Scope and Contents
The collection consists of correspondence and writings of the American writer Harry Roskolenko, spanning the years 1933-51. It is organized into two series: Correspondence and Writings.
Series I, Correspondence , is arranged alphabetically, and contains correspondence from publishers, poetry reviews and literary magazines, and many prominent American poets and other writers of the mid-twentieth century, including William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Carl Sandburg, Katherine Anne Porter, John Dos Passos, Dwight Macdonald, William Saroyan, Wallace Stevens, Cleanth Brooks, Archibald MacLeish, Lewis Mumford, John Wheelwright, Thomas Mann, and George Orwell. There are also letters from Edmund Wilson and Lionel Trilling.
Because this list was compiled from previously existing catalog cards, all correspondents are listed by name rather than by affiliation. However, the majority write on behalf of a publisher or publication. For example, James Laughlin writes as publisher of New Directions; Edmund Wilson, Bruce Bliven, and Nigel Forbes Dennis write as editors of The New Republic; and Peter DeVries, Karl Shapiro, Harriet Monroe, George Dillon and Morton Zabel all write on behalf of Poetry. Other publishers and publications represented in the correspondence are The New York Times, Houghton Mifflin, Doubleday, Henry Holt, Pulse, Common Sense, and The Sewanee Review, among others.
Series II, Writings , contains three manuscripts. These are a manuscript poem titled "Perfidious Albion!," a typescript play, Journey of Five (Of Whom Three Were One), and a typescript article, "What Poets Do For a Living (A Study of the Poet and his Predicament)," which was published in Plain Talk. The article summarizes the results of an income survey that Roskolenko sent to fellow poets in April 1949, and is accompanied by the survey response forms from twenty-two poets. These include Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, and Mark Van Doren.
Series I, Correspondence , is arranged alphabetically, and contains correspondence from publishers, poetry reviews and literary magazines, and many prominent American poets and other writers of the mid-twentieth century, including William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Carl Sandburg, Katherine Anne Porter, John Dos Passos, Dwight Macdonald, William Saroyan, Wallace Stevens, Cleanth Brooks, Archibald MacLeish, Lewis Mumford, John Wheelwright, Thomas Mann, and George Orwell. There are also letters from Edmund Wilson and Lionel Trilling.
Because this list was compiled from previously existing catalog cards, all correspondents are listed by name rather than by affiliation. However, the majority write on behalf of a publisher or publication. For example, James Laughlin writes as publisher of New Directions; Edmund Wilson, Bruce Bliven, and Nigel Forbes Dennis write as editors of The New Republic; and Peter DeVries, Karl Shapiro, Harriet Monroe, George Dillon and Morton Zabel all write on behalf of Poetry. Other publishers and publications represented in the correspondence are The New York Times, Houghton Mifflin, Doubleday, Henry Holt, Pulse, Common Sense, and The Sewanee Review, among others.
Series II, Writings , contains three manuscripts. These are a manuscript poem titled "Perfidious Albion!," a typescript play, Journey of Five (Of Whom Three Were One), and a typescript article, "What Poets Do For a Living (A Study of the Poet and his Predicament)," which was published in Plain Talk. The article summarizes the results of an income survey that Roskolenko sent to fellow poets in April 1949, and is accompanied by the survey response forms from twenty-two poets. These include Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, and Mark Van Doren.
Dates
- 1933-1952
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 2: Restricted fragile material. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Box 2: Restricted fragile material. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harry Roskolenko Collection 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
Collection of documents acquired by gift and purchase from various sources as indicated on individual folders. The bulk of the letters were purchased on the George B. Alvord fund in 1952; the poet survey forms were purchased on the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of Negro Arts and Letters fund in 1952; the manuscripts of the play and poem were the gift of S. R. Shapiro in 1953. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Extent
0.63 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection consists of correspondence and writings of American writer Harry Roskolenko. Correspondents include William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Carl Sandburg, Katharine Anne Porter, John Dos Passos, Dwight Macdonald, William Saroyan, Wallace Stevens, Cleanth Brooks, Archibald MacLeish, Lewis Mumford, John Wheelwright, and James Laughlin, among other American poets, editors, critics, and publishers.
Writings include a manuscript poem titled "Perfidious Albion," a typescript play titled "Journey of Five (Of Whom Three Were One)," and a typescript article, "What Poets Do For a Living (A Study of the Poet and his Predicament)." The article summarizes the results of an income survey that Roskolenko sent to fellow poets in April 1949, and is accompanied by response forms from 22 poets. These include Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, and Mark Van Doren.
Writings include a manuscript poem titled "Perfidious Albion," a typescript play titled "Journey of Five (Of Whom Three Were One)," and a typescript article, "What Poets Do For a Living (A Study of the Poet and his Predicament)." The article summarizes the results of an income survey that Roskolenko sent to fellow poets in April 1949, and is accompanied by response forms from 22 poets. These include Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, and Mark Van Doren.
HARRY ROSKOLENKO (1907-1980)
Harry Roskolenko was born in New York City, the son of Ukrainian immigrants. He was a poet, a novelist, a foreign news correspondent, and a travel writer. He also wrote several volumes of autobiography, including a memoir about his childhood, When I Was Last on Cherry Street. After a life of extensive travel throughout the world, he died of cancer in New York.
Processing Information
This finding aid was produced from previously existing cards in the Manuscripts Catalog, or from another inventory. All pertinent bibliographic information has been retained.
- Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994
- Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970
- Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967
- Laughlin, James, 1914-1997
- MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982
- Macdonald, Dwight, 1906-1982
- Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972
- Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990
- Poets -- United States
- Poets, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980
- Roskolenko, Harry, 1907-1980
- Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967
- Saroyan, William, 1908-1981
- Stevens, Wallace, 1879-1955
- Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972
- Wages -- United States -- Poets
- Wheelwright, John, 1897-1940
- Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963
- Writers, American -- 20th Century
- Title
- Guide to the Harry Roskolenko Collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Ellen Doon
- Date
- October 2000
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
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