Felstiner, John mss., 1955-2011

Papers of John Felstiner at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Creator: Felstiner, John.
Title: Felstiner, John mss.
Collection No.: LMC 2767
Dates: 1955-2011
Quantity:

Quantity: 8 Boxes

Abstract: The Felstiner, John mss., 1955-2011, consist of the works of writer, translator, and Stanford professor emeritus, John Felstiner (1936- ).
Location: ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility)
Language: Materials are in English .
Repository: Lilly Library
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500
Business Number: 812-855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu
URL: https://libraries.indiana.edu/lilly-library

Biographical Note

John Felstiner received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1958 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1965, joining the faculty at Stanford University the same year. His first book, The Lies of Art: Max Beerbohm's Parody and Caricature (1972), dealt with parody as a critical, creative, and comic form. Thereafter he focused mainly on modern poetry. Teaching North American poetry in Chile in 1967-68 led to Translating Neruda: The Way to Macchu Picchu (1980), which won the Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal, and to an ongoing concern with the practice of literary translation, along with its interpretive, creative, and theoretical implications.

Felstiner's book on the German-speaking Jewish poet, Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew (1995), won the Truman Capote Prize for Literary Criticism. The British Comparative Literature Association gave 1st and 2nd prizes to his Pablo Neruda and Paul Celan translations. His subsequent work Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan (Norton, 2001) won the Modern Language Association's biennial Lois Roth Award for Translation of a Literary Work, the American Translators Association's biennial award for German translation, and PEN West's prize for literary translation. He also co-edited the Norton anthology, Jewish American Literature (2000). This Dust of Words , Felstiner's memoir of his brilliant late-1960s student Liz Wiltsee, inspired a documentary film that has been screened at various festivals. He has held Guggenheim, Rockefeller, NEH, and NEA fellowships, taught literary translation twice at Yale, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Scope and Content Note

The Felstiner, John mss., 1955-2011, consist of the works of writer, translator, and Stanford professor emeritus, John Felstiner (1936- ).

Translations and Research Materials are divided into Paul Celan, Pablo Neruda, and Other. Research Materials comprise the bulk of the collection and include original and photocopied Paul Celan documents and correspondence, journal articles on Celan and literary translation, material on Felstiner's books, and drafts of essays.

Correspondents include: Eric Celan; Gisele Celan-Lestrange; Jerry Glenn; Cynthia Ozick; Petre Solomon; Elie Wiesel.

The collection also contains lecture and conference notes as well as course materials from Felstiner's Stanford and Yale classes. In the Audio-Visual series, there are two compact discs and one cassette tape containing musical compositions set to Paul Celan's poetry. Felstiner's essays published in various journals are arranged alphabetically in the Publications series.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following series:

  1. I. Translations
  2. II. Research Materials
  3. III. Correspondence
  4. IV. Lecture and Conference Materials
  5. V. Course Materials
  6. VI. Audio-Visual Materials
  7. VII. Publications

Restrictions

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.

Usage Restrictions:

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.

Indexed Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item], Felstiner, John mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Acquisition Information

Acquired: 2012

Collection Inventory

box 1

Series:

I. Translations

Subseries:

Paul Celan
box 1
Celan Translation Booklets
box 1
Nah, im Aortenbogen Notes
box 1
Todesfuge Booklet
box 1
Todesfuge Notes

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 1
Translations by Celan

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 1
"Ziv, that light" Notes

Subseries:

Pablo Neruda
box 1
Neruda Poetry
box 1
"The Satraps" Materials

Subseries:

Other
box 1
Enrique Lihn

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 1
Dan Pagis
box 1
Victor Jara
box 1
William Carlos Williams

Series:

II. Research Materials

Subseries:

Paul Celan
box 1
Articles on Celan

Physical Description: (12 folders)

box 2
Articles on Celan

Physical Description: (11 folders)

box 2
Celan Bibliography , (1989)
box 2
Celan Bibliography , (1996)
box 2
Celan Bibliography , (undated)
box 2
Celan Bibliography Notes
box 2
Celan Bibliography of Published Poems
box 2
Celan Book Written in Hebrew (photocopy)
box 2
Celan Correspondence (photocopy)
box 2
Celan Correspondence with Nelly Sachs (photocopy)
box 2
Celan Documents

Physical Description: (4 folders)

box 3
Celan Interview
box 3
Celan Literary Biography Notes
box 3
Celan Material

Physical Description: (6 folders)

box 3
Cyrus Hamlin Material
box 3
"'deep in the glowing text-void': Translating Late Celan" Notes
box 3
Diet Klaus Material
box 3
Dissertation on Celan in German
box 3
Dramatic Interpretations of Celan

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 3
Erich Kahler Material
box 3
Esther Cameron Material
box 3
Erez Kalin thesis on Celan
box 3
Franz Kafka Material
box 3
Franz Rosenzweig Material
box 3
Friedrich Holderlin Material
box 3
Gershom Scholem Material
box 3
Gespräch im Gebirg Material
box 3
Gisela Dischner Material
box 3
Helly Oestreicher Artwork
box 3
Ilana Shmueli Material
box 3
Israel Chalfen Material
box 3
Jerry Glenn Material
box 3
"Lesen Sie! Immerzu nur lessen, das Verstandnis kommt von selbst" (photocopy)
box 3
Luitgard Wundheiler Growing Up in Nazi Germany

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 3
Martin Heidegger Material

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 4
"Mother Tongue, Holy Tongue" Lecture Material
box 4
"The Mother Tongue of Paul Celan: Loss & Language" Material
box 4
Musical Compositions
box 4
Natan Zach Article
box 4
Nelly Sachs Material
box 4
Notes on Jews and Germans
box 4
Notes on Literary Translation

Physical Description: (6 folders)

box 4
"On Not Translating the Hebrew in Paul Celan's Poetry" Notes
box 4
Osip Mandelstam Material
box 4
Paul Celan Awards
box 4
Paul Celan Images
box 4
Paul Celan Material

Physical Description: (6 folders)

box 4
Paul Celan Permissions
box 4
Paul Celan Publication Material
box 4
Paul Celan Reviews

Physical Description: (7 folders)

box 4
Paul Sars Material
box 4
Petre Solomon Material
box 4
Royalty Statements
box 4
Der Sand aus den Urnen (photocopy)
box 4
Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan Notes
box 4
Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan Reviews
box 5
Todesfuge Articles
box 5
"Translating Celan" Notes
box 5
Translations of Celan (not by Felstiner)

Physical Description: (5 folders)

box 5
Weg der Verklarung (photocopy)
box 5
"Die Winzer" Notes
box 5
Yves Bonnefoy Material
box 5

Subseries:

Pablo Neruda
box 5
Articles on Neruda
box 5
Chile Coup Materials , 1973
box 5
Public Readings
box 5
Translating Neruda  Awards
box 5
Translating Neruda  Correspondence
box 5
Translating Neruda  Material

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 5
Translating Neruda  Reviews
box 5
Vendome Press
box 5

Subseries:

Other
box 5
American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) Material
box 5
American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) Newsletters
box 5
Permissions Material

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Treatise on Poetry by Czeslaw Milosz

Series:

III. Correspondence

Arrangement: Arranged first by individual correspondents, followed by general. Professional correspondence is organized by the name of the organization, not the personal name (e.g., Yale University Press). Some correspondence can be found in other series in order to provide context for other materials.

box 5
Abramsky, Chimen , 1984-2006
box 5
Bonnefoy, Yves , 1997-2008
box 5
Celan-Lestrange, Gisele , 1984-1991
box 5
Celan, Eric , 1992-2001
box 5
Glenn, Jerry , 1983-2002
box 5
Hamlin, Cyrus , 1973-1995
box 5
Jarvis, Harry , 2001
box 6
Ozick, Cynthia , 1988-2011
box 6
Paul Celan responses, Authors A-E
box 6
Paul Celan responses, Authors F-K
box 6
Paul Celan responses, Authors L
box 6
Paul Celan responses, Authors M
box 6
Paul Celan responses, Authors N-Z
box 6
Roloff, Michael , 1999-2000
box 6
Sheep Meadow Press , 1994-1995
box 6
Shmueli, Ilana , 1983-1996
box 6
Solomon, Petre , 1983-1998
box 6
Wiesel, Elie , 1981-2008
box 6
Yale University Press , 1991-1994
box 6
Yale University Press , 1995-2010
box 6
General Correspondence, A-B
box 6
General Correspondence, C-E
box 6
General Correspondence, F
box 6
General Correspondence, G
box 6
General Correspondence, H
box 6
General Correspondence, I-K
box 6
General Correspondence, L
box 6
General Correspondence, M-O
box 6
General Correspondence, P-Ri
box 6
General Correspondence, Ro-So
box 6
General Correspondence, Sp-Wh
box 6
General Correspondence, Wi-Z
box 7

Series:

IV. Lecture and Conference Materials
box 7
"Colloque Paul Celan" Conference , 1984
box 7
Lilly Library Presentation
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1975-1984
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1985-1994
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1995
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1996
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1997-1998
box 7
Notes & Materials , 1999-2001
box 7
Notes & Materials , 2002-2011
box 7
"Paul Celan: Biographie et Interpretation
box 7
"Translation and Poetic Evaluation" Conference Notes , 1985
box 7

Series:

V. Course Materials
box 7
Seminar on American Literature
box 7
Seminar on Literary Translation

Physical Description: (6 folders)

box 7

Series:

VI. Audio-Visual Materials
box 7
Musical Compositions

Physical Description: (CD and cassette tape)

Series:

VII. Publications
box 7
American Poetry Review , 1976-2004
box 7
Babel , Numbers 2-4 , 1983-1985
box 7
Babel , Numbers 6-7 , 1990-1993
box 7
Babel , Numbers 8-9 , 1994-1995
box 7
Center for Inter-American Relations , 1980
box 8
Co-Cr , 1980-2000
box 8
Dachauer Hefte , 1995
box 8
G-L , 1974-1977
box 8
Ma-Mi , 2002-2009
box 8
Mo , 1975-1983
box 8
North Dakota Quarterly , 1991
box 8
Northwest Review , 1993-2006
box 8
O-P , 1975-1987
box 8
P , 1978-2005
box 8
Sequoia , 1976-1977
box 8
Sequoia , 1983-1990
box 8
S-T , 1984-2006
box 8
Two Lines , 1995
box 8
Two Lines , 2007
box 8
Yale Review , 1972