elizabeth Bishop, Caroline Blackwood, Blair Clark, Norman Cousins, Malcolm Cowley, Donald Davie, Richard Eberhart, Gavin Ewart, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Giroux, Ian Hamilton, Elizabeth Hardwick, Samuel John Hazo, Seamus Heaney, Lillian Hellman, Mary Jarrell, Lucia Joyce, Alfred Kazin, Robert F. Kennedy, Stanley Kunitz, Philip Larkin, James Laughlin, Gordon Lish, Harriet Winslow Lowell, Robie Macauley, Eugene J. McCarthy, Mary McCarthy, J. D. McClatchy, Gerard Malanga, William Meredith, Marcia Nardi, Howard Nemerov, Sidney Nolan, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Parker, J. F. Powers, Philip Rahv, Adrienne Cecile Rich, I. A. Richards, Arthur Schlesinger, W. D. Snodgrass, Jean Stafford, Allen Tate, Eleanor Ross Taylor, Peter Hillsman Taylor, Diana Trilling, Mona Van Duyn, Andrei Voznesenskii, Derek Walcott, Robert Penn Warren, Edward Weeks, Richard Wilbur, Edmund Wilson, and others. A complete index of correspondents is included in this guide.

The letters cover a broad range of subjects, the most important of which deal with Lowell's relationship and divorce from his second wife, Elizabeth Hardwick, and his interpretation of their separation in The Dolphin. Other topics covered in the correspondence include requests for assistance from struggling poets, family letters, opinions on literary and political movements of the 1970s, letters of congratulation on the birth of his son, requests for literary contributions to magazines or festivals, personal letters, and news about friends and acquaintances. It should be noted that a few of the letters have notes or lines of poetry scribbled by Lowell on the back. Some correspondents enclosed manuscripts of articles or poems with their letters. A separate index of manuscripts by other authors appears at the end of this guide.

Also found in this series is a folder of outgoing mail from Lowell, a folder of letters to Caroline Blackwood, and a folder of correspondence addressed to persons other than Lowell or Blackwood. Further outgoing correspondence from Lowell will be found in the Personal Papers series, among the medical files of Merrill Moore.

boxfolder
15 1 Outgoing, 1948-1976, nd
Incoming, 1938-1977, nd (bulk 1970-1977)
boxfolder
15 2 Unidentified
3 A
4 Anzilotti, Rolando, 1971-1977
5 B
6 Bidart, Frank, 1970-1975
7 Bishop, Elizabeth, 1968-1977
8 Blackwood, Caroline, nd
9 C
10 Clark, Blair, 1970-1976
11 D-F
12 G-H
13 Harvard University. Houghton Library, 1972-1975
   
16 1 I-K
2 L
3 M
4 N-Q
5 R-T
6 Snodgrass, W.D., 1971-1977
7 Taylor, Peter, 1970-1976
8 U-Z
9 Letters to Caroline Blackwood Lowell, 1972-1976
10 Third party correspondence, 1938-1976


Series III. Personal Papers, ca. 1845-1988,  
5 boxes

A variety of personal papers concerning Lowell or of interest to him makes up this series. These papers are arranged alphabetically by format: Clippings, Critical Essays, Documents, Financial Papers, Honorary Degrees, Interviews, Legal Papers, Medical Files, Memorials, Notes and Sketches, Photographs, School Publications, Works by Other Writers, and Miscellaneous.

Various aspects of Lowell's life are documented by the personal records. Chronologically speaking, these include the Photographs (1845-1980s), Documents (1933-1945), School Publications (1933-1935), Medical Files (1935-1950s), Honorary Degrees (1961-1977), Financial Papers (1970-1977), Legal Papers (1972-1977), and Memorials (1977-1987).

The photographs include images of Lowell's grandparents and parents, and depict Lowell from his childhood through his adult life. Pictured with him are his wife Elizabeth Hardwick, children Harriet and Sheridan, and colleagues and friends, including Elizabeth Bishop, Ezra Pound, John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Peter Hillsman Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. The photographs that include Lowell are arranged chronologically. Those which do not include him are grouped separately as family photographs. Another folder includes photographs of illustrations intended for The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, and History.

Among the documents are copies of family birth and death certificates, as well as Lowell's own certificate of parole dated 1944. The school publications date from Lowell's days at St. Mark's School and include class yearbooks as well as a 1935 issue of The Vindex with an article by Lowell entitled "The Iliad."

Of special note among these personal records are the medical files created by Dr. Merrill Moore, a poet and psychiatrist who treated Lowell from 1935 to 1941. The bulk of these files cover the years 1937-1939, though there is a gap for the period June through November, 1937.

The files consist of correspondence, internal memoranda, photographs, clippings, a report card from Kenyon College, and various internal office forms (such as psychotherapy records, telephone calls, etc.), all of which serve to document the case. Lowell's problems and his relationship with his parents are major topics, as are Lowell's relationships with others, such as Frank Parker, Anne Dick, and Jean Stafford. The files have been left in their original chronological order and include carbon copies of outgoing correspondence from Moore along with incoming correspondence from Lowell, his parents, other doctors, and friends. Correspondents include Blair Clark, Anne Dick, Richard Eberhart, James Laughlin, Charlotte Winslow Lowell, Robert Traill Spence Lowell III, David McDowell, Frank Parker, John Crowe Ransom, Robb Ransom, Jean Stafford, Milton Starr, Allen Tate, Peter Hillsman Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. All correspondents in this subseries are included in the correspondents index in this guide.

One additional folder contains items identified by Elizabeth Hardwick as concerning Lowell's treatment by Dr. Vernon Williams during the 1950s.

Lowell's honorary degrees from several colleges and universities are also included in these papers.

The financial and legal papers are arranged chronologically and all date from the 1970s. Included are such items as Lowell's 1972 will, a copy of his divorce decree from Elizabeth Hardwick, banking papers, bills, book contracts, royalty statements, tax documents, and trust statements.

Materials collected by Elizabeth Hardwick from various memorial services for Robert Lowell are arranged chronologically by service, and include programs, invitations, and texts for readings.

The Clippings (1965-1988), Critical Essays (1970-1987), and Interviews (1971) all consist of writings about Lowell and his work. The clippings are predominately reviews of published works, productions of plays, and musical settings of his work. A few of the plays are also represented by other materials, such as programs and handbills. Review clippings and related materials are arranged alphabetically by title of the work. One folder consists of clippings of obituaries upon Lowell's death in 1977. Manuscripts, reprints, and clippings of various critical essays about Lowell occupy one folder. Two interviews, with Ian Hamilton and V. S. Naipaul, are also included.

Works by other writers include some of the manuscripts Lowell received from students, colleagues, and friends. Included are manuscripts by writers such as Elizabeth Bishop, Seamus Heaney, Stanley Kunitz, Marcia Nardi, I. A. Richards, Peter Hillsman Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. These are arranged alphabetically by author. It should be noted that some of the manuscripts remain where they were originally located with incoming letters in the Correspondence Series. Locations for all manuscripts by other writers are included in a separate index at the end of this guide.

The Notes and Sketches include Lowell's typed chronology of Caroline Blackwood's marriage to Israel Citkowitz, notes about his students, and other miscellaneous notes. Other miscellany, including various clippings and ephemera saved by Lowell, are found in the Miscellaneous folder at the end of this Series.

Clippings, 1965-1988
boxfolder
17 1 Family, nd
2 Obituaries, 1977
Reviews, 1966-1988
boxfolder
17 3 "Benito Cereno," 1976; also handbill
4 Collected Prose, 1987-1988
5 Day By Day, 1977-1978
6 The Dolphin, 1973-1974
7 The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, History, 1973-1976
8 In Sleep, In Thunder, 1982
9 Notebook, 1969-1971
10 "The Old Glory," 1964-1976; also includes program; syllabus for Festival Theatre Student Study Series, 1966-67 Season
11 The Oresteia of Aeschylus, nd
12 "Phaedra," 1976-1978; includes poster and program from theatrical production by Young Actors Study Theatre, and programs from Benjamin Britten's musical version
13 Selected Poems, 1976-1977
14 The Voyage, 1968
15 Works about Lowell, 1970-1984
16 Robert Lowell by Ian Hamilton, 1983
17 Miscellaneous, 1965-1975
18 Critical Essays about Lowell, 1970-1987; manuscripts, reprints, clippings, etc.
   
18 1 Documents, 1933-1945
Financial Papers, 1970-1977
boxfolder
18 2 1970-1974
3 1975-1977
Honorary Degreees, 1961-1977
boxfolder
18 4 Boston University, 1977
5 Colby College, 1961
6 New England Conservatory of Music, 1969
7 Interviews, 1971
8 Legal Papers, 1972-1977
Medical Files, 1935-1950s
Moore, Merrill, 1935-1941
boxfolder
19 1 1935-1937
2 1936
3 nd
4 Jan.-Mar. 1937
5 Apr.-May 1937
6 Dec. 1937
7 Jan.-Feb. 1938
   
20 1 Mar.-Apr. 1938
2 Apr.-Jun. 1938
3 Jul.-Aug. 1938
4 Sep.-Oct. 1938
5 Nov.-Dec. 1938
6 Jan.-Mar. 1939
7 ca. 1940-1941 (fragmentary)
8 Williams, Vernon, 1950s
Memorials, 1977-1987
boxfolder
21 1 BBC Radio, 13 Sep. 1977
2 Church of the Advent, Boston, 16 Sep. 1977
3 American Place Theater, New York, 25 Sep. 1977
4 St. Luke's Church, Redcliffe Square, London, 5 Oct. 1977
5 Houghton Library, Harvard University, 1 Mar. 1978
6 Memorial Church, Harvard Yard, 2 Mar. 1978
7 Universita' Degli Studi di Pisa, 25 Maggio 1978
8 A Tribute to Robert Lowell, The Academy of American Poets, 14 Oct. 1987. See also Folder 22.2
9 Notes and Sketches by Lowell, nd
Photographs, ca. 1845-1980s
boxfolder
21 10 ca. 1920-1930s
11 ca. 1940s-1959
12 ca. 1960-1967
13 ca. 1968-1977
14 Family Members, ca. 1845-1980s
15 Miscellaneous; includes photographs of illustrations for The Dolphin, For Lizzie and Harriet, and History
School Publications, 1933-1935
boxfolder
21 16 The Vindex, St. Mark's School, Jun. 1935
Yearbooks, St. Mark's School, 1933-1935
boxfolder
21 17 1933
18 1934
19 1935
Works by Other Writers, 1969-1976, nd
boxfolder
21 20 Manuscripts and proofs, 1969-1975, nd
21 Clippings and photocopies of published items, 1971-1976, nd
22 Miscellaneous


Series IV. Sound Recordings and Music Scores, 1958-1987, nd,  
19 items

This group of 18 sound recordings consists of cassettes, reels, and discs, including several commercially produced recordings, which were acquired from Elizabeth Hardwick. Several are spoken word recordings of Lowell and/or other poets (such as Ezra Pound) reading from his poetry or translations. The rest are recordings of plays by Lowell ( "Benito Cereno") or of musical settings of his work ( In Sleep, In Thunder by Elliott Carter, Phaedra by Benjamin Britten, and White Winter, Black Spring, by John Hopkins). One music score, for White Winter, Black Spring, is also present. Items are arranged by format, and then alphabetically by title or artist.

Cassettes, 1985-1987, nd
boxfolder
22 1 Myopia: A Night. Robert Lowell-Leo Smith, nd
2 A Tribute to Robert Lowell. With William Alfred, Frank Bidart, Robert Giroux, Seamus Heaney, Anthony Hecht, Stanley Kunitz, Peter Taylor & Helen Vendler. Wednesday, October 14, 1987, 7:00 pm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Academy of American Poets
3 White Winter, Black Spring by John Hopkins. Marilyn Hill/Henry Herford/Lontano Ensemble, cond. Odaline de la Martinez. BBC Studio Recording, Concert Hall, Broadcasting House, 29-11-85. Huddersfield Festival, St. Paul's Hall, Huddersfield, 22-11-85. [Music score for this work is housed in Oversize 23.3]
Discs, 1958-1986, nd
7", 1964
SR 1-3
Ezra Pound reading Robert Lowell's translation from Dante's Inferno, Canto XV, recorded 27/9/64
12", 1958-1986, nd
SR 4
Carter, Elliott. Triple Duo/In Sleep, In Thunder. Nonesuch Digital 79110, 1986
SR5
Britten, Benjamin. Phaedra. London OS26527, 1977
SR6
Robert Lowell: A Reading. Recorded Dec. 8, 1976 at the Poetry Center of the 92nd St. Y. Caedmon TC1569, 1978
SR7
Robert Lowell Reading from his poems, 29 April 1958
SR8
The Spoken Arts Treasury of 100 Modern American Poets Reading Their Poems. Spoken Arts SA1052 Vol. XIII, 1978?
SR9
Twentieth Century Poetry in English: Robert Lowell Reading His Own Poems. Library of Congress PL32-33, nd
SR10
Yale Series of recorded poets: Robert Lowell. Carillon Records YP301, nd
SR11
Yale Series of recorded poets: Allen Tate. Carillon Records YP300, nd
12" Box Sets, 1963, nd
SR12
An Album of Modern Poetry Read By the Poets. Gryphon GR 902/3/4, 1963
SR13
The American Place Theatre... presents from"The Old Glory" Benito Cereno by Robert Lowell. Columbia DOS 719 Stereo, nd
SR14
Same as SR13, except DOL 319 Mono, nd
Reels, 1964
boxfolder
22 4 Ezra Pound reading Robert Lowell's translation from Dante's Inferno, Canto XV, recorded at San Ambrogio di Rapallo, 27-9-64
5 Empty envelopes & folders from which collection materials were removed
 
23 Oversize items. Removed from materials in Boxes 1-22, linked by separation sheets filed in original location, which refer the user to the correct oversize folder location within this box.


Robert Lowell Papers--Manuscripts Index--Poems

Note: Titles in bold were published in either Notebook, 1967-1968 (1st or 2nd printing, N1 or N2), Notebook (1970 edition, N3), The Dolphin (D), For Lizzie and Harriet (FL&H), History (H), Day By Day (DBD), or Selected Poems (SP). The numbers immediately following these abbreviations denote the page numbers on which these poems were printed. Folder numbers appear after “--” and indicate in which folders poems with these titles or first lines may be found. A separate index for other manuscripts follows this index.

Titles or first lines not in bold refer to manuscripts not yet matched to the published titles, or to possibly unpublished items. Titles/first lines which are indented underneath published titles represent manuscripts which have been tentatively identified as drafts or variants of that published item.