Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Wilson, Robert A. (Robert Alfred), 1922-2016, Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972, Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973, Ashbery, John, 1927-2017, Wilbur, Richard, 1921-2017, Merwin, W. S. (William Stanley), 1927-2019, Nemerov, Howard, Duncan, Robert, 1919-1988, Snyder, Gary, 1930-, McClure, Michael, Wieners, John, 1934-2002, Reynolds, Tim, Zukofsky, Louis, 1904-1978, Corso, Gregory, Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997, Orlovsky, Peter, 1933-2010, Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979, Merrill, James, 1926-1995, Di Prima, Diane, Kinnell, Galway, 1927-2014, Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014, and Phoenix Book Shop
- Abstract:
- The Wilson, R. A. mss. II, 1967-1979, consist of three albums of documents pertaining to the Oblong Octavo series published by R. A. Wilson of the Phoenix Book Shop.
- Extent:
- 2 Boxes (2 standard)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Wilson, R. A. mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Robert Alfred Jump Wilson, 1922-2016, was a bookseller who owned Phoenix Book Shop in New York from 1962-1988. Wilson received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Johns Hopkins University in 1943, then joined the Army followed by the diplomatic corps. He worked briefly as a translator at the Nuremberg war crimes trials.
- Scope and Content:
The collection consists of three albums containing documents pertaining to the Oblong Octavo series, which consisted of twenty signed limited-edition publications. The Series began in 1967 to "help Marianne Moore who had told [Wilson] she was devastated by the New Yorker's refusal of a poem which she had counted on for income." The next work in the series featured Wilson's longtime friend W. H. Auden, followed by Ashbery, Wilbur, Merwin, Nemerov, Duncan, Snyder, McClure, Wiebers, Tim Reynolds, Zukofsky, Corso, Ginsberg, Orlovsky, Bishop, Merrill, di Primar, Kinnell & Baraka. All author files include correspondence, manuscripts, proofs, and related material.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift: 2007
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged by work.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Stacks
Indexed Terms
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], Wilson, R. A. mss. II, 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@indiana.edu