William Jay Smith, 1918-. American author
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Finding-Aid for the William Jay Smith Papers [00104]Collection Description
Papers, 1924-2003ca. 24,000 items
Access: Open
William Jay Smith, a prolific man of letters for over 40 years, has produced more than 30 books of poetry, criticism, translations, and children’s literature. A native of St. Louis and an alumnus of Washington University (BA 1939, MA 1941), he has received numerous literary honors and has read his work at universities and symposia throughout the world. Smith has held academic appointments at a number of universities and served as the Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970. Although Smith is equally at home in most literary genres, he is probably best known today for his work as a translator and for the role he has played in introducing the work of numerous foreign authors to English-speaking audiences. Smith’s early work as a translator was directed towards French literature (Poems of a Multimillionaire, by Valery Larbaud, 1955; Selected Writings of Jules Laforgue, 1956); over the past decade, however, he has been particularly active translating the work of East European authors. His translations of work by Hungarian authors brought him that country’s Gold Medal of Labor, making Smith the first American to receive this award. And Smith continues to expand his translating interests. In the past few years, for example, he has co-edited two anthologies of contemporary verse, Brazilian Poetry: 1950-1980 (1983) and Dutch Interior: Postwar Poetry of the Netherlands and Flanders (1984), thus helping to introduce two unique bodies of writing to a wider audience. Smith has also written numerous children’s books, including Laughing Time: Collected Nonsense (1990) and Birds and Beasts (1990). His most recent work is titled The World Beneath the Window: Poems 1937-1997 (1998).
William Jay Smith’s Papers make up one of the largest groups in the Modern Literary Manuscript Collection; they are also one of the most varied, and help demonstrate Smith’s versatility. His extensive file of incoming correspondence includes hundreds of letters from literary figures dating back to the 1940s, including a substantial group of letters from Russian, Hungarian, and other Eastern European authors. Numerous letters from publishers, editors, scholars, and friends are also present in the collection. Smith’s papers include manuscripts and editorial matter towards all of his published work, as well as a large collection of manuscripts by other authors. Finally, the Smith Papers include a large assortment of miscellaneous material relating to specific writing projects, academic work, literary awards panels, Smith’s travel, family and other personal papers, all of which help document in detail the career of this American literary figure.
Selected Names
Anderson, Lee, 1896-1972. American author.Applewhite, James W., 1935-, American author.
Aswell, Mary Louise, 1902-. American author.
Auden, W. H., 1907-1973. British author.
Barth, John, 1930-. American author.
Benchley, Peter, 1940-. American author.
Bewley, Marius, 1918-1973. American author.
Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979. American author.
Blumenfeld, Harold, 1923-. American composer.
Bogan, Louise, 1897-1970. American author.
Bowles, Paul, 1911-1999. American author.
Brinnin, John Malcolm, 1916-1998. American author.
Brodsky, Joseph, 1940-1996. Russian author.
Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. American author.
Brown, Harcourt, 1900-1990. American author and bibliophile.
Buckley, William F. Jr, 1925-. American author.
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976. American artist.
Caldwell, Erskine, 1903-1987. American author.
Chapin, Katherine Garrison, 1890-1977. American author.
Ciardi, John, 1916-1986. American author and translator.
Connolly, Cyril, 1903-1974. British author.
Corman, Cid, 1924-. American author.
Cowley, Malcolm, 1898-1989. American author and critic.
Cozzens, James Gould, 1903-1978. American author.
De Vries, Peter, 1910-. American author.
Deutsch, Babette, 1895-1982. American author.
Dickey, James, 1923-1997. American author.
Dillard, Annie, 1945-. American author.
Duncan, Robert, 1919-1988. American author.
Ellison, Ralph, 1914-1994. American author.
Ford, Harry, 1918-1999. American editor and publisher.
Friar, Kimon, 1911-. American author.
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963. American author.
Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1915-1981. American author.
Gluck, Louise, 1943-. American author.
Gold, Herbert, 1924-, American author.
Golding, William, 1911-1993. British author.
Graves, Robert, 1895-1985. British author.
Griffin, Howard, 1915-1975. American author.
Hall, Donald, 1928-. American author.
Hawkes, John, 1925-. American author.
Inge, William, 1913-1973. American author.
Kozinski, Jerzy, 1933-1991, Polish-American author.
Kunitz, Stanley, 1905-, American author.
Laughlin, James, 1914-1997. American author and publisher.
Llosa, Mario Vargas, 1936-. Peruvian author.
Malamud, Bernard, 1914-1986. American author.
Malraux, Andre, 1901-1976. French author.
McClatchy, J. D., 1945-. American author.
Meredith, William, 1919-. American author.
Merrill, James Ingram, 1926-1995. American author.
Miles, Josephine, 1911-1985. American author.
Mishima, Yukio, 1925-1971. Japanese author.
Momaday, N. Scott, 1934-. American author.
Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972. American author.
Morrison, Toni, 1931. American author.
Moss, Howard, 1922-1987. American author.
Mottram, Eric, 1924-1995. British author.
Nemerov, Howard, 1920-1991. American author.
Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938-. American author.
Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. American author.
Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980. American author.
Price, Reynolds, 1933-. American author.
Rich, Adrienne, 1929-. American author.
Roethke, Theodore, 1908-1963. American author.
Rosset, Barney, 1922-. American author.
Sarton, May, 1912-1995. American author.
Schorer, Mark, 1908-1977. American author.
Schulberg, Budd, 1914-. American author.
Shapiro, Karl, 1913-2000. American author.
Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 1904-1991. Polish-American author.
Smith, William Jay, 1918-. American author.
Snyder, Gary, 1930-. American author.
Spender, Stephen, 1909-1995. British author.
Stafford, William, 1914-1993. American author.
Starkie, Enid, 1897-1970. British author.
Stevens, Wallace, 1879-1955. American author.
Styron, William, 1925-. American author.
Swenson, May, 1919-1989. American author.
Symons, Julian, 1912-1994. British author.
Tate, Allen, 1899-1979. American author.
Theroux, Paul, 1941-. American author.
Untermeyer, Jean Starr, 1886-1970. American author.
Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977. American author.
Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972. American author.
Vonnegut, Kurt, 1922-. American author.
Walcott, Derek, 1930-. West Indian author.
Warren, Robert Penn, 1905-1989. American author.
Webb, Charles, 1939-, American author.
Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001. American author.
Whittemore, Reed, 1919-, American author.
Wilbur, Richard, 1921-, American author.
Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975. American author.
Williams, Oscar, 1900-1964. American author.
Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. American author.
Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963. American author.