MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1892 - 1982
Archibald MacLeish, poet, playwright, and government official, was born on May 7, 1892, in Glencoe, Illinois. He graduated from Yale in 1915, entered Harvard Law School, and married Ada Hitchcock in 1916. After the United States entered World War I, he enlisted as a private in the army, served in the artillery in France, and was discharged with the rank of captain. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1919 and the next year joined the Boston law firm of Choate, Hall, and Stewart. In 1923 the MacLeish family moved to Paris, where they remained for five years. After returning to the United States, he travelled to Mexico to follow the route of Cortez's army in preparation for writing Conquistador.
During the 1930s MacLeish was an editor of Fortune magazine. He served as Librarian of Congress, 1939-44, Assistant Secretary of State for Public and Cultural Affairs, 1944-45, and Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Poetry at Harvard University, 1949-62. MacLeish's poetry and dramatic writings earned him Pulitizer Prizes in 1932, 1952, and 1959, the Bollingen Prize and the National Book Award for poetry in 1953, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the National Medal for Literature in 1978. Archibald MacLeish died in Boston on April 20, 1982.
His major works of poetry include Tower of Ivory (1917), The Pot of Earth (1925), The Hamlet of A. MacLeish (1928), New Found Land (1930), Conquistador (1932), America Was Promises (1939), Collected Poems, 1917-1952 (1952), and Songs for Eve (1954). MacLeish also wrote several plays, some of the most important being Panic (1935), The Fall of the City (1937), Air Raid (1938), J.B. (1958), Herakles (1967), and Scratch (1971). Counted among his works of prose are A Time to Speak (1941), The American Story (1944), Poetry and Experience, (1960), and A Continuing Journey (1968).
During the 1930s MacLeish was an editor of Fortune magazine. He served as Librarian of Congress, 1939-44, Assistant Secretary of State for Public and Cultural Affairs, 1944-45, and Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Poetry at Harvard University, 1949-62. MacLeish's poetry and dramatic writings earned him Pulitizer Prizes in 1932, 1952, and 1959, the Bollingen Prize and the National Book Award for poetry in 1953, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the National Medal for Literature in 1978. Archibald MacLeish died in Boston on April 20, 1982.
His major works of poetry include Tower of Ivory (1917), The Pot of Earth (1925), The Hamlet of A. MacLeish (1928), New Found Land (1930), Conquistador (1932), America Was Promises (1939), Collected Poems, 1917-1952 (1952), and Songs for Eve (1954). MacLeish also wrote several plays, some of the most important being Panic (1935), The Fall of the City (1937), Air Raid (1938), J.B. (1958), Herakles (1967), and Scratch (1971). Counted among his works of prose are A Time to Speak (1941), The American Story (1944), Poetry and Experience, (1960), and A Continuing Journey (1968).
Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:
Jerome New Frank papers
Collection
Call Number: MS 222
Overview:
The papers consist of correspondence, legal material (including opinions, decisions, calendars, memoranda, and other papers), writings, speeches, Yale course materials, and family and personal papers of Jerome N. Frank, lawyer, government official during the New Deal, author, legal philosopher, teacher, and federal judge. The papers reflect Frank's wide range of activities, interests, and associations, and include important correspondence with many well known government officials, lawyers,...
Dates:
1918-1972, bulk 1929-1957
Found in:
Manuscripts and Archives
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Jerome New Frank papers
Arthur Twining Hadley, president of Yale University, records
Collection
Call Number: RU 25
Overview:
The records contain the official correspondence of Arthur Twining Hadley during his tenure as president of Yale University. The papers document the rapid change and expansion which occurred at Yale during Hadley's presidency. The incoming correspondence contains letters with members of the Yale faculty and administration; requests for personal appearances and speeches and articles; inquiries from educational administrators; and correspondence with alumni relating to fund-raising and class...
Dates:
1899-1921
Alvin Saunders Johnson papers
Collection
Call Number: MS 615
Overview:
The papers consist of correspondence, writings, notes, clippings and photographs of Alvin Saunders Johnson. Although records relating to his career are relatively scanty, two manuscript drafts of his autobiography, Pioneer Progress, are among the writings. The correspondence of some 1,700 letters includes: Max Ascoli, Jacob Billikopf, Gerhard Colm, Agnes DeLima, Thomas E. Dewey, Eduard Heinmann, Edith Johnson, Corliss Lamont, Adolphe Lowe, Thomas Mann, Harry Scherman.
Dates:
1902-1969
Harold Dwight Lasswell papers
Collection
Call Number: MS 1043
Overview:
The papers consist of correspondence, writings, research material, and personal memorabilia which document Harold Dwight Lasswell's boyhood and his career from 1939-1978, primarily as director of War Communications Research at the Library of Congress and as professor of law and political science at Yale University. The papers also reflect Lasswell's diverse research interests in content analysis, communications, psychology, values, policy sciences, and other fields in political and social...
Dates:
1877-1999
Max Lerner papers
Collection
Call Number: MS 322
Overview:
The papers consist of correspondence, speeches, writings, and other papers, (including research and teaching materials, photographs, memorabilia, newspaper and periodical clippings, books, and radio and television tapes) of Max Lerner, an American educator, author, lecturer, historian, and political scientist. The papers focus on Lerner's public life and career with very little material on his personal or family life. The papers document Lerner's close association with Justice Felix Frankfurter...
Dates:
1927-1998
Found in:
Manuscripts and Archives
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Max Lerner papers