Sophie Wilkins papers, 1930s-2003
Sophie Wilkins papers, 1930s-2003
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1562
- Bib ID:
- 8600033 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Wilkins, Sophie
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 17.22 linear feet (41 document boxes)
- Language(s):
- English , German .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Summary
The papers document Wilkins' work as an editor and a translator, and contain both correspondence and manuscripts related to her career, and to her literary and personal relationships.
A large portion of the papers consists of correspondence. The correspondence is particularly valuable in that contains both incoming correspondence and carbon copies of Wilkins' responses. Important correspondents include Saul Bellow, William F. Buckley, Babette Deutsch, Howard Nemerov, Karl Shapiro, Edgar Smith, and John Updike, and there are also less substantial amounts of correspondence with many other literary figures. The correspondence files include manuscripts, clippings, and other materials.
There are also general correspondence files related to editorial and translation projects filed in Series II: Editorial Files, Manuscripts, and Translation Work, as well as a small file related to Wilkins' teaching work.
The papers also contain additional documentation of Wilkins' work as an editor and translator. In addition to the correspondence files, the papers also include a curriculum vita, which lists most of her translation projects, and subject files related to translation. The papers include some manuscripts related to her translation work, particularly in the case of Robert Musil, where there is a working draft for The Man Without Qualities.
There is also material related to Karl Shapiro, whom Wilkins married in 1985. There are correspondence files, printed materials, proofs, and typescripts related to Shapiro in the collection.
There are few items related to Wilkins, family in the collection, although there is some correspondence with her husbands Thurman Wilkins and Karl Shapiro from the 1980s.
The papers also include a small number of photographs and printed material related to Wilkins.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Choose one of the following (unbold the name when you choose): Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Name of Collection; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accrual
No accruals expected
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2010-2011-M085: Source of acquisition--Adam and Daniel Wilkins. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--4/1/2011.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers processed by Catherine C. Ricciardi and Karen Aponte-Velez.
Finding aid written by Catherine C. Ricciardi.
Papers appraised James Goldwasser 2007.
Revision Description
2015-03-31 File created.
2015-03-31 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical / Historical
Sophie Wilkins (1915-2003) (nee Prombaum) was born in Vienna, Austria, on February 25, 1915, and came to New York City on November 5, 1927.
She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn in 1932, and earned both B.A. and M.A. degrees in Comparative Literature from Brooklyn College, in 1940 and 1942, respectively. She pursued doctoral work at Columbia University from 1950-1955, studying with Lionel Trilling, but she did not earn a degree.
Wilkins worked as an editor, primarily at Alfred A. Knopf, where she worked from 1959-1971. Among her projects, Wilkins edited the memoirs of Edgar Smith, Brief Against Death, and carried on regular correspondence with him, and with William F. Buckley, an advocate for Smith,s cause. Wilkins also worked as a translator. Early in her career, she translated Kafka. She also translated works by Thomas Bernhard, C.W. Ceram, and Robert Musil. After her translation of Musil's Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften, Wilkins was decorated by the government of Austria, which also acknowledged her cultural contributions in 1995.
Wilkins was married to Dr. Alvin Meyer, and the couple had two sons during the 1940s. This marriage failed, and Wilkins worked and pursued graduate studies at Columbia University while raising her sons during the 1950s. She was later married to Thurman Wilkins, an author and professor of English at Queens College, from 1958-1985. She married the poet Karl Shapiro, whom she had known for many years, in 1985. The Shapiros remained married until his death in 2000.
Wilkins died in New York City on May 8, 2003.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Series I: Correspondence Files, 1934-2003, undated
The correspondence series documents the most important parts of Wilkins' career and her literary and personal relationships. The correspondence is particularly rich in that it contains both incoming correspondence and carbon copies of Wilkins' outgoing correspondence.
The series contains substantial correspondence with Saul Bellow, William F. Buckley, Babette Deutsch, Howard Nemerov, Edgar Smith, and John Updike, and smaller amounts of correspondence from many other prominent literary figures. Additional correspondence related to editorial projects, teaching work, and translation is filed in Series II.
Correspondence with Karl Shapiro is filed in Series III.
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(Carbon copy of a letter sent by Edgar Smith)
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Jack Stadler, referenced in the letter, was treasurer (1966-1994) of the Poetry Society of America. In the letter, Ms. Wilkins also references Karl Shapiro and his memoir, Jack Wheatcroft and "young poet" Richard Foerster.
Anne Klass, 31/10/2022
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(Includes one note from the author and related photographs)
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(Includes photographs of Alfred Werner)
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(Includes a carbon copy of Wilkins' resume from 1956)
Series II: Editorial Files, Manuscripts, and Translation Work, 1936-1995, undated
This series documents Wilkins' work as an editor and translator. This series contains general correspondence and files, as well as manuscripts, most notably a complete working draft of her translation of Robert Musil's Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften.
The series also contains a curriculum vita, which primarily documents her translation projects, and a small file on her teaching work.
Box 28
(Contains a curriculum vita and a biographical statement)
Box 26
Box 26
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Box 27
(Translated from the French by Gabriel John Brogyanyi)
Box 35
(Chapters 1-72)
Box 36
Box 32
(Chapters 1-66)
Box 34
(Chapters 77-123)
Box 33
(All)
Box 30
(All)
Box 27
(Translated by Sophie Wilkins)
Box 28
(Translated from the German by Sophie Wilkins (Master Set) )
Box 28
(In German)
Box 31
Box 28
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Box 26
Box 26
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Box 28
Box 29
1942-1982
(Correspondence, resumes, notes, and other material primarily related to Wilkins' employment as a translator.)
Box 27
1962-1991, (2 Folders)
(Correspondence and other materials related to translation)
Box 29
Box 31
Series III: Karl Shapiro, 1930s-2001, undated
This series contains material related to Karl Shapiro, who Wilkins married in 1985. The series includes correspondence between them from the 1980s, as well as additional correspondence, manuscripts, proofs, printed materials, and typescripts related to Shapiro's work.
Box 41
(16mm film reel; 13 minutes)
Box 41
(Audio reel)
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(Various notes and quotations, handwritten)
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Box 31
(Sophie's copy)
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(Photocopies)
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Series IV: Printed Materials and Photographs, 1971, undated
This series contains a small amount of printed material and unidentified photographs.
Box 31
Box 31
(Includes a copy ofThe Fourth House: Collected Essays By William F. Rickenbacherthat is inscribed by William F. Buckley, Jr. (1971) )