Theodore Weiss Papers, 1939-2010, bulk 1940-1987

Summary

Creator:
Weiss, Theodore Russell, 1916-2003
Abstract:
This collection consists of materials pertaining to the life of Theodore Russel Weiss and his activities as a poet, academic, critic, editor and publisher. Theodore Weiss was a professor at several institutions including Bard College and Princeton University as well as the co-founder and editor of acclaimed literary journal, the Quarterly Review of Literature (QRL). He was also an award winning poet, over a dozen volumes of his poetry were published by the likes Macmillan, NYU Press and others. A significant portion of this collection consists of original drafts of poetry by Weiss. The collection also contains materials pertaining to his marriage to poet, musician and editor, Renée Karol including their correspondences and drafts of their co-written poetry. The two were prolific collaborators on the QRL which they ran together for nearly sixty years.
Extent:
12 linear feet 10 boxes
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Theodore Weiss Papers, in ten boxes, contains handwritten notebooks of poetry; manuscripts; journal and newspaper articles related to the poet; personal correspondences; professional correspondences with fellow scholars and publishers; publishing contracts with related legal documents; photographs; VHS tapes; cassette tapes and magnetic tape reels. Additionally, there are clippings, advertisements, and event programs concerning Theodore Weiss’ work and legacy.

A large portion of the collection consists of seventy-eight notebooks spanning 1939-1985, each of which contains Weiss’ handwritten poetry drafts. During this period Weiss was composing what many consider his finest work, "Gunsight." In addition to poetic drafts, there are also drafts and transcripts of lectures Weiss gave over the course of several decades.

Many of the professional correspondences in this collection are related to Weiss’ time running the Quarterly Review of Literature. The content of these letters includes proposed edits on poetry submissions, notes on manuscripts, speaking tour itineraries, and planning conferences with colleagues. Significantly, some letters are from foreign and domestic dignitaries thanking Theodore and Renée for their participation in various poetry events.

In the collection there is also an extensive record of periodical and literary journal coverage of Weiss and the QRL spanning several decades. Reviews of Weiss’ work, articles and letters to the editor by Weiss in various magazines and newspapers, and advertisements promoting events featuring Weiss are collected here.

The legal documents in the collection consist of publishing contracts, royalties statements, and publishing proposals. Many of these exchanges are between Weiss and Louisiana State University Press and Northwestern University Press.

Other significant content includes rough and final cuts of two documentaries by filmmaker Harvey Edwards, Living Poetry I and Living Poetry II which are about the poet’s artistic process and life. There are also original recordings of Renée Weiss’ violin performances, and recordings of poetry readings given by Theodore and Renée Weiss.

Biographical / historical:

Theodore Russel Weiss (1916-2003) was a poet, educator and publisher. Born in Reading, PA on December 16, 1916, he earned his A.B. from Muhlenberg College in 1938 and went on to earn his M.A. from Columbia University in 1940. From 1941 until 1946 he was an instructor at the University of Maryland (1941), University of North Carolina (1942-1944), and Yale University (1944-1946). While serving as an instructor at UNC in 1943, he founded the independent literary journal Quarterly Review of Literature (QRL) with Warren Carrier.

In 1941, Weiss married Renée Karol, a violinist, editor, and writer. Together, they would run the QRL from 1944 until 1999 with Theodore serving as the journal’s editor and publisher and Renée as its co-editor and business manager. The journal focused heavily on poetry and criticism for the majority of its tenure and celebrated little known poets as well as foreign poets previously not translated into English including Franz Kafka, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams.

In 1946, he accepted a position as professor of English at Bard College where he taught until 1966 before becoming a poet in residence at Princeton University. In 1968, shortly after his residency, Weiss became a professor of literature and creative writing at Princeton University where he would teach until retiring from academia in 1987.

Apart from his scholarly duties as a professor, Weiss was an award winning poet and publisher. He wrote over a dozen books of poetry during his lifetime that were published by a wide range of journals and publishing companies including Macmillan, New York University Press, New Directions and others. During his career as a poet, he received several awards and fellowships including Guggenheim and Ford Foundation fellowships as well as the Brandeis Creative Arts Award in Poetry (1977), the Poetry Society of America Award (1988), and the PEN Lifetime Achievement Award which he received with his wife Renée in 1997.

Later in life, Weiss was the subject of two documentary films "Living Poetry: A Year in the Life of a Poet" (1987) and its sequel, "Living Poetry 2: Yes, With Lemon" (1995). Both films focused on the creation and evolution of his poem “Fractions” as well as upon his personal life and relationship with Renée.

After battling Parkinson’s, Weiss died at his Princeton, New Jersey home in April 2003. In April 2021, upon Renée Weiss’ passing, this collection of Theodore Weiss’ papers was donated to Bard College.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is available for viewing in the Special Collections Reading Room of the Stevenson Library, Bard College.

Location of this collection:
Stevenson Library
1 Library Road
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504, United States
Link to repository site
Contact: