Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- West, Herbert Faulkner, 1898-1974, Cox, Sidney, 1889-1952, Bartlett, Donald, 1902-, Lambuth, David, Poole, Ernest, 1880-1950, and Lankes, Julius J., 1884-1960
- Abstract:
- The West mss., 1937-1952, consists of writings, letters, and pictures of or relating to poet Robert Frost, 1874-1963, collected by Herbert Faulkner West, 1898-1974, professor of comparative literature at Dartmouth College.
- Extent:
- 1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials are in English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], West mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Robert Frost, 1874-1963, was an American poet. He was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, but his family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1884. His first poem, "My Butterfly" was published in the New York Independent in 1894, and he married Elinor Miriam White soon afterward. Over the next several years, Frost briefly attended Harvard and Dartmouth, worked as English teacher, and had a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, but he met little success as a poet. In 1912, he moved his family to England and was able to publish his first two books of poetry: A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914). He returned to the United States in 1915, settling on a farm in Franconia, New Hampshire, and began his long career as a writer, teacher, and lecturer. He received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960, and was named the Poet Laureate of Vermont in 1961. His most famous poems include "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "The Road Not Taken," "Mending Wall," and "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Frost died on January 29, 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Herbert Faulkner West, 1898-1974, was an American professor, author, and publisher. He served in World War I as an artilleryman before enrolling in Dartmouth College. After graduating in 1922, he joined the faculty of Dartmouth as a professor of comparative literature, a position he would hold until 1964. He received master's degrees from Dartmouth and Harvard in 1924 and 1933, respectively. In 1946, he acted as guest editor of the Robert Frost issue of The New Hampshire Troubadour, volume XVI, number 8, November 1946. Among his other publications were The Nature Writers and Modern Book Collecting for the Impecunious Amateur. West also founded the Friends of the Dartmouth Library and Westholm Publications, which was active from 1955 to 1972. He died on November 9, 1974.
- Scope and Content:
The printer's copy of the manuscript of the Robert Frost issue of The New Hampshire Troubadour, as well as galley proof, page proof, a copy of the printed issue autographed by Robert Frost and Donald Bartlett, Sylvia Clark, Stearns Morse, and Ernest Poole, contributors, is included in the collection.
The printer's copy contains authors' copies of "Robert Frost: A Brief Autobiographical Sketch," by Herbert Faulkner West; "Robert Frost and New Hampshire," by Stearns Morse, 1893-1976, professor of English, Dartmouth College; "Robert Frost: The Derry Years," by Sylvia Clark, 1871-1978, teacher; "Robert Frost at Plymouth," by Sidney Cox, 1889-1952, professor of English, Dartmouth College; "A Friend's View of Robert Frost," by Donald Bartlett, 1902-1989, professor, Dartmouth College; and "The Unforgettable Robert Frost," by David Lambuth, 1879-1948, professor of English, Dartmouth College.
The collection also contains copies of Robert Frost's "Our Getaway" in his hand and carrying his signature; "When Frost Was Here," by Ernest Poole, 1880-1950, novelist, with a covering letter, July 27, [1946], from Poole to West; and a positive photostat of Frost's "An A No. 1 Sundown" in his hand and signed with his initials. These are published in the Robert Frost issue of The New Hampshire Troubadour. Other pieces relating to this issue are a woodcut by Julius Lankes, 1884-1960, artist, which appears on the back cover of the issue; letters congratulating West on the issue from Stearns Morse, November 1, [1946], and Ernest Poole, November 20, 1946; and newspaper clippings relating to the issue.
In addition to The New Hampshire Troubadour materials, the collection contains a letter, December 19, 1937, from Robert Frost to Sylvia Clark; a positive photostat of an autobiographical letter, March 4, 1952, from Frost to Robert Chase; and a letter, May 11, 1950, from Raymond Ellsworth Larsson, 1901-1991, poet, to Herbert Faulkner West, with three drafts of Larsson's "Lines (on the discovery that Robert Frost and R. E. F. L. both were born on the 26th of March)" as an enclosure.
The collection also includes photographs of Robert Frost; his homes at South Shaftsbury, Vermont, and Derry Village, New Hampshire; Sylvia Clark; and Herbert Faulkner West. A photograph of Frost by David Pierce Studio is placed in an oversize folder.
Additional cards describing poems in Robert Frost's hand written in printed books in the Lilly Library are in the Manuscripts Catalog.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase: 1958 .
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged following original order.
- Physical location:
- Missing
Indexed Terms
- Names:
- Frost, Robert, 1874-1963
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], West mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@iu.edu