Biographical Note
Subject
File
Notebooks
Dead Metaphor Press
 |
| Special Collections |
RICHARD
WILMARTH PAPERS
1979-2003
MSG# 165
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
In
a 1992 poem entitled “if I could just get all these papers organized”
Richard Wilmarth summarizes both the scope and content of this collection, and
alludes to the myriad forms and formats that his papers take:
"i’ve got reviews, invitations to parties, rejection letters, a
postcard from a woman who wants the address of another woman, price lists
for computers, tax delinquent notices, manuscripts from other
people that I’m supposed to publish, my own manuscripts that
no-one will publish, newspapers
that put forth political points of view, letters from several women who
want me, a chart that shows how much I meditate…ten years of poems in
folders, college degrees, envelopes, notebooks, orange papers, yellow
paper, blue paper, white paper….
Among
the most illuminating items is a meticulously organized set of spiral
bound notebooks consisting of draft poems, personal essays, and snippets
of verse. Wilmarth was an inveterate "saver" and retained
documents of every description. A sizeable portion of his collection
consists of drafts of his poetry and longer pieces, and ruminations on a
variety of subjects. Wilmarth also preserved numerous materials from the
Dead Metaphor Press. Aside from correspondence, this includes mock ups for
several chapbooks, preliminary designs, proof sheets, art work, and examples of the finished products.
The
correspondence series, divided between personal and general
correspondence, spans a wide range of topics. Exemplary of the general
correspondence are communications with the many small presses to whom
Wilmarth submitted poetry and those individuals published by Dead Metaphor
Press. Exchanges with fellow poets also constitute an important component
of Wilmarth’s correspondence. Letters focus on issues of style, themes,
and more existentially, life as a poet. Some of the correspondence begins
in a professional and business like manner, but over a period of months
and years develops a personal quality and subject matter.
In several cases exchanges begin and continued in a highly personal
and revelatory tone.
After processing,
the papers were organized into seven series, as follows:
Series
I,
Subject File (1983-2003), contains reviews of Wilmarth’s poetry, a
limited number of publications that contain his poetry, appointment books,
news
clippings, and obituaries from Rhode Island and Colorado papers.
Series
II, Manuscripts (1982-2002),
documents the evolution of Wilmarth’s work, and
features preliminary versions of published and unpublished materials. Distinct from the notebooks, papers in these files often include
several versions of a work, or incipient pieces, in longhand, typed, or
both, with notes, addenda, and corrections. While many of these illustrate
the evolution of published works, this series also includes unpublished
items. Exemplary of the latter are the book length manuscripts for Confessions
of a Red Sox Fan, States,
and Raleigh. Confessions
of a Red Sox Fan,
set during the 1995 pennant race, was scheduled to be published by
Commonwealth Publications of Edmonton, Alberta. Prior to its publication,
Commonwealth went out of business, and the book was never published.
In 1996 a lengthy excerpt from the manuscript was published by The Buffalo
Head of Waltham, Massachusetts
as a Red Sox Journal and
is available on the World Wide Web at
http://webpages.charter.net/joekuras/bufftop.htm
(accessed 9/12/2003). A copy of the Buffalo Head Society excerpt is
included in the Manuscript Series.
Series
III, Notebooks (1979-2003), comprise an important element of this collection. These contain
handwritten drafts and revisions of his poetry, examples of
self-reflection and personal commentary, observations on people, places,
and experiences, and outlines for his writings. Some notebooks contain
chronologies of poems submitted to specific publishers.
Series IV, Correspondence (1989-2003), is organized into two sub series, General and Personal Correspondence. General Correspondence includes letters, cards, postcards and notes. Subjects discussed in this series include poetic styles, philosophy and publishing outlets. There are letters from presses to which Wilmarth submitted his poetry and prose, and letters from authors published by the Dead Metaphor Press. Among those represented in the General Correspondence are Donald Hall, Ed Sanders, (poet and members of the 60’s rock band the Fugs), Tracy Davis, John McKernan, and Anselm Hollo.
Personal
Correspondence encompasses letters from family
and friends, including many with close personal relationships with
Wilmarth. In some instances, correspondence that began as general in
nature evolved into personal exchanges, and these are filed with the
Personal Correspondence.
Access
to the Personal Correspondence, because of its intimate or personal
nature, is restricted from general research until 2025. Requests for
access for specific research inquiries may be granted by the Head of
Special Collections on a case by case basis. The folder title listing of
correspondents for this sub series is not included in this register.
Inquiries should be addressed to the Head of Special Collections.
Series
V,
Dead Metaphor Press (1985-2003), contains proofs, photographs, design materials
such as photographs, postage stamps, drawings, dummies, and other items
used in the production of Dead Metaphor chapbooks. Among those persons
represented are John McKernan, Tracy Davis, Anselmo Hollo, Randy Roark,
Mark DuCharme, Maureen Foley, and Bill Morgan.
Series VI, Thesis (1991, 1993), contains copies of Richard Wilmarth's MA thesis for University of Rhode Island completed in 1991and the thesis he completed for his MFA at the Naropa Institute in 1993.
Series VII, Electronic Records (1982-2001), consists of 52 floppy disks (3.25") in Mac Word 5.1. The disks are labeled as containing the text for the Dead Metaphor Press publications, Wilmarth's thesis, and his poetry. There is also one 100mb ZIP disk labeled as containing "back up disk of writing folders" January 2000 to August 2000. The disks are in no particular order.