OPEN TODAY: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Tickets

Manuscripts

II. Correspondence

Description

The heart of the collection is the correspondence between Wallace Stevens and his family, scholars, poets, editors, business associates and friends. All of the correspondence (except that relating to genealogy) has been fully catalogued in the Manuscripts Catalogue.

Although there is some correspondence of minor importance, such as friends' greetings while Stevens was convalescing in 1955, most of it has an interest from either a biographical or poetical viewpoint. Many of the letters from Stevens were published by his daughter in Letters of Wallace Stevens, ed. Holly Stevens, 1966. But still unpublished is the other side of the correspondence--to Stevens--amounting to about 2,500 pieces. The bulk of Stevens' letters are carbon copies, with the exception of his letters to Barbara S. Church, Wilson E. Taylor, and Elsie Viola (Moll) Stevens. Stevens began to keep carbon copies regularly only after the early 1940s, so his letters from the earlier period are scarce in the collection. A brief notice of the kinds of correspondence in the collection is given below:

Family Letters

The most significant family figure represented in the correspondence is Stevens' wife, Elsie Viola (Moll) Stevens (1886–1963). Her real name was Elsie Viola Kachel, but when her mother remarried, Elsie took on the surname Moll. Most of the correspondence is from Stevens to Elsie, 1907 (before their engagement) to 1935. (271 pieces; WAS 1776-2047). The principal letters from Elsie are to her stepfather and mother, Lehman W. and Ida Bright (Smith) Kachel Moll and to her half-sister, Dorothy La Rue (Moll) Weidner.

Additional family correspondents include:

Elizabeth (Stevens) MacFarland (1885-1943): Wallace Stevens' elder sister. Daughter: Jane (MacFarland) Stone Wilson. Garrett Barcalow Stevens a (1848-1911): Wallace Stevens' father. Garrett Barcalow Stevens b (1877-1937): Wallace Stevens' elder brother. Wife: Sarah Shelley (Stayman) Stevens. Holly Bright Stevens (1924-1992): Daughter of Wallace and Elsie Stevens. First married name: Hanchak (son: Peter Reed Hanchak). Second married name: Stephenson. Her maiden name is used throughout the collection. John Bergen Stevens a (1880-1940): Wallace Stevens' younger brother. Son: John Bergen Stevens b. Wife: Anna May Stevens. Daughter: Eleanor (Stevens) Sauer. Husband: John C. Sauer. Margaretha Catharine (Zeller) Stevens (1848-1912): Wallace Stevens' mother. Mary Catharine Stevens (1889-1919): Wallace Stevens' younger sister, killed in France during World War I.

Literary Correspondents

The crux of the collection deals with Wallace Stevens' poetry; a majority of the correspondence falls into this category. The following list deals only with some of the correspondents, including those who were important in their own right or important for the quality of the correspondence. The list is by no means complete. Many of the editors of journals, critics and publishers that figure in the collection are not on the following list but may be found alphabetically in the Manuscript Catalogue in the Library. All letters in the list are addressed to or written by Stevens.

Note: Marguerite G. Flynn, whose name figures in some of the correspondence, was Stevens' secretary and stenographer. She personally answered some of Stevens' letters, especially in 1955 when Stevens was hospitalized. Letters written by her are catalogued under her name, not Stevens'.

Henry Hall Church: 102 pieces, 1939-[1947]. (WAS 3366-3467). Stevens to HHC: 94 pieces, 1939-1947, mostly carbons. (WAS 3468-3561). Barbara S. Church: 112 pieces, 1942-1955. (WAS 3563-3674). Stevens to BSC: 148 letters, 1 942-1955, mostly originals. (WAS 3678-3825). The Church-Stevens correspondence is undoubtedly the most important (and numerous) in the collection. Henry Church and Stevens were both interested in French literature and, during the war years when the Churches were unable to spend half the year in their home at Ville d'Avray, France, Stevens saw the Churches frequently and became close friends with them, so that in his correspondence with both Henry and Barbara Church, he frequently and honestly speaks of his personal and literary life. Edward Estlin Cummings: 4 letters, 1944-1950. (WAS 1-4). Stevens to EEC: 2 carbons, 1947-1950.(WAS 5-6). Harry Duncan (of the Cummington Press): 61 letters, 1943-1951. (WAS 555-615). Stevens to HD: 9 carbons, 1945-1950. (WAS 616-624). Katharine Frazier (of the Cummington Press): 19 letters, 1941-1943. (WAS 647-665). Robert Lee Frost: 1 A.L.S. (and photograph), July 28, 1935. (WAS 365). Victor Karl Hammer: 32 letters, 1946-1952. (WAS 776-807). Stevens to VKH: 11 carbons, 1948-1951. (WAS 808-818). Alfred A. Knopf: 64 letters, 1920-1955. (WAS 3084-3147). Stevens to AAK: 44 carbons, 1930-1955. (WAS 3148-3191). The following four individuals are the major associates with Alfred A. Knopf Inc. in the correspondence: William Cole: 10 letters, 1951-1955. (WAS 3044-3053). Stevens to WC: 9 carbons, 1951-1955. (WAS 3054-3062). Sidney R. Jacobs: 9 letters, 1950-1954. (WAS 3063-3071). Stevens to SRJ: 12 carbons, 1950-1954. (WAS 3072-3083). William A. Koshland: 11 letters, 1950-1954. (WAS 3198-3208). Stevens to WAK: 10 carbons, 1950-1955. (WAS 3209-3218). Herbert Weinstock: 74 pieces, 1946-1955. (WAS 3219-3292). Stevens to HW: 66 carbons, 1946-1955. (WAS 3293-3358). Archibald MacLeish: 2 letters, 1925-[1948]. (WAS 1063-1064). Stevens to AM: 1 carbon, Aug. 23, 1948. (WAS 1065). Harriet Monroe: 10 letters, 1914-1935. (WAS 28-37). Marianne Craig Moore: 27 letters, 1926-1955. (WAS 41-67). Samuel French Morse: 7 letters, 1953-1955. (WAS 1266-1272). Stevens to SFM: 3 carbons, 1954-1955. (WAS 1273-1275). Renato Poggioli: 30 letters, 1947-1954. (WAS 286-315). Stevens to RP: 23 carbons, 1947-1954. (WAS 316-338). Mary Bernetta Quinn: 12 letters, 1948-1955. (WAS 2621-2632). Stevens to MBQ: 3 carbons, 1948-1954. (WAS 2633-2635). Hi Simons: 28 pieces, 1937-1945.(WAS 78-105). Stevens to HS: 35 carbons, 1937-1945.(WAS 106-140). Allen John Orley Tate: 45 pieces, 1941-1949. (WAS 2340-2384). Stevens to AJOT: 21 carbons, 1941-1949. (WAS 2385-2405). Thornton Niven Wilder: 1 A.L.S., Sep. 12, 1951. (WAS 2524). Stevens to TNW: 1 carbon, Oct. 19, 1951. (WAS 2525). William Carlos Williams: 13 letters, 1916-1953. (WAS 11-23).

Foreign Correspondence

Although Stevens never travelled abroad (other than to Havana, Cuba), he was always interested to read about foreign places and to correspond with foreigners. Some of the most engaging correspondence is with foreign writers, whose letters with Stevens are among the finest in the collection for the insights they give into Stevens the man and the poet.

Notable correspondents include:

Rosamond (Bates) Cary: 6 letters, 1931-1936. (WAS 2071-2076). Stevens to RBC: 6 carbons, 1935-1936. (WAS 2077-2082). Cary was an American living in Otaru, Japan. Stevens asked her to select a number of Japanese toys and traditional items as gifts for Elsie and Holly Stevens. Peter H. Lee: 13 letters, 1951-1955.(WAS 1030-1042). Stevens to PHL: 8 carbons, 1954-1955.(WAS 1043-1050). Lee was a Korean poet. Robert McAlmon: 13 letters, [1921-1924]. (WAS 1150-1162). McAlmon, an American writer living and writing in Europe, wrote some extremely good letters about James Joyce and other literary figures in the 1920s. Thomas MacGreevy: 39 letters, 1948-1955. (WAS 141-158; 161-180). Stevens to TM: 17 carbons, 1948-1955. (WAS 181-197). MacGreevy was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Ireland in 1950. The MacGreevy-Stevens correspondence brings out Stevens' interest in painting and the other arts. José Rodriguez-Feo: 51 letters, 1944-1954. (WAS 1588-1638). Stevens to JR-F: 9 carbons, 1948-1955. (WAS 1639-1647). Warm letters from and to Rodriguez-Feo, a young Cuban poet, many concerning the meaning of Stevens' poetry. Leonard Van Geyzel: 15 letters, 1938-1954. (WAS 2450-2464). Stevens to LVG: 18 carbons and 1 L.S., 1937-1954. (WAS 2470-2488). Van Geyzel was an Englishman working on a tea plantation in Ceylon who read widely in modern literature. Interesting correspondence regarding Stevens' literary and political (World War II) views. Anatole Vidal: 20 letters, 1935-1940, in French. (WAS 2650-2669). Vidal was the Parisian bookseller who, like his daughter Paule Vidal after his death, provided Stevens with French books and magazines and purchased for Stevens original paintings by contemporary French artists, including Auberjonois, Maurice Brianchon, Roger Callois and Tal Coat. The Anatole and Paule Vidal correspondence is of the utmost importance in defining Stevens' attitudes toward modern art and literature. Paule Vidal: 80 letters, 1945-1955,in French. (WAS 2806-2885). Stevens to PV: 110 carbons, 1945-1955. (WAS 2886-2995). Paule Vidal took over her father's bookshop in Paris after his death in the early 1940s and continued the correspondence with Stevens.

In addition, there is correspondence regarding tea. Stevens was a connoisseur of fine foods and enjoyed sending away for tea in particular. These letters with the Associated Tea Syndicate (WAS 1170-1176) and the Ceylon Tea Plantation Company (WAS 1346-1349), 1935-1938, give some idea of his personal habits.

Business Associates

The collection does not contain letters from the files of the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company. The following correspondents were business associates as well as friends:

C.L. Daughtry: 7 pieces, 1943-[1955].(WAS 492-498). Stevens to CLD: 40 pieces, 1931-1955, mostly originals. (WAS 499-538). Arthur Gray Powell (known as "Judge Powell"): 6 letters, 1940-1950. (WAS 1477-1482). Wilson E. Taylor: 12 letters, [1939?]-1955, including 5 carbons. (WAS 3837-3848). Stevens to WET: 96 letters, 1933-1955, originals. (WAS 3849-3944).
Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date
1856-1975.
Call number
mssWAS 1-4262
Creator
Stevens, Wallace (1879-1955)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance
Gift of Holly Stevens, 1974.
Gift of Wilson Taylor, 1975.
Associated people
Cummings, E. E. (1894-1962.)
Knopf, Alfred A., (1892-1984.)
McAlmon, Robert, (1896-1956.)
MacGreevy, Thomas, (1893-1967.)
MacLeish, Archibald, (1892-1982.)
Moore, Marianne, (1887-1972.)
Rodríguez Feo, José. (1899-1979.)
Tate, Allen,
Find out more
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

You might also be interested in

  • Image not available

    Correspondence, Wisconsin Players-Zeller, and miscellaneous

    Manuscripts

    The miscellaneous materials consist of: -----, Alice. 1 letter to Elsie Stevens, 1912 August 2. With a letter from Wallace Steven to Elsie on the envelope. (WAS 2054) Wallace Stevens financial records, correspondence, and financial notes (67 pieces), 1952-1955. (WAS 4090) Funeral register for Wallace Stevens, 1955 August 4, with a packet of acknowledgement cards from the funeral and a typewritten list of names. (WAS 4048)

    mssWAS 1-4262

  • Image not available

    III. Photographs

    Manuscripts

    Includes photographs of Wallace Stevens, his wife, Elsie Stevens, and their daughter, Holly Bright Stevens, as well as well as other family members, friends, and their homes. There is also a photograph album of a Stevens family trip to California and Arizona in 1923 (Folder 38) and a photograph album of members of Elsie Stevens' family (Box 82). Most of the dates for the photographs was provided by Elsie Stevens.

    mssWAS 1-4262

  • Image not available

    Elsie Stevens Family photograph album

    Manuscripts

    Album of 40 portraits of family on the side of Elsie Viola (Moll) Stevens. The only photograph identified (by Holly Bright Stevens) is no. 14: Ida Bright (Smith) Kachel Moll & Elsie Viola (Moll) Stevens.

    mssWAS 1-4262

  • Image not available

    I. Manuscripts

    Manuscripts

    The manuscripts consist both of works by others about or to Wallace Stevens, and manuscripts of Stevens' poems, essays, and speeches. The manuscripts by others include dedicatory poems to Stevens, essays about Stevens (e.g. by Robert M. Pack and Mary Bernetta Quinn), and adaptations and translations of Stevens' poems (e.g. by Renato Poggioli). This series also includes an academic notebook kept by Stevens' grandfather Benjamin Stevens (born 1808) in 1822 (WAS 3965, loose volume). Notable pieces include: Hermann Hesse, Zwölf Gedichte (12 autograph poems in German, presented by Hesse to Stevens, each with a watercolor drawing). (WAS 223, loose volume) [Hywel David Lewis], On Poetic Truth (an essay first published in Philosophy (July 1946), in Stevens' hand). (WAS 4093, in Box 66) The manuscripts by Stevens are both autograph and typewritten. When Stevens' secretary/stenographer prepared his typescripts, she made 3 copies: an original and 2 carbons. When a carbon copy exists along with the original typescript, it has been catalogued with the original unless it contains annotations or corrections by Stevens. Most of the manuscripts have been published in one of three places: 1) a published work of Stevens, 2) Opus Posthumous, ed. Samuel French Morse, 1957 or 3) Robert Buttel, Wallace Stevens: The Making of Harmonium, 1967. When assigning dates to manuscripts, evidence given by Morse, Buttel, J.M. Edelstein, Wallace Stevens: A Descriptive Bibliography, 1973, and the correspondence have all been weighed. Notable pieces include: Adagia: 2 notebooks of aphorisms. 33p. [1930?-1955]. (WAS 70, in Box 1) A Book of Verses: notebook of 20 early poems. 21p. June 1908. (WAS 24, in Box 2) Esthétique du Mal: early draft. 16p. [1944]. (WAS 4140, in Box 2) The Figure of the Youth as Virile Poet: early draft. 33p. [1943]. (WAS 4143, in Box 66: Oversize) Gloire du Long Disir, Idies: early draft. 23p. [1955]. (WAS 4151, in Box 3) Journals 1898-1899. 1 vol. (WAS 7, in Box 4) 1899-1900. 1 vol. (WAS 8, in Box 4) 1902-1904. 1 vol. (WAS 9, in Box 4) 1905-1912. 1 vol. (WAS 10, in Box 4) The Little June Book: notebook of 20 early poems. 21p. June 5, 1909. (WAS 25, in Box 6) Poetic Exercises of 1948: 2 commonplace notebooks. 4p. [1948]. (WAS 72, in Box 6) The typescript for Selected Poems, a book submitted to Alfred A. Knopf Inc. but never published. 200p. [1950]. (WAS 2997, in Box 7) Sur Plusieurs Beaux Sujects: 2 commonplace notebooks. 44p. 1932-1953. (WAS 73, in Box 8)

    mssWAS 1-4262

  • Image not available

    Wallace Stevens Papers

    Manuscripts

    This collection contains the papers of American poet Wallace Stevens and is comprised primarily of letters written to Stevens, his carbon copy replies, and autograph manuscripts and poems, as well as family photographs, an extensive collection of genealogical research material on the Stevens and allied families, and some ephemera. The crux of the collection is the correspondence between Stevens and his family, friends, scholars, poets, editors, and business associates (although there are no letters from the files of Stevens' employer, the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company). Much of the correspondence deals with Stevens' poetry, or provides biographical or ideological information about Stevens. In addition to the 58 boxes of correspondence, there is an additional series containing xeroxes of Stevens correspondence and manuscripts held by other institutions. The Stevens family, including Stevens' wife Elsie and their daughter, Holly Bright Stevens, are well represented in the collection, as are Stevens' friends Barbara Church and Henry Hall Church. In addition, there are two boxes of addenda chiefly consisting of documents and photographs related to Stevens' eldest sister Elizabeth (Stevens) McFarland, which were added to the collection in 1977. Other individuals represented in the collection include: E. E. Cummings, Alfred A. Knopf, Robert McAlmon, Thomas MacGreevy, Archibald MacLeish, Marianne Moore, Jose Rodriguez Feo, and John Orley Allen Tate. In addition to photographs and documents produced by Stevens family members, there are also over 2,000 pieces of genealogical material, in the form of letters, documents and typescripts, that reflect Wallace and Elsie Stevens' interest in tracing their family ancestry beginning in the early 1940s. Items in the manuscripts and correspondence series have been fully indexed alphabetically and chronologically on cards in the Manuscript Catalogue in the Library.

    mssWAS 1-4262

  • Image not available

    VI. Genealogical Material

    Manuscripts

    In the early 1940s, Wallace Stevens began an extensive correspondence to trace his family ancestry. Elsie Stevens also took an active interest in tracing her roots. Over 2,000 pieces of genealogical material resulted, in the form of letters, documents and typescripts. The material dates primarily from the 1940s. Why Stevens took such pains to trace his ancestry is open to speculation, but two possible reasons could be 1) the death of most of his family (i.e. brothers and sisters) in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and 2) Holly Stevens' decision to leave Vassar College without a degree in 1942. Stevens' attempt to define and describe his family could well have been to reassure both himself and his daughter of their heritage.

    mssWAS 1-4262