The William E. Stafford Archives, Series 5, Sub-Series 4: Audio Recordings of Others Reading Stafford's Poems, 1976-2009

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Stafford, William, 1914-1993
Title
The William E. Stafford Archives, Series 5, Sub-Series 4: Audio Recordings of Others Reading Stafford's Poems
Dates
1976-2009 (inclusive)
Quantity
.3 cubic feet, (1 boxes)
Collection Number
OLPb114STA
Summary
William Stafford (1914-1993) was one of the most prolific and important American poets of the last half of the twentieth century. This subseries of the collection includes casette, DAT, and CD recordings of other people reading Stafford's poems. The Index to the entire Stafford Archives can be found at: http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv83782
Repository
Lewis & Clark College, Special Collections and Archives

Aubrey R. Watzek Library
615 S. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR
97219
Telephone: 5037687758
Fax: 5037687282
archives@lclark.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection has no restrictions and is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

William Stafford (1914-1993) was one of the most prolific and important American poets of the last half of the twentieth century. Among his many credentials, Stafford served as consultant in poetry at the Library of Congress, and received the National Book Award for his poetry collection Traveling through the Dark (1963). During his lifetime, Stafford wrote over sixty books of poetry that still resonate with both scholars and general readers. Stafford’s perspectives on peace, the environment, and education serve as some of the most articulate and engaging dialogues by a modern American writer about three of the most important issues of the second half of the twentieth century with lasting impacts on future generations. Howard Zinn, one America’s most iconic modern historians, was keenly aware of Stafford’s insight into modern American culture. Zinn claimed, “William Stafford’s prose and poetry, wise and eloquent, speak directly to the violence of our time, and to our hope for a different world” (from cover of Every War Has Two Losers).

The William Stafford Archives, donated to Lewis & Clark College by the Stafford family in 2008, contain the private papers, publications, photographs, recordings, and teaching materials of the poet William Stafford. The Lewis & Clark College Special Collections actively add to this collection by acquiring unique Stafford related materials.

Stafford wrote every day of his life from 1950 to 1993. These 20,000 pages of daily writings form a complete record of the poet’s mostly early morning meditations, including poem drafts, dream records, aphorisms, and other visits to the unconscious, recorded on separate sheets of yellow or white paper or when traveling, often in spiral-bound reporters’ steno pads. The archive also includes typescripts of poems submitted for publication and for use in readings. Stafford listed where he submitted each poem, and whether it was accepted for publication on the typescript. Each of his published collections, large and small, is represented by its gathering of documentary copies (typescripts), called by Stafford a “put-together.” Unpublished poems, poems published in journals, and reading copies of published poems were also gathered, in a virtually complete record from 1937 to 1993, totaling about 7,000 items. The collection also includes copies of all known Stafford books and translations. Stafford saved correspondence received, with an indication of the date of reply, and sometimes a copy of the reply, from the early 1960s to August 1993. Estimated at 100,000 sheets, the collected correspondence contains some full exchanges of correspondence initiated by WS. One such exchange is the correspondence with Marvin Bell on their sequence Segues. In addition to many photographs of and relating to William Stafford, the archive includes an estimated 20,000 photographs and negatives taken and developed by Stafford of fellow poets, family, friends, and Lewis & Clark College faculty. The archive provides documentation of Stafford's teaching career, including more than one thousand index cards, some dating from research at Iowa, others from later. These were much used in preparing for classes, workshops, and lectures. The files also contain scattered notes for workshops and lectures. The archive also includes course syllabi, and faculty documents relating to Stafford's teaching years at Lewis & Clark College.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

includes casette, DAT, and CD recordings.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish, exhibit, broadcast, or quote from materials in the Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections requires written permission of the Head of Archives & Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

The William Stafford Archives, Lewis & Clark College Aubrey Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections, Portland, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in chronologically by date of creation.

Location of Collection

Special Collections

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box item
1 1.1 “Virginia Brady Young reading poems by William Stafford.”
One cassette
August 1976
1 1.2 “Freemont Foul reads William Stafford.”
One cassette
October 16, 1977
1 1.3 “Virginia Brady Young reading Stafford’s poems.”
One cassette
December 29, 1979
1 1.4 “Reaction to Stafford Visit: Creative Writing Class.” Rita Kiefer. Greeley, CO.
Two cassettes
April 1980
1 1.5 “For Bill Stafford, Poems by William Ruddy.”
One cassette
November 14, 1980
1 1.6 “Listening to Kim,” Longview Poetry Event, Kim Stafford Reads.
One cassette
January 1989
1 1.7 “Northwest Men’s Conference, Poetry,” Robert Bly and Michael Meade.
One cassette
1991
1 1.8 “Eric Friesen reads ‘Montana Eclogue’ in memorial tribute for William Stafford,” Minnesota Public Radio, with background of Aaron Copland’s music.
One cassette
September 1993
1 1.9 “Marvin Bell on William Stafford.”
One cassette
October 1993
1 1.10 “Rituals To Read To Each Other: Northwest Writers Read Stafford.” Old Church.
Two cassettes
January 22, 1994
1 1.11 “A Tribute to William Stafford.” Writers and Books. Rochester, NY.
Cassette, two copies
March 16, 1994
1 1.12 “In Their Own Voices: A Century of Recorded Poetry.” Rhino Records. Includes “Scars,” and “It is” by Stafford. (shelved with Watzek Library Audio collection)
Compact disc
1996
1 1.13 “Mick Hatten discussing William Stafford,” KBSC.
One cassette
September 8, 1998
1 1.14 “Feeling at Home: An Interview with Dorothy Stafford by Vince and Patty Wixon.”
Four cassettes: tape numbers one and two (9/30/98), three (12/20/98), and four (2/20/99). Includes published transcription (2011) by Alex Plattner.
September 1998-February 1999
1 1.15 Poetry Speaks. Eds Elise Paschen and Rebekah Presson Mosby. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks MediaFusion. Includes “The Star in the Hills,” “Traveling Through the Dark,” “Passing Remark,” “Saint Matthew and All,” and “Report to Crazy Horse,” by Stafford.
CD shelved with rare books at STAFFORD PS323.5 .P58 2001
2001
1 1.16 “Mercy and the Upright Life: Second Annual Stafford Symposium” at the Northwest Writing Institute, Lewis & Clark College.
Includes printed program, 3 cassettes, and one CD
October 12, 2002
1 1.17 “Celebration on Stafford.” Paulann Petersen and Joe Soldati.
One CD
October 2007
1 1.18 “Poetry on Record: 98 Poets Read Their Work, 1888-2006,” includes “Passing Remark,” and “Serving with Gideon,” by Stafford, edited by Rebekan Presson Mosby. Los Angeles, CA: Shout Factory. Distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
4 CDs and one booklet shelved with rare books at STAFFORD PN6101 .P64 2006
2006
1 1.19 Poems by four writers in honor of William Stafford after his death, Eastern Oregon State College, La Grande, OR. Radio program “Writers Notebook,” broadcast by KEOL (EOSC’s ratio station), produced by Pat Lichen. Includes letter to Kim Stafford.
One cassette
undated
1 1.20 Garrison Keillor Reading William Stafford’s Poems on The Writer’s Almanac.
cassette and cd recordings. Includes: “The Light by the Barn,” (June 2, 1996); “A Ritual to Read to Each Other,” (October 26, 2001); “Birthdays,” (April 22, 2002); “One Home,” (July 22, 2002); “A Farewell, Age Ten,” (June 28, 2003); “Living on the Plains,” (September 25, 2003); “Atwater Kent,” (June 12, 2004); “A Farewell, Age Ten,” (June 28, 2004); “A Ritual to Read to Each Other,” (November 1, 2004); “An Introduction to Some Poems,” (November 16, 2004); “Yes,” (November 22, 2004); “What’s In My Journal,” (January 17, 2005); “How It Is With Family,” (April 5, 2005); “What’s In My Journal,” (January 17, 2007); “At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border,” (February 1, 2007); “Fifteen,” (August 27, 2009).
1996-2009

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Pacifism--Poetry.
  • Pacifism--United States.
  • Poetry -- Authorship.
  • Poetry -- Study and teaching.
  • Poetry--20th century.
  • Poets, American--20th century.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Conscientious objectors -- United States.

Personal Names

  • Stafford, Dorothy
  • Stafford, William, 1914-1993--Archives

Corporate Names

  • Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Or.)

Geographical Names

  • Kansas.
  • Oregon.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Stafford, Kim (creator)