W.S. Merwin papers, 1875-2019 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: W.S. Merwin papers, 1875-2019

Predominant Dates:1943-2016

ID: 01/MSS00035

Primary Creator: Merwin, W.S. (William Stanley) (1927-2019)

Extent: 192.5 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into 9 series based on order of accession, eight of which are divided into subseries based on material types generally distinguised by Merwin. Merwin was primarily responsible for creation and assembly of his papers, with assistance from his wife, Paula Merwin, and stepson, John Burnham Schwartz.

Merwin 1 (1984 Accession) contains three sub-series: 1.) Correspondence, 2.) Prose, and 3.) Poetry.

Merwin 2 (1988 and 1990 Accessions) contains two sub-series: 1.) Correspondence and 2.) Manuscripts.

Merwin 3 (1994 Accession) contains three sub-series: 1.) Correspondence, 2.) Manuscripts, and 3.) Clippings and reviews.

Merwin 4 (1999 Accession) contains seven sub-series: 1.) Correspondence, 2.) Manuscripts, 3.) Periodicals, 4.) Clippings, 5.) Audiovisual materials, 6.) Mixed materials, and 7.) Oversize.

Merwin 5 (2006 Accession) contains three sub-series: 1.) Correspondence, 2.) Manuscripts, and 3.) Oversize.

Merwin 6 (2012 Accession) contains two sub-series: 1.) Correspondence and 2.) Manuscripts.

Merwin 7 (2015 Accessions) contains two sub-series: 1.) Correspondence and 2.) Manuscripts.

Merwin 8 (2019 Accession) contains two sub-series: 1.) Correspondence and 2.) Manuscripts.

Date Acquired: 06/28/1984. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: American literature, American poetry - 20th century

Forms of Material: Poets, American - 20th century - Correspondence

Languages: French, Spanish;Castilian, English, Hawaiian, Japanese

William Stanley Merwin (1927-2019) was an American poet, translator, essayist, activist, playwright, and conservationist. The W.S. Merwin Papers contain correspondence, manuscripts (poetry, prose, verse-plays, translations, and reviews), proofs, photos, clippings, notebooks, published works, ephemera, and financial and legal records documenting Merwin's life and work from 1943 until his death in 2019.

Merwin's collected correspondence extends to hundreds of individuals, both personal and professional, documenting interactions with his family, as well as publishers, editors, literary agents, readers, government agencies, translation partners, and botanical dealers. Notable correspondents include Robert Bly, Rita Dove, T. S. Eliot, Allan Ginsberg, Ted Hughes, Stanley Kunitz, Denise Levertov, and Adrienne Rich, among others.

The materials in the collection date primarily from his college years onward, but documents generated by his family and his genealogical interests do supply some juvenalia and other records back to the nineteenth century. Published works are supplemented by additional purchases; these have been cataloged and can be browsed in Primo.

W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania. A 1947 graduate of Princeton University, Merwin pursued a multi-faceted literary life which traversed from Majorca to London, Boston, and New York, and to houses in Lacan de Loubresiac, France, and on the island of Maui. Never settling into a teaching position, he supported himself mainly through his writings and readings.

The successful reception of his activities as poet, writer, environmentalist, political actor, and Zen adherent positioned Merwin within multiple networks of artists, academics, and cultural figures. Merwin was awarded the PEN Translation Prize in 1969, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009, a National Book Award in 2005, and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States in 2010. His papers not only painstakingly document his compositional methods and stylistic evolution, but they also echo and amplify interactions and conversations important, generally, to the exchange of ideas in post-war America.

American literature
American poetry - 20th century

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Accruals: Through purchases and gifts, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library continues to add materials to the W.S. Merwin Papers. See Merwin 10 for these, as well as other collections noted as "Related Materials."

Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions:

This collection is the physical property of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, may reside with the materials' creator(s) or their heirs.

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library's reproduction and publication policies are available here. The library welcomes requests for reproductions made from works in our collections, though restrictions may apply to certain materials. Please contact the library with any questions.

Physical Access Note: As W. S. Merwin habitually utilized available paper for multiple purposes (e.g. notes, drafts, and correspondence recorded on envelopes and versos of business and personal correspondence) some described materials have complex physical origins. Archival descriptions attempt disambiguation and some records may exist in both original and photocopied form to furnish access to readers.

Technical Access Note: Some audio-visual materials may require staff-mediation due to format and condition.

Acquisition Source: W. S. Merwin

Acquisition Method: Purchases from W. S. Merwin in 1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2006, 2012. Two gift accessions from W. S. Merwin in 2015.

Appraisal Information: All records received from W. S. Merwin have been retained.

Separated Materials: Many published works originally present in the Merwin Papers have been removed from the manuscript portions of the collection and cataloged and collocated together with a "MERWIN" prefix to their call numbers. They are discoverable when searching the regular library catalog.

Related Materials: Jarold Ramsey Collection of W. S. Merwin

Related Publications:

Cook, Christopher D., 1982-. Multiple Merwins : poet, translator, environmental activist : essays to accompany an exhibition. Curated by Christopher D. Cook, Chatham Ewing, and Dennis J. Sears ; with a foreword by Valerie Hotchkiss and a poem by W.S. Merwin. Urbana, Ill. : Soybean Press, c2008. 38 p. : ill. (some col.), port. ; 22 cm. "Published to accompany an exhibition held in The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, October 6-31, 2008"--T.p. verso.

W. S. Merwin's Other Career : the manuscript archive of the University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Exhibit arranged by Cary Nelson. [Urbana, Ill. : Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, c1984]. 20 p. : ill., port. ; 28 cm. Exhibition catalogue printed to commemorate the opening of the W.S. Merwin Archive and the dedication of the Library Addition, University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, October 10 and 11, 1984.

Preferred Citation: W. S. Merwin Papers. Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Processing Information: Access to Series 4-8 will require curatorial assistance.

Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid incorporates slightly-revised legacy Microsoft Access tables.

Other Note: Merwin series 6 and series 7 underwent mold remediation by BMS Cat in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 5: Merwin 5

Sub-series 1: Correspondence

Sub-series 2: Manuscripts

Sub-series 3: Oversize

Box-Folder 1: 11-006, -010; 22A -001, -002, -006, -009; 22B -001, -002; 22C

Flat File Drawer 10/22B-003