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Jean-François Bory Papers

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 1460

Scope and Contents

Writings, audiovisual works, photographic works, correspondence with literary colleagues, and other papers by or relating to French poet Jean-François Bory (1938- ). The materials document Bory's literary and artistic works across several genres and media, in particular his interest for visual poetry, sound poetry, film directing, and photomontage. Drafts, paste-ups, and proofs from literary projects, as well as production materials for the films SAGA (1967-1968) and Quant au livre (2004), provide evidence of Bory's creative process. Correspondence, article clippings, photographs of Bory, event programs, and promotional material for exhibitions trace his public career. Works of other avant-garde poets contemporary to Bory are represented in the collection by commercially-released CDs and DVDs of the multimedia label Son@rt, co-founded by Bory and fellow French poet Jacques Donguy.

Dates

  • 1957 - 2015

Creator

Language of Materials

Chiefly in French, with some material in English, Italian, and German.

Conditions Governing Access

28 (record album storage) and boxes 29-33 (audiovisual): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

34-35 (cold storage): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Boxes 36-39 (computer media): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies of electronic files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

The Jean-François Bory Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from the Librairie Patrick Fréchet on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2016.

Arrangement

Organized into five series: I. Writings, circa 1960-2014. II. Audiovisual Works, 1957-2013. III. Photographic Works, 1974-2015. IV. Correspondence, 1972-2014. V. Professional Papers, 1965-2013.

Extent

20 Linear Feet (36 boxes + 2 cold storage, 1 record album storage)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.bory

Additional Description

Overview

Writings, audiovisual works, photographic works, correspondence with literary colleagues, and other papers by or relating to French poet Jean-Franç?ois Bory (1938- ). The materials document Bory's literary and artistic works across several genres and media, in particular his interest for visual poetry, sound poetry, film directing, and photomontage. Drafts, paste-ups, and proofs from literary projects, as well as production materials for the films SAGA (1967-1968) and Quant au livre (2004), provide evidence of Bory's creative process. Correspondence, article clippings, photographs of Bory, event programs, and promotional material for exhibitions trace his public career. Works of other avant-garde poets contemporary to Bory are represented in the collection by commercially-released CDs and DVDs of the multimedia label Son@rt, co-founded by Bory and fellow French poet Jacques Donguy.

Biographical / Historical

Jean-François Bory (1938- ) is a French poet, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker whose avant-garde oeuvre centers on visual poetry and sound poetry.

Born in Paris, Bory spent part of his childhood in South East Asia before returning to the French capital where he based his career. In addition to numerous collections of poems, Bory’s literary works include novels, monographs, essays, and articles of literary criticism.

The year 1966 marked Bory’s first exhibits of visual poetry in London, Milan, and Venice. Two years later he participated in the pioneering sound poetry festival Text und Aktionsabend II in Bern. In 1983, Bory joined experimental poets Eugenio Miccini, Sarenco, Julien Blaine, Paul de Vree, and Alain Arias-Misson in forming the transnational group Logomotives. As part of his editing work, Bory co-founded the Éditions Agentzia (1968-1972) with Jochen Gerz and Arthur Hubschmid, directed the literary and sociological art magazine L’Humidité (1970-1975), and has served on the editorial board of CCP - Cahier critique de poésie since 1999. In 1998, Bory and avant-garde poet Jacques Donguy co-founded the production company and multimedia magazine Son@rt.

Separated Materials

Approximately 200 printed items received with the collection (including unannotated publications by Bory, exhibit catalogs, reference works, and substantial runs of published periodicals) were removed for separate cataloging on 01/30/2018 and can be accessed by searching the library's online catalog.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections as they are acquired, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization. Information included in the Description of the Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing. This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Jean-François Bory Papers
Status
Completed
Author
by Ève Bourbeau-Allard
Date
November 2017
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/
Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.

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