Scope and Contents
The William Rose Benét papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, and personal and family papers documenting the life and work of American author and editor William Rose Benét. The collection spans the years 1847 to 1957, with the bulk of the collection dating from roughly 1900 to 1950.
Collection material is chiefly in English; with some material in French, Italiana, Russian, and Hebrew.
Collection material is chiefly in English; with some material in French, Italiana, Russian, and Hebrew.
Dates
- 1847 - 1957
- Majority of material found within 1920 - 1950
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 100 (cold storage): Restricted fragile material. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Boxes 131-133, 135: Restricted fragile material. Reference surrogates have been substituted in the main files. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Box 100 (cold storage): Restricted fragile material. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Boxes 131-133, 135: Restricted fragile material. Reference surrogates have been substituted in the main files. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
The William Rose Benét 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
Acquired primarily through gift of William Rose Benét, Marjorie Flack, and the estate of Marjorie Flack, 1948-1958.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: I. Correspondence, 1897-1955. II. Family Correspondence, 1883-1956. III. Writings, 1895-1957. IV. Printed Appearances of Writings by William Rose Benét, 1904-1950. V. Personal and Family Papers, 1847-1950.
Extent
71.91 Linear Feet (128 boxes + 5 broadside, 5 art, 1 cold storage)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
William Rose Benét (1886-1950)
William Rose Benét, born 2 February 1886 to James Walker Benét and Frances Rose (Neill) Benét, was an American poet, author, and editor who, along with his two siblings, Laura Benét and Stephen Vincent Benét, established the Benét family's literary reputation in the early through mid-twentieth century.
Benét was educated at Albany Academy before attending Yale College (1903-1907), where he served as editor of the Yale Courant and contributed to the Yale Record. After college, Benét went to work for Century Magazine as a reader. He served in the U.S. Air Services during the First World War, and after the war took work as a copy writer for an advertising firm. In 1920, Henry Seidel Canby brought Benét on as an assistant editor at the New York Evening Post. In 1923, Canby, Benét, and fellow editors Amy Loveman and Christopher Morley left the Post to form the Saturday Review, originally known as the Saturday Review of Literature.
Benét was the author of several collections of poetry, a novel, and a collection of essays. His autobiography in verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941), was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1942. In addition to his long-standing (1923-1950) position with the Saturday Review, Benét contributed to several compilations of English-language poetry and literature. Titles include The Oxford Anthology of American Literature and The Reader's Encyclopedia (1947).
Benét was married four times: first to Teresa Frances Thomson (1912-1919), with whom he had three children, then to the poet Elinor Wylie (1923-1928), to Lora Baxter (1932-1937), and lastly, to children's book author Majorie Flack (1941-1950).
Summary information is also available in the standard print and online biographical resources.
Benét was educated at Albany Academy before attending Yale College (1903-1907), where he served as editor of the Yale Courant and contributed to the Yale Record. After college, Benét went to work for Century Magazine as a reader. He served in the U.S. Air Services during the First World War, and after the war took work as a copy writer for an advertising firm. In 1920, Henry Seidel Canby brought Benét on as an assistant editor at the New York Evening Post. In 1923, Canby, Benét, and fellow editors Amy Loveman and Christopher Morley left the Post to form the Saturday Review, originally known as the Saturday Review of Literature.
Benét was the author of several collections of poetry, a novel, and a collection of essays. His autobiography in verse, The Dust Which Is God (1941), was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1942. In addition to his long-standing (1923-1950) position with the Saturday Review, Benét contributed to several compilations of English-language poetry and literature. Titles include The Oxford Anthology of American Literature and The Reader's Encyclopedia (1947).
Benét was married four times: first to Teresa Frances Thomson (1912-1919), with whom he had three children, then to the poet Elinor Wylie (1923-1928), to Lora Baxter (1932-1937), and lastly, to children's book author Majorie Flack (1941-1950).
Summary information is also available in the standard print and online biographical resources.
Processing Information
The William Rose Benét Papers contains material acquired by the library with gifts from William Rose Benét, Marjorie Flack, and the estate of Marjorie Flack from 1948 through 1958. Manuscript material formerly classified as Za Benet and photographs and printed ephemera that had been cataloged separately were brought together and re-processed during 2016-2017.
Former call numbers: Za Benet, Za B437 +1, Za B437 +2, Za B437 +G1, and Za B437 +S1.
Former call numbers: Za Benet, Za B437 +1, Za B437 +2, Za B437 +G1, and Za B437 +S1.
- American literature -- 20th century
- Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973
- Authors -- United States -- 20th century
- Authors, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Bacon, Leonard, 1887-1954
- Benét, Rosemary, 1900-1962
- Benét, Stephen Vincent, 1898-1943
- Benét, William Rose, 1886-1950
- Berryman, John, 1914-1972
- Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979
- Cather, Willa, 1873-1947
- Chubb, Thomas Caldecot, 1899-1972
- Coudert Brothers
- Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962
- Dalven, Rae, 1904-
- Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970
- Editors -- United States -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Field, Sara Bard, 1882-1974
- Flack, Marjorie, 1897-1958
- Ford, Ford Madox, 1873-1939
- Frost, Robert, 1874-1963
- H. D. (Hilda Doolittle), 1886-1961
- Harrold, Charles Frederick, 1897-1948
- Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963
- Ingalls, Jeremy, 1911-2000
- Jeffers, Robinson, 1887-1962
- Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951
- Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972
- Morley, Christopher, 1890-1957
- Photographic prints
- Poets -- United States -- 20th Century
- Poets, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972
- Sitwell, Edith, 1887-1964
- Speyer, Leonora, 1872-1956
- Teasdale, Sara, 1884-1933
- Trausil, Hans, 1890-
- Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937
- Wood, Charles Erskine Scott, 1852-1944
- Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941
- Wylie, Elinor, 1885-1928
- Yale University. Alumni
- Title
- Guide to the William Rose Benét Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Michael L. Forstrom
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- 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
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.