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The Papers of Charles David Wright MSS 86 Scope and Content Note The papers of Charles David Wright document his career as a poet, professor, graduate student, and active participant in the cultural affairs of the state of Idaho. The collection includes correspondence (literary, professional, and personal); juvenile writings; student notes and papers from his graduate studies at the University of Iowa; lecture notes from is teaching career at Boise State University and the University of North Carolina; published articles on Matthew Arnold, Victorian literature, and James Joyce; and records from his work with cultural and professional organizations. The heart of the collection, however, is made up of Wright’s poems, more than 125 of them, in variant drafts and various stages of evolution. It is possible to trace the development of many of the poems from the earliest idea to the final published form. Charles David Wright worked hard at his poetry, writing and rewriting, returning to his poems again and again to refine them and improve them. The record of that effort is preserved in the poetry files. The Charles David Wright collection also documents the business and promotional aspects of the poet’s craft. Contracts, correspondence with editors, and the inevitable collection of rejection slips all illustrate the effort necessary to get a written poem into print. Charles David Wright read his poems, too, and the reading process (from solicitation of engagements through final arrangements) is well documented. Among the notable items in the collection are letters between Wright and leading poets of the day (Series II and IX); tape recordings of Wright and Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading their poetry together (Series XII); and a number of magazines and journal issues in which Wright’s poems appeared (Series XII). A bibliography of published poems of Charles David Wright begins on page 42 of this guide. The Charles David Wright papers have been divided into twelve series, outlined on page 17. More detailed descriptions of each series are included in the container lists which begin on page 18. The Charles David Wright collection was presented to Albertsons Library by Professor Wright’s widow, Ruth P. Wright, in 1988.
Collection number: MSS 86 Proceed to Series descriptions and Container Lists Return to Charles David Wright collection main page Return to Special Collections homepage For questions or comments about this page, contact Special Collections Department This page last changed: 1 October 2004 |
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