Summary Information
Abstract
Correspondence and writings of American professor, editor, and scholar of
literature and popular culture, Richard Poirier.
At a Glance
| Call No.: | MS#1572 |
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| Bib ID: | 8720686 View CLIO record |
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| Creator(s): | Poirier, Richard. |
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| Title: | Richard Poirier
Collection,
1945-2007
[Bulk Dates: 1986-2007].
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| Physical description: | 3.25 linear ft. (3 record storage cartons)
|
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| Language(s): | Material is in English
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| Access: |
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least
two business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript
Library reading room.
Box 3, Folder 13 contains student papers and is restricted until 2056.
More information » |
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Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 3 series
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Description
Scope and Content
Papers contain material related to the personal and professional life of literary and
cultural critic Richard Poirier. The bulk of the papers contain files related to
Poirier's scholarly writing, but there is also correspondence related to his role as a
professor, literary critic, and editor of the
Raritan: A Quarterly Review.
The papers
comprise only a small part of the Poirier collection; the majority of the collection
contains books from Poirier's library, most annotated (some heavily) and many inscribed
by their authors. The books reflect both Poirier's interest in the American literary
tradition and his network of friends and admirers within the literary community.
Series I: Correspondence, 1971-2007
Series I is comprised of personal and professional correspondence received by Poirier, as well as some copies of his outgoing correspondence. The letters relate to his work as a literature professor at Rutgers, his role as editor of
Raritan
and personal correspondence between Poirier and his friends.
Series II: Writings and Notes, Undated, 1986-1996
The Writings and Notes Series includes research notes and manuscript drafts of many of Poirier's scholarly articles, books, and book reviews as well as some copies of published articles. These files are arranged topically by the subject of a work according to Poirier's own organizational and naming schemes. Therefore, researchers seeking material related to the book
The Renewal of Literature,
should look under "Emerson, Ralph Waldo" rather than the title of the book.
This series also includes some lecture notes and teaching material, including student essays from a 1986 course Poirier taught at Rutgers. These student papers are restricted until 2056.
Series III: Biographical Material, 1945-1992
The Biographical Material series is comprised of a small amount of biographical material including, notably, some of Poirier's diaries from the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Using the Collection
Offsite
Access Restrictions
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least
two business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript
Library reading room.
Box 3, Folder 13 contains student papers and is restricted until 2056.
Restrictions on Use
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
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Richard Poirier Collection; Box and
Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
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About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries. Rare Book and
Manuscript Library; machine readable finding aid created by Columbia University
Libraries Digital Library Program Division
Processing Information
Papers processed 06/--/2011 Carrie Hintz
Finding aid written 06/--/2011 Carrie Hintz
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion
June 17, 2011
Finding aid written in English.
2011-06-17
xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
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Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Genre/Form
Subjects
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History / Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Richard Poirier, an American literary and cultural critic,
professor of literature, and founder of
Raritan: A Quarterly
Review,
was born September 9, 1925 in Gloucester Massachusetts. Poirier
served in the Army during World War II, and upon returning from combat enrolled in
Amherst College where he earned his B.A. He continued his studies in literature first at
Yale where he earned his MA, and later at Harvard where he received a PhD in 1960.
Poirier taught at Harvard from 1958-1963, but he spent the majority academic career at
Rutgers University where he was a prominent member and sometimes Chair of the English
Department from 1963-2002.
Richard Poirier was not only a highly regarded scholar and teacher, but a well-respected
editor and publisher as well. He co-founded the Library of America publishing venture in
1979. The Library of America is a non-profit publisher focused on publishing and
preserving American poetry, fiction, and essays, often producing volumes of collected
works that published pieces that would otherwise be out of print. He also co-founded
Raritan: A Quarterly Review,
out of what he perceived
to be a dearth of serious criticism on American literature and culture that engaged both
academics and non-academics.
Poirier regularly contributed essays and reviews to publications such as The Partisan
Review (which he edited from 1963-1973), The New York Review of Books, and The London
Review of Books. He authored a number of books, including works on Henry James, Robert
Frost, and Ralph Waldo Emerson and collections of criticism such as
The Perfoming Self: Compositions and Decompositions in the Languages
of Contemporary Life.
Richard Poirier died in his Manhattan home on August 15, 2009.
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