Harvey Shapiro papers

The collection contains correspondence, writings, and personal papers documenting the personal and professional life of American poet and editor Harvey Shapiro. Correspondence consists chiefly of letters to Shapiro from American and English-language authors, literary critics, and editors who came of age in the post-WWII period, with the bulk of the letters dating from the 1950s through mid 1980s. There are files for Barbara Gibbs and Francis Golffing and for author and publisher Alan Swallow, but letters can also be found for Charles Bernstein, Allen Ginsberg, David Ignatow, Robert Lowell, George Oppen, and others. Many letters from writers are addressed to Shapiro in his capacity as editor of The New York Times Magazine or The New York Times Book Review. Letters from editors of other journals tend to concern his own literary submissions.

The Writings series contains writings by Shapiro, material relating to work by Shapiro, such as publicity and reviews, and writings by others. Shapiro's writings feature drafts for a number of poetry collections, including Lauds & Nightsounds (1978), The Light Holds (1984), National Cold Storage Company (1988), and This World (1971), as well as shorter works. The writings by others may have been solicited by or submitted to Shapiro in his capacity as editor and separated from accompanying correspondence.

Personal papers include clippings and programs, financial and legal records, and a small number of photographs.