http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt187025h5 No online items Leslie Scalapino Papers Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Copyright 2005 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 [email protected] URL: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/collections/sca/index.html Leslie Scalapino Papers MSS 0668 1 Descriptive Summary Languages: English Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 Title: Leslie Scalapino Papers Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0668 Physical Description: 52 Linear feet(120 archives boxes, 3 flat boxes, 4 card file boxes and 2 map case folders) Date (inclusive): 1959-2011 Abstract: Papers of Leslie Scalapino, Bay Area poet, scholar, experimental prose writer and founding editor of O Books, an Oakland, California publisher. The collection contains correspondence with other prominent poets and writers, typescripts of published and unpublished literary works, and talks given at various conferences. The papers also include production materials for books published by O Books; sound and video recordings of spoken word events and play performances; and miscellaneous biographical material including interviews, photographs, and reading announcement flyers. Scope and Content of Collection Papers of Leslie Scalapino, Bay Area poet, scholar, experimental prose writer and founding editor of O Books, an Oakland, California publisher. The collection contains correspondence with other prominent poets and writers, typescripts of published and unpublished literary works, and talks given at various conferences. The papers also include production materials for books published by O Books; sound and video recordings of spoken word events and play performances; and miscellaneous biographical material including interviews, photographs, and reading announcement flyers. Accession Processed in 2008 Arranged in eleven series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) PUBLISHED WORKS BY SCALAPINO, 3) PLAYS BY SCALAPINO, 4) ESSAYS WRITTEN BY OR ABOUT SCALAPINO, 5) COLLABORATIONS, 6) OTHER WRITINGS, 7) TALKS GIVEN BY SCALAPINO, 8) O BOOKS, 9) SOUND RECORDINGS, 10) VIDEO RECORDINGS, and 11) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS. Accession Processed in 2011 Supplements to the first accession; primarily correspondence, notebooks, and writings by Leslie Scalapino, as well as O Books manuscripts. The bulk of the materials date from 1989 through 2010. Arranged in five series: 12) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 13) CORRESPONDENCE, 14) WRITINGS, 15) WRITINGS ABOUT SCALAPINO and 16) O BOOKS. Accession Processed in 2015 Additional biographical materials, correspondence, and memorial materials including readings and tributes. Of note are additional manuscripts for That They Were at the Beach - Aeolotropic series and Crowd and not evening or light. Arranged in six series: 17) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 18) CORRESPONDENCE, 19) WRITINGS, 20) WRITINGS ABOUT SCALAPINO, 21) O BOOKS and 22) MEDIA. Accession Processed in 2019 Additional correspondence, photographs, writings and digital media. Of note are supporting material for Scalapino's play, Goya's L.A. and The Tango as well as dozens of sound and video recordings of Scalapino's poetry readings, interviews and other live performances, primarily on digital media. Arranged in four series: 23) CORRESPONDENCE, 24) WRITINGS, 25) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 26) DIGITAL MEDIA. Biography Leslie Scalapino was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1944 to singer Dee Jessen and political science professor Robert Scalapino, founder of UC Berkeley's Institute for Asian Studies. Because of her father's academic focus in the politics of Asia, Scalapino traveled throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe at an early age. Her later work reflects some influence from these travels including meditation on Zen writing and Tibetan philosophy. In the 1960s, she attended Reed College, graduating in 1966. Her graduate studies in writing continued at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a M.A. in English (1969), after which she began to focus on writing poetry. Scalapino's work evokes radical reaction to the human condition beyond the traditional means of expression. Her work is metaphorically often compared to Gertrude Stein and the experimental poetry associated with the Language poets. Unbound by a single format, she published poetry, fiction, critical essays, and plays. Her work has been published in many poetry and academic journals since the 1970s, and she participated in numerous conferences, including the Page Mothers Conference held at UCSD in 1999, that explored innovative writing by American women. Her long poem titled Way won the Leslie Scalapino Papers MSS 0668 2 Poetry Center Award, the Lawrence Lipton Prize, and the American Book Award in 1989. In 1986, Scalapino founded O Books, which operated out of Oakland, as a publishing outlet for younger and emerging writers, but also for prominent writers such as Alice Notley, Robert Grenier, Fanny Howe, Carla Harryman, and Tom Raworth. Her self-published works with O Books include Crowd and Not Evening or Light: A Poem (1992) and War and Peace 3 (2007) with Judith Goldman. As a press, O Books has published nearly a hundred contemporary poetry books. Scalapino served as a faculty member at San Francisco State University, Mills College, University of California, San Diego, California College of the Arts in San Francisco, the San Francisco Art Institute, the Naropa Institute, and Bard College. Leslie Scalapino died on May 28th, 2010. A memorial was held for her on July 1st, 2010 at The Green Dragon Temple, Green Gulch Farm in San Francisco. From Cohen, Alicia, "Leslie Scalapino 1947 -, " Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, 1st ed. (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001), 647-648. Preferred Citation Leslie Scalapino Papers, MSS 668. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. Acquisition Information Acquired 2006, 2011, 2014, 2018. Publishing Rights Publishing rights are held by the creator of the collection. Restrictions Original sound and videorecordings throughout the collection are restricted. Digital media in Series 22 and 26 is restricted. Researchers may request listening/viewing copies be produced in advance. Subjects and Indexing Terms Women poets, American American poetry -- 20th century Scalapino, Leslie -- Archives Hejinian, Lyn -- Correspondence Davies, Alan, 1951- -- Correspondence Shein, Keith -- Correspondence Levy, Andrew, 1962- -- Correspondence Grenier, Robert -- Correspondence O Books -- Archives Silliman, Ronald, 1946- -- Correspondence Accession Processed 2008 CORRESPONDENCE Scope and Content of Series Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE: Contains letters both to and from prominent poets and scholars. Notable correspondents include Charles Bernstein, Ted Berrigan, Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Robert Creeley, Clayton Eshleman, Lyn Hejinian, Susan Howe, Bernadette Mayer, Alice Notley, Jerome Rothenberg, Ron Silliman, and Anne Waldman. Typescript manuscript attachments of writings for individual authors are included. Arranged alphabetically. Box 1, Folder 1 A - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 2 Aaron, Betty 2005 Box 1, Folder 3 Abel, David 1989 Box 1, Folder 4 Abrams, Sam 2005 Box 1, Folder 5 Academy of American Poets (Nancy Schoenberger, Acting Executive Director) 1989 Box 1, Folder 6 Acker, Kathy 2002 Leslie Scalapino Papers MSS 0668 3 Accession Processed 2008 CORRESPONDENCE Box 1, Folder 7 Adams, Marina 1995 - 2005 Box 1, Folder 8 Adams, Megan 1992 - 2005 Box 1, Folder 9 Addison Street Anthology (Audrey Marrs, Assistant to Robert Hass) 2003 Box 1, Folder 10 Adelman, Gary 2003 Box 1, Folder 11 Adnan, Etel 1995 - 2006 Box 1, Folder 12 Albon, George 1993 - 1999 Box 1, Folder 13 Alexander, Charles 1988 - 1997 Box 1, Folder 14 Alexander, Dorothy 1990 - 1993 Box 1, Folder 15 Alexander, Will - Includes "Above the Human Nerve Domain" manuscript 1997 - 1998 Box 1, Folder 16 Alferi, Pierre 1991 - 2002 Box 1, Folder 17 Ali, Kazim 2004 - 2005 Box 1, Folder 18 Alson, Sheila - Includes books: Fertility in the Desert and Notes on the Olympus Refrigerator 1989 - 1990 Box 1, Folder 19 Alternative Press 1989 - 1997 Box 2, Folder 1 Alternative Press (Ken Mikolowski) 1999 - 2000 Box 2, Folder 2 Altieri, Charles 2001 - 2004 Box 2, Folder 3 Alwan, Yasmine - Includes Where the Sand Starts 2003 Box 2, Folder 4 American Book Review 1989 - 1997 Box 2, Folder 5 American Poetry Review 1985 - 2002 Box 2, Folder 6 Amnasan, Michael 1987 - 1992 Box 2, Folder 7 Anagnopoulos, Kostas 1997 - 2004 Box 2, Folder 8 Andrews, Betsy 2001 Box 2, Folder 9 Andrews, Bruce 1990 - 2005 Box 2, Folder 10 Apogee Press (Alice Jones) 2000 Box 2, Folder 11 Armantrout, Rae 1998 - 2005 Box 2, Folder 12 Ashbery, John 1990 - 2005 Box 2, Folder 13 Ashton, Jean 1999 - 2000 Box 2, Folder 14 Association of Writers and Writing Programs 2004 - 2005 Box 2, Folder 15 Aswesh, Peggy 2002 Box 2, Folder 16 Atkins, Carol 1991 Box 2, Folder 17 Auxemery, Jean-Paul - Includes La Foule et Pas Le Soir ou La Lumiere 1991 - 1992 Box 2, Folder 18 Ayres, Ian 1999 - 2003 Box 2, Folder 19 Avec (Cydney Chadwick, Editor-Publisher) 1989 - 1994 Box 2, Folder 20 B - Miscellaneous. Part 1 Box 3, Folder 1 B - Miscellaneous. Part 2 Box 3, Folder 2 B., Kool 1998 Box 3, Folder 3 Bancroft Library 2000 Box 3, Folder 4 Band, Dawn 1992 - 2005 Box 3, Folder 5 Bard 1997 - 2005 Box 3, Folder 6 Bard, Perry 1996 - 1998 Box 3, Folder 7 Barnes & Noble 1999 Box 3, Folder 8 Barolini, Helen 1985 - 2003 Box 3, Folder 9 Baron, Todd - Includes That Looks at One and Speaks and Outside 1987 -