The William E. Stafford Archives, Series 8, Sub-Series 5: Translations of Stafford, 1970-2011

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Stafford, William, 1914-1993
Title
The William E. Stafford Archives, Series 8, Sub-Series 5: Translations of Stafford
Dates
1970-2011 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.5 cubic feet , (3 boxes )
Collection Number
OLPb116STA
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 This subseries of the collection includes translations of Stafford into other languages, both published and unpublished. 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

Books printed in the English language.

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

Items in this subseries are arranged alphabetically by language and chronologically with language. All of the published translations in this sub-series are described in detail (with poem titles and pagination) in the translations appendix of William Stafford: An Annotated Bibliography (2012) by James Pirie.

Location of Collection

Special Collections

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection. Publshed translations include a note about the publication. Items without publication information are unpublished manuscripts.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1.1 BENGALI: Five Poems
Staple-bound pamphlet in paper wraps. Features English versions of five William Stafford poems accompanied by Bengali translations by the Indian poet, Belal Chowdhury.
Publication title: Five Poems.
1972
1 1.2 FARSI: American Poet William Stafford
A portfolio of broadsides probably prepared for William Stafford's USIS visit to the Near and Middle East in Fall of 1972.
Publication title: American Poet William Stafford/>.
1972
1 1.3 FARSI: Twenty-three poems translated in Farsi for William Stafford visit to Tehran.
A collection of unbound printed cards containing the English and Farsi translation of 23 William Stafford poems.
September 1972
1 1.4 FRENCH: Les Lettres Nouvelles
Bound volume containing three poems by William Stafford.
Publication title: Les Lettres Nouvelles.
Dec. 1970-Jan. 1971
1 1.5 GERMAN: "Der Literarische Herbst im Dai"
Single sheet announcement for William Stafford reading in Heidelberg, Germany.
September 19, 1991
1 1.6 GERMAN: "Mit Der Ziehharmonika"
Single copied sheet of publication containing translated poem by William Stafford
Publication title: Zeitschrift fur Literature des Exils und des Widerstands.
July 1993
1 1.7 GERMAN: Guten Appetit
Bound book with paper cover containing translated poem by William Stafford.
Publication title: Guten Appetit.
2007
1 1.8 GERMAN: Wenn ohne Grund die Nacht schön ist
German anthology containing translated poem by William Stafford.
Publication title: Wenn ohne Grund die Nacht schön ist.
2009
1 1.9 ITALIAN: La Lucerna
Journal containing William Stafford poem “At the Cove on the Crooked River” translated into Italian by Dora M. Pettinella and published with title “A Cove sul fiume Torto”.
Publication title: La Lucerna.
1965
1 1.10 ITALIAN: Impegno
Journal containing William Stafford poem, “Viaggiando nel Buio,” translation of “Traveling through the Dark” by Nat Scammacca.
Publication title: Impegno.
1971
1 1.11 ITALIAN: A Meeting with Disma Tumminello and William Stafford
10 cm. (wrappers). William Stafford poems and a brief introductory essay, Italian translations by Nat Scammacca.
Published by Cross-Cultural Communications.
1978
1 1.12 ITALIAN: "Incontro"
Folded leaflet by The British College of Palermo, Italy, and Cross-Cultural Communications of New York containing translated poem by William Stafford.
Published by Cross-Cultural Communications.
1979
1 1.13 ITALIAN: "Meditation"
Unpaged volume containing William Stafford poem, Italian translation by Nat Scammacca.
Publication title: Fenice Rosso.
1979
1 1.14 ITALIAN: Issimo
Journal containing William Stafford poem “La fama”, Italian translation of “Fame” by Enzo Bonventre.
Publication title: Issimo.
1993
1 1.15 ITALIAN: Margaret Lavoie
Italian translation of William Stafford poem "The Light in the Barn".
2012
1 1.16 ITALIAN: Joe Soldati
Italian translation of William Stafford poems "Ask Me", and "My Name Was William Tell."
2012
2 2.1 POLISH: Wsród amerykanskich poetów
Bound volume containing poems by William Stafford translations by Tadeusz Rybowski.
Publication title: Wsród amerykanskich poetów/>.
1979
2 2.2 POLISH: "Bik"
Polish translations of William Stafford poems by Grzegorz Musiał. Also includes a brief biographical article introducing Stafford in preparation for his poetry reading in Bydgoszczy on October 2, 1991.
Publication title: Bydgoski Informator Kulturalny.
1991
2 2.3 POLISH: "Dwa Wiersze"
leaflet featuring English versions and Polish translations by Piotr Sommer of William Stafford poems.
1991
2 2.4 POLISH: Migawki - Profil Ameryki
Features Polish translations of American poems paired with photographs.
Publication title: Migawki - Profil Ameryki/>.
undated
2 2.5 POLISH: Potop: Pismo Literackie
Polish translations of William Stafford’s poems by Grzegorz Musiał.
Publication title: Potop: Pismo Literackie/>.
1991
2 2.6 POLISH: William Stafford: Contemporary American poet
Staple-bound into a paper cover. Polish translations by Andrzej Szuba and Ludmilla Marjanska of a selection of Stafford’s poems, as well as translations of two Stafford prose pieces by Szuba and Ewa R. Nowakowska.
Publication title: William Stafford: Contemporary American poet/>.
1991
2 2.7 RUSSIAN: Poccnncknn Konokon
Russian journal published by the Russian Writers Union and the Foundation Literary Center Peter Proskurina. Contains two translated William Stafford poems.
Publication title: Russian Bells/>.
2006
2 2.8 SPANISH: "In Chihuahua"
Translation by Hebert Baird.
Publication title: Jeopardy.
April 1969
2 2.9 SPANISH: "At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border"
Letter from Helen Wohl Patterson thanking William Stafford for allowing her to translate his poem.
1970
2 2.10 SPANISH: Translations by Jaume P. Montaner
Contains eleven William Stafford poems translated by Montaner, with five poems sent to El Urogallo [see this box, file 2.11].
Publication title: El Urogallo/>.
1974
2 2.11 SPANISH: El Urogallo
Interview with William Stafford and three poems, translated by Jaume P. Montaner.
Publication title: El Urogallo.
1974
2 2.12 SPANISH: "Libertad"
Spanish translation of William Stafford poem by Ana Moret.
1997
2 2.13 SPANISH: "Pregúntame"
Correspondence and newspaper clippings containing William Stafford poem "Ask Me" translated by Carlos Reyes.
Publication title: The Oregonian/>.
2006
2 2.14 SPANISH: "Level Light"
Spanish translation of William Stafford poem by Natasha Ballestena.
2010
2 2.15 SPANISH: "Hungry River, Hungry coyote: Conversation between William Stafford and Nezahual Coyotl"
Spanish translation of William Stafford poem by Cindy William Gutierrez.
2012
2 2.16 SPANISH: Proposal for translation of William Stafford into Spanish
Correspondence between Kim Stafford and Andres Berger-Kiss.
May 2012
2 2.17 SWEDISH: Rapport från en avlägsen plats
Perfect bound book in pictorial card wraps. A collection of Swedish translations of William Stafford poems by Lars Nordström.
Publication title: Report from a Far Place.
2003
2 2.18 SWEDISH: Tidningen VI
Swedish Journal containing translation of Stafford's "Listening."
Publication title: Tidningen VI/>.
2004
2 2.19 VIETNAMESE: Proposal for translation of William Stafford into Spanish
Correspondence between Kim Stafford and Wendy Erd.
2006
3 3.1 JAPANESE: Poetry Village
Journal containing two Japanese translations of William Stafford poems by Yorifumi Yaguchi.
Publication title: Poetry Village.
1972
3 3.2 JAPANESE: "Allegiance"
An essay about William Stafford in Japanese by Yorifumi Yaguchi.
Publication title: Hokusei College Literature.
1973
3 3.3 JAPANESE: Rising Generation
Journal includes an article about William Stafford by Yorifumi Yaguchi, and the poem "The Tulip Tree" in English.
Publication title: Rising Generation.
1975
3 3.4 JAPANESE: Poems by William Stafford
Japanese translation of a collection of William Stafford poems by Motohiko Kawamura and published in Yokohama by the Caribe Bookstore.
Publication title: Poems by William Stafford.
1980
3 3.5 JAPANESE: Amerika gendaishi no ichimen
"One Aspect of Modern Poetry", edited by Yorifumi Yaguchi, includes commentary about William Stafford’s writing by Yorifumi Yaguchi, Kim Stafford, and Gary Snyder.
Publication title: Hokusei College Literature.
1983
3 3.6 JAPANESE: Poetry Kanto
By the Kanto Gakuin University, containing two William Stafford poems; presented in English.
Publication title: Poetry Kanto.
1984
3 3.7 JAPANESE: "William Stafford in Sapporo"
Copy of Japanese newspaper (Hokkaido News) containing a translation of "The Bush from Mongolia".
Publication title: Hokkaido News.
September 29, 1984
3 3.8 JAPANESE: Shi Wa Yujin o Hoho
Bound book "How to Count Friends Through Poetry" edited by Hiroshi Osada, containing two William Stafford poems.
Published by Kodansha.
1993
3 3.9 JAPANESE: "Translations"
Manuscript of Hokusei College Literature titled "Translations: translations of William Stafford's 19 Poems." Translated by Yorifumi Yaguchi.
Publication title: Hokusei College Literature/>.
1996
3 3.10 JAPANESE: New Modern Poetry
Includes Japanese translation of William Stafford poem, “At the Un-National Monument on the Canadian Border, by Yorifumi Yaguchi.
Publication title: New Modern Poetry.
2007
3 3.11 JAPANESE: Japanese Translations of some poems by William Stafford
Translations by Yorifumi Yaguch and fourteen others.
2009
3 3.12 JAPANESE: "Malheur Before Dawn"
Translated by Seijun Kanazwa as part of the Barbara Schramm, Academy of International Education workshop.
unpublished
2010
3 3.13 JAPANESE: "Climbing Along the River"
Poem and short bio of William Stafford translated into Japanese by Izumi Ueno.
unpublished
2011

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)