Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm82038505
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Muriel Rukeyser were presented to the Library of Congress by Rukeyser as a gift in 1969 and in several deposits from her and her son, William, 1972-1992. The deposits and other material were subsequently acquired by the Library through purchase from William Rukeyser on behalf of his mother's estate in three equal installments, 1997-1999.
The papers of Muriel Rukeyser were arranged and described in 1986 by Michael McElderry. Material received in 1992 and 1997-1999 was processed as an addition in 2003 by Michael McElderry. The finding aid was revised by Karen Linn Femia in 2021 to reflect transferred and interfiled material remaining from Part I.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Audio recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. A musical score, with accompanying words by Muriel Rukeyser, has been transferred to the Music Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Muriel Rukeyser Papers. Patrons are encouraged to contact these divisions in advance of a research visit.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Muriel Rukeyser is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Muriel Rukeyser are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Microfilm on seven reels was received as part of the papers of Muriel Rukeyser and is listed and described in this finding aid. This microfilm is not available for interlibrary loan.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Muriel Rukeyser Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Part I of the papers of Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) spans the period 1867-1980, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the years 1936-1979. The papers include literary notes and notebooks which record the variant stages of Rukeyser's poetry and writings and reflect the development of her literary technique. The notebooks also contain notes on background readings, trial lines, and Rukeyser's research. Also included are literary manuscripts and typescripts as well as production material for books and plays. A series of diaries and appointment books contains personal notes and literary drafts, though for the most part neither type of entry is fully developed. The papers also contain a small amount of correspondence and correspondence notebooks, subject files , an oversize series, and a collection of papers belonging to the author and lay psychologist Frances G. Wickes , for whom Rukeyser acted as literary executor. The main body of Wickes's papers located in the Library of Congress is available to researchers in the Manuscript Division Reading Room.
Muriel Rukeyser was a lyric, feminist poet whose social and political involvement lent to her writings a broader message in support of social justice worldwide. Rukeyser's concern for the cause of human rights was expressed early when, as the literary editor of the
Rukeyser wedded her personal and social views in her writings, and it is this aspect of her life that is most fully documented in her papers. The Literary File contains manuscripts and production material for the wide variety of literary forms which Rukeyser produced, including drafts and related material of both her classroom and public lectures. The Literary File documents Rukeyser's book,
The Subject File documents Rukeyser's appointment as president of the American Center of P.E.N. Her reaction to the issues raised during her term in office further reflects her social outlook. Material in the General Correspondence series includes letters exchanged with friends and colleagues from the New York literary circle in which Rukeyser moved. Single letters from personalities of note are scattered throughout this series, while letters from Isobel M. Cerney and James Edmiston illuminate Rukeyser's California period in the late 1940s, during which time she lectured for the California Labor School. Correspondence files of Monica McCall, Rukeyser's friend and literary agent, and Frances G. Wickes are also of importance. Other correspondents include Kay Boyle, Betty and Richard Eberhart, Donnan Call Jeffers, Denise Levertov, Helen Merrell Lynd, James Marshall, Carson McCullers, William Meredith, Marianne Moore, William Packard, Robert Payne, Rebecca E. Pitts, Katharine Anne Porter, Miriam M. Reik, May Sarton, Bryna Ivens and Louis Untermeyer, Alice Walker, Robert Penn Warren and his wife, Eleanor Clark, Toni Willson, and Ella Winter.
Part II of the papers of Muriel Rukeyser covers the years from 1844 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1979. It contains family papers , correspondence , literary material , subject files , oversize items, and miscellaneous material supplementing many of the topics and files noted in Part I. Part II includes holograph drafts and typescripts, outlines, notes and notebooks, trial lines, research material, and other items pertaining to Rukeyser's poetry and writings, in particular her journalistic narrative
The Literary File in Part II contains drafts and trial lines of Rukeyser's poetry. Notes and notebooks record her poetic and literary reflections and other miscellaneous notes. In addition to material concerning the writing and production of her books and articles, the Literary File also includes plays, radio and television scripts and outlines, screenplays, and recordings. Rukeyser's play,
The Subject File in Part II contains material similar to that in Part I documenting various aspects of Rukeyser's life, such as her association with the California Labor School and PEN (Organization). Other subjects include her work with the Office of War Information during World War II, her academic life from her student years at Vassar College to her teaching career at Sarah Lawrence College, and her concern for issues of political and social justice, as reflected in her opposition to the Vietnamese Conflict and her coverage of the Scottsboro trial.
The General Correspondence series of Part II contains many of the same correspondents listed in Part I. Additional correspondents include Berenice Abbott, Eleanor Clark, Alexandra and Peter Docili, Robert Duncan, Sara Bard Field, Hallie Davis Flanagan, Henry Fuller, Horace Gregory and his wife, Marya Zaturenska, Norman Holmes Pearson, and Marie de L. Welch.
The collection is arranged in two parts composed of fourteen series:
Part I:
Part II:
Appointment books, diaries, and diary notes containing occasional literary and miscellaneous notes, an unidentified diary kept during Rukeyser's 1936 trip to Spain, and Denise Levertov's diary of her 1972 trip to Hanoi.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters sent and received including correspondence of family members and miscellaneous items and enclosures.
Arranged alphabetically by name of family member and chronologically therein.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, postcards, telegrams, and miscellaneous items and enclosures.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and chronologically therein.
Holograph drafts and typescripts, correspondence, literary and research notes, notebooks, printed copies, proofs, outlines, and miscellaneous items relating to Rukeyser's prose and poetry, books, plays, screenplays and media scripts, speeches and lectures, and translations. Also includes a file of the speeches and writings of writers and lecturers other than Rukeyser.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, printed matter, reports, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Printed matter, photographs, correspondence, financial and legal papers, address and telephone message books, cards and invitations, and biographical material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, subject files, speeches and writings, photographs, and printed matter belonging to Frances G. Wickes, author and lay psychologist, for whom Muriel Rukeyser acted as literary executor.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Drawings, illustrations, posters, proofs, photocopies, printed matter, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.
Letters sent and received, including correspondence of family members, genealogies, and miscellaneous items and enclosures.
Arranged alphabetically by name of family member and chronologically therein.
Letters received and copies of letters sent, postcards, telegrams, and miscellaneous items and enclosures.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and chronologically therein.
Holograph drafts and typescripts, correspondence, literary and research notes, notebooks, trial lines, printed copies, proofs, outlines, and miscellaneous items relating to Rukeyser's prose and poetry, books, plays and theatrical productions, screenplays and media scripts, lectures and readings, and translations. Also includes the work of writers other than Rukeyser.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, statements, proposals and prospectuses, teaching notes and outlines, reports, research material, printed matter, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Correspondence, address and appointment books, diary and diary notes, drawings and illustrations, financial and legal records, medical records, notes and notebooks, printed matter, cards and invitations, and biographical material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Drawings, illustrations, posters, printed matter, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.