An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Rogers, Paul Patrick, 1900-
Title:
Paul Patrick Rogers Collection
Dates:
1929-1985 (bulk 1929-1937, 1980-1985)
Extent:
68 Items
Abstract:
The collection documents the trip to Spain taken by this
professor of Spanish literature in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Included in
the
collection are materials Rogers obtained while in Spain, his diary of the trip, and
correspondence with fellow colleagues.
Paul Patrick Rogers was born on January 5, 1900, in Snohomish, Washington. Educated
at the
University of Mississippi (B.Sc., 1921), Acadia University (MA, 1925) and Cornell
University
(Ph.D., 1928), he was Professor of Romance Languages at Oberlin College from 1928
to 1966.
He died in 1989 in Austin, Texas. Rogers' specialization was Spanish literature, and
his
publications include Pre-Romantic Drama of Spain (1928), Catalog of the Oberlin College Spanish Drama Collection (1940),
Galdoni in Spain (1941), Dictonario de seudonimos literarios espanoles (1977), and numerous
articles in publications including Hispanic Review, Romanic Review, Hispania, and Modern Language Forum. In 1937 he was an official observer of the
Spanish Civil War in a delegation of the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.
He took advantage of this opportunity to assemble a collection of over 1,000 items
printed
and circulated in Spain at that time.
A friend and colleague of William Faulkner, Rogers enjoyed correspondence with a number
of
writers eager to learn from his experiences.
Scope and Contents
The Paul Patrick Rogers Collection, 1929-1985 (bulk 1929-1937, 1980-85) documents
his trip
to Spain as an observer on an international commission during the Spanish Civil War
in 1937
and his correspondence with various colleagues in the disciplines of Spanish and American
literature during the 1930s and the early part of the 1980s. Materials in the collection
were received by the Harry Ransom Center at varying times and in no particular order.
They
have been arranged into two series: Correspondence, and Spanish Civil War Materials,
which
include documents and ephemera from Rogers' trip to Spain in 1937, and items relating
to the
North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.
Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author. The bulk of the material
is
by Joseph Blotner, biographer of William Faulkner, and Léon Felipe, Rogers' friend
and
colleague. Some items are annotated by Rogers. Outgoing correspondence is arranged
chronologically (1966, nd) and consists of one letter to Léon Felipe and another to
Carleton
Lake, then the Ransom Center Acting Director, regarding the sensitive nature of some
donated
material.
Spanish Civil War materials include Rogers' diary of his trip to Spain in 1937, safe
conduct passes and letters of introduction, a speech he wrote and read for radio broadcast
in Madrid, manuscripts he received (including a poem written and inscribed by Langston
Hughes), photographs of the Italian prisoners of war visited by Rogers' delegation,
broadsides, and other paper ephemera. Some items have been labeled by Rogers. Much
of the
material is in fragile condition.
Books from Paul Patrick Rogers' collection can be found in the the Ransom Center Library
and contains works by Spain's leading intellectuals on both sides of the conflict.
Related
materials are located in the Vertical File, which contains postcards and clippings
relating
to the Spanish Civil War. As well, further Rogers material, including correspondence
relating to his work as a poet, critic, and translator, can be found in the Stanley
Burnshaw
Papers.
Index Terms
Correspondents
Blotner, Joseph Leo, 1932-
Léon Felipe, 1884-1968
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
Lyons, Gene
MacEchron, Paul
Mangada, Julio
Mora, Constancia de la, 1906-
Subjects
Spain--History--Civil War, 1936-1939--Personal
narratives
Spain--History--Civil War, 1936-1939--Political
cartoons
Spain--History--Civil War, 1936-1939--Prisoners
and prisons
