http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf6m3nb1v0 No online items Guide to the Jack Micheline Papers, 1948-1986 Processed by Terry Boom and Marianne Miller The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 1996 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Note Arts and Humanities --Literature --American LiteratureArts and Humanities --Fine Arts --Drawing Guide to the Jack Micheline BANC MSS 87/174 c 1 Papers, 1948-1986 Guide to the Jack Micheline Papers, 1948-1986 Collection number: BANC MSS 87/174 c The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: Terry Boom and Marianne Miller Date Completed: May 1988 Encoded by: Xiuzhi Zhou © 1996 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Jack Micheline Papers, Date (inclusive): 1948-1986 Collection Number: BANC MSS 87/174 c Creator: Micheline, Jack, 1929- Extent: Number of containers: 3 boxes, 5 cartonsLinear feet: 7.5 Repository: The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Abstract: Contains correspondence, manuscripts of his poetry, prose, and plays, notebooks and personal papers, and a few of his drawings. Languages Represented: English Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Guide to the Jack Micheline BANC MSS 87/174 c 2 Papers, 1948-1986 Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Jack Micheline Papers, BANC MSS 87/174 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library. Sound recordings of East Bleeker have been transferred to the Microforms Division of The Bancroft Library. Acquisition Information Acquired from Jack Micheline through Jeffrey H. Weinberg of Water Row Books, Inc., Sudbury, Mass., January 22, 1987. Biography Jack Micheline, né Harvey Martin Silver, was born in the Bronx in 1929. He quit high school and ran away from home at the age of 16, and at 17 joined the army. In 1949 he went to Israel and worked on a kibbutz in the Negev, and from 1950 to 1957 traveled throughout the United States, working odd jobs to support himself. His first poem was published in the American Friends Service Committee Newsletter in 1954. Moving to Greenwich Village, he became identified with the Beat Poets, although he himself disputes the tag, as well as that of "street poet." In 1957 he won the Revolt in Literature Award at the Half Note Club in the East Village. His first collection, River of Red Wine, was published in 1958. In 1963 Micheline married Mimi Redding and they spent a year travelling in France, Spain, England, and the Netherlands. Shortly after their return to the United States, the marriage broke up and Micheline returned to the Village. In February 1964 his only child, Vincent Silver Micheline, was born to a woman he had known before his marriage to Redding. Micheline's play, East Bleeker: A Drama with Music, was produced at Café LaMama in 1967. North of Manhattan: Collected Poems, Ballads, and Songs was published in 1976. Skinny Dynamite, a collection of short stories which appeared in 1968 and led to an obscenity trial, was published by Second Coming Press in 1980. Several of his works have been translated into German and Spanish. Recently he has written fewer poems and has become known as a primitive painter. Micheline's poetry chronicles the different worlds in which he has lived and travelled, as well as the pain and triumph of being a poet. Much of Micheline's work is meant to be read aloud, and he continues to give poetry readings Information taken from Gerald Nicosia 's article in the Dictionary of Literary Biography and from notes by the poet. Scope and Content The correspondence of Jack Micheline characterizes the personal and financial difficulties of a writer living and working outside of the mainstream culture of his time. Letters to and from his family, friends, acquaintances, publishers, and other business associates reveal a great deal about his personal and creative life. Several well-known figures of the Beat Generation are represented in the correspondence (Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, and others) as well as many lesser-known writers of the era. Included are copies of letters of support for Micheline in his "Skinny Dynamite" obscenity case of 1969 by Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, and others. The bulk of the collection consists of Micheline's writing. Many stages of the writing process are in evidence, from the first random jottings to the printed product. A group of notebooks for the years 1958 to 1978 contains notes, poems, pictures, and addresses, chronicling time spent in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Paris. Also included is a selection of prose works, ranging from short character sketches and descriptions to polished stories, which often introduce subjects treated again in his poetry. The poetry collection, like the prose, has works in all stages of preparation. Frequently there are several manuscript and typescript versions of the same piece, many of which are signed and annotated by the author. A small section of dramatic writings contains the original and working scripts for East Bleeker, as well as other sketches and short plays In addition to Micheline's own manuscripts, the collection includes poems addressed to Micheline and a small number of poems collected by Micheline. There are also two folders of his drawings and some personal papers, including his petition to change his name and sketches of Micheline. Key to Folder Abbreviations: Folders often contain variant versions of the same poem. On the outside of the folder is a list of abbreviations indicating the types of drafts within the folder: ms:autograph manuscript ts:typescript printed:published version photocopy:photocopy made by the author carbon:carbon copy of typescript drafts:texts of the copies are different (either minor or major revisions) Guide to the Jack Micheline BANC MSS 87/174 c 3 Papers, 1948-1986 annotated:author has revised the text by hand illustrated:page contains drawing as well as text signed:copy signed by author ts [photocopy]:photocopy made by The Bancroft Library. Original is elsewhere in the collection. Boxes 1-2 SERIES 1. CORRESPONDENCE AND PERSONAL PAPERS, ca. 1948-1985. Scope and Content Note Arrangement Divided into two sub-series: outgoing letters, arranged chronologically, and incoming letters, which have been arranged in three sections. First, major correspondents arranged alphabetically by name; second, miscellaneous correspondents arranged alphabetically by last name; and finally, miscellaneous correspondence, arranged alphabetically by first name when no last name is present. Correspondence is with family, friends, publishers, business associates, and other writers. Includes letters relating to the "Skinny Dynamite" obscenity case. Personal materials include sketches of Micheline, biographical sketches, and legal documents. OUTGOING LETTERS Box 1, folder 1 Micheline, Jack, 1929- 1958-61 Physical Description: 21 folder 2 Micheline, Jack, 1929- 1962-72 Physical Description: 19 folder 3 Micheline, Jack, 1929- 1973-85 Physical Description: 14 folder 4 Micheline, Jack, 1929- n.d. Physical Description: 16 INCOMING LETTERS. Box 1, folder 5 Baldwin, James, 1924- n.d. Physical Description: 1 folder 6 Brown, Frank London Sept. 13, 1958 Physical Description: 1 folder 7 Bukowski, Charles 1972-75, n.d. Physical Description: 11 folder 8 Carroll, Paul n.d. Physical Description: 2 folder 9 Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923- July 18, 1960 Physical Description: 1 Guide to the Jack Micheline BANC MSS 87/174 c 4 Papers, 1948-1986 SERIES 1. CORRESPONDENCE AND PERSONAL PAPERS, ca. 1948-1985. INCOMING LETTERS. folder 10 City Lights Books April 19, 1976 Physical Description: 1 folder 11 Congdon, Kirby 1964-76 Physical Description: 7 Scope and Content Note Includes the poem "Jack Micheline" by Congdon folder 12 Evergreen Review 1957-59 Physical Description: 4 folder 13 Ferlinghetti, Lawrence 1970-75, n.d Physical Description: 3 folder 14 Ginsberg, Allen, 1926- 1969-76 Physical Description: 6 folder 15 Hoyem, Andrew March 28, 1961 Physical Description: 1 folder 16 Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967 1960-61 Physical Description: 2 folder 17 Kamstra, Jerry n.d. Physical Description: 1 folder 18 Kesey, Ken [1983] Physical Description: 1 folder 19 Krim, Seymour 1958-79 Physical Description: 10 folder 20 Leslie, Alfred Feb. 4, 1959 Physical Description: 1 folder 21 Mailer, Norman [1969] Physical Description: 1 folder 22 Micheline, Mimi Redding 1966-69 Physical Description: 5 folder 23 Nicosia, Gerald 1977-83 Physical Description: 2 folder 24 Petersen, Don Dec. 9, 1968 Physical Description: 1 folder 25 Rothenberg, Jerome, 1931- Dec. 10, 1968 Physical Description: 2 folder 26 Schneck, Stephen, 1933- Dec. 23, 1968 Physical Description: 1 Guide to the Jack Micheline BANC MSS 87/174 c 5 Papers, 1948-1986 SERIES 1. CORRESPONDENCE AND PERSONAL PAPERS, ca. 1948-1985. INCOMING LETTERS. folder 27 Selby, Hubert, Jr. 1969 Physical Description: 3 folder 28 Shuster, Robert Nov. 29, 1968 Physical Description: 1 folder 29 Silver, Edward 1961, n.d. Physical Description: 5 folder 30 Silver, Helen 1948-84, n.d.