Conrad Aiken, 1899-1973. American author
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Finding-Aid for the Aiken Papers [WTU00003]Collection Description
Papers, 1917-1962
216 items
Access: Open
Although they consist of only 216 items, Washington University's Conrad Aiken Papers represent one of the more interesting groups of material in the Modern Literature Collection. Aiken, though neglected today and largely unappreciated during his lifetime, is one of the most significant figures in the development of American Modernism. Aiken enrolled at Harvard in 1907, thus qualifying him as a member of one of the famous classes of 1910-1915 which included T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, John Reed, Robert Benchley, and Walter Lippmann. Leaving Harvard in his senior year, Aiken embarked on the first of several trips to Europe. There he met Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell who were then launching the Imagist movement. Soon after his graduation, Aiken moved to Europe and began writing and reviewing for New Republic, Poetry, Dial, and other periodicals. By 1925, he was settled in Boston and well into a writing career that produced more than 50 books of poetry, fiction, and criticism.
The Conrad Aiken Papers consist entirely of material from his long-standing correspondence with Robert Linscott, an editor with Houghton-Mifflin and later senior editor for Random House. Aiken and Linscott began their long friendship in 1917 and Linscott helped Aiken publish several of his works. Aiken's letters to Linscott document the progress of his work and often reflect Aiken's extreme frustration at his lack of popular success. In them, Aiken describes his personal situation, particularly his two divorces, and his dealings with friends and associates, notably T.S. Eliot and John Gould Fletcher. The letters provide an insider's view of the literary scene, particularly in England during the 1920's. Above all, the Aiken-Linscott correspondence stands as a monument to a friendship that is remarkable for its longevity and its openness.
Bibliography
Bonnell, F.C. and F.W., comp. Conrad Aiken, a Bibliography
(1902-1978). (San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1982). Harris,
Catherine Kirk. Critical Recognition, 1914-1981: A
Bibliographic Guide. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1983).
First Printings of American Authors. Vol. 4. (Detroit:
Gale Research Co., 1977-1979).
Selected Names
Aiken, Conrad Potter, 1899-1973. American author
Linscott, Robert N., 1888-1962. American author & editor