BANCROFTIANA PUBLISHED OCCASIONALLY BY THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 9472O No. IOJ January 1992 Mrs. John K. McLean and her daughter Mary McLean Olney pause during a hike along the railroad right-of-way nearMcCloud, Cal­ ifornia, site of the flourishing McCloud Lumber Mill (July/August, 1899). and the University of California, 1880-18%, conducted by Willa K. Baum in 1963. Shasta-Siskiyou Vacation Mary McLean Olney (1872-1965) was the daughter of Dr. John Knox McLean and his Album wife, Sarah Hawley McLean. Dr. McLean Mrs. Constance Condit has recently donated was pastor of the First Congregational Church to The Bancroft Library a family photograph of Oakland from 1872 to 1895 an<^ later served album compiled by her mother, Mary McLean as trustee and president of the Pacific Theo­ Olney, documenting her family's vacation trip logical Seminary in Berkeley. A major force in to several localities in the Shasta-Siskiyou area the social, religious, and intellectual life of his of northern California during July and August, time, Dr. McLean was also a vigorous out- 1899. This compilation of 90 snapshots com­ doorsman, taking long daily walks and insist­ plements important Bancroft Library collec­ ing on six-week mid-summer vacations for tions of Olney family papers and relates direct­ hiking and family recreation in Yosemite, the ly to reminiscences in the Library's oral history Sierras, and other mountainous regions of interview with Mrs. Olney, Oakland, Berkeley,norther n California. In her memoir, Mrs. Olney [1] describes the Yosemite jaunts and also several historian Ernst Kantorowicz who "brought childhood trips to the Mount Shasta area me to a new vision of the creative spirit and the of Jess's collages will be on display for the first and business associates. All of them exhibit his where the family was able to stay in little ho­ world of forms in which that spirit is made time. invariable gift of phrase and incomparable ear tels. "There was one called Sisson's [present manifest." In Bancroft, we will be showing a selection for speech, even as they are filled with the de­ day Mount Shasta City]. I suppose we stayed With poets Jack Spicer and Robin Blaser, of Duncan manuscripts and many of his deco­ tails of everyday life: lecture tours, proofread­ there quite as much as any... Father liked to Duncan explored the tradition of Romance in rated books. This will be the first major exhi­ ing, newspaper work of all kinds - even an oc­ move around, and we'd stay about two weeks in poetry, seeking to merge the life of the spirit bition devoted to Duncan on the Berkeley casional burst of temper. When Elisha Bliss, a place." In addition to Sisson's, the 1899 album with the minutiae of everyday reality. His first campus. Several special events are planned in for instance, failed to issue The Innocents documents visits to Shasta Springs, to Duns- book, Heavenly City, Earthly City, was pub­ conjunction with the UAM/Bancroft exhibi­ Abroad'as expected, Mark Twain fired off sev­ muir, and to McCloud. Also recorded are trips lished in Berkeley in 1947 by Bern Porter with tion, so we urge Bancroft Friends to watch for eral pages of sarcasm that are still good read­ up the Pit River, with side trips to Hedge illustrations by Mary Fabilli. forthcoming announcements. ing: "All I desire is to be informed from time to Creek and Mossbrae Falls, and an ascent of In 1956, Duncan became a visiting faculty Anthony Bliss time what future season of the year the publi­ Mt. Shasta. member at Black Mountain College in North cation is postponed to, 6c why - so that I can Mary McLean remained close to her family Carolina. He taught courses in poetics and go on informing my friends intelligently - I and childhood friends throughout her college staged and directed his play Medea at Kolchis. Mark Twains Letters, mean that infatuated baker's dozen of them who, faithful unto death, still believe that I am years at Berkeley (1891-1895) and during her With poets Charles Olson, Denise Levertov, Volume j: 1869 three-year teaching career at Stanford and at and Robert Creeley, he devoted himself to a going to publish a book." (Bliss decided to Pomona College, so this vacation album of poetry which was a vehicle of experimentation The Mark Twain Project is about to publish its publish it within a few days of receiving this 1899, full of her snapshots and sprightly cap­ rather than of psychology and self-expression. third volume of Mark Twains Letters, a series letter.) tions, marks the culmination of a long National recognition came for Duncan with that has attracted an unusually broad range of Volume j was edited by three long-time McLean family tradition as well as the begin­ the publication by Grove Press of his The readers and reviewers. Professor Richard Etu- members of the Mark Twain Project: Victor ning of a new family. Mary and Warren Olney, Opening of the Field m i960. This was followed lain, writing in California History, recently Fischer, Michael B. Frank, and Dahlia Ar- Jr., were married later that year and they settled by other major collections of poetry, Roots and noted that while "books like this often inhabit mon. It is dedicated to the memory of Philip in Berkeley, where Mrs. Olney became active Branches (1964) and Bending the Bow (1968). It only the shelves of scholars, general readers E. Allen, founder of The Pareto Fund, whose in civic affairs while Mr. Olney went on to be­ was at about this time that Robert Duncan be­ will find more than enough interesting and generous gift to the Friends of The Bancroft come president of the University of California gan to serve as poetry advisor to the Poetry lively information here to be worth their time Library, matched by the National Endowment Alumni Association and legal counsel for the Archive in the University's Rare Book Depart­ and investment.... And as citizens we should for the Humanities, made possible the prepa­ Board of Regents. Their three children were ment. After the Rare Book Department was be encouraged that some of our taxes supplied ration and publication of these letters. Warren Olney III, who was a faculty member merged into Bancroft, Robert Duncan contin­ to such groups as the National Endowment for Robert H. Hirst at the University of California Law School and ued to serve as poetry consultant, helping to the Humanities are being used to support such served on the California Crime Commission, define collecting policy for the Bancroft Poetry worthwhile projects as the Mark Twain Pa­ John McLean Olney, of St. Helena, and Mrs. Archive and reviewing cartloads of proposed pers." Mining in the West: Philip Philip K. Condit, donor of the present album. additions to the collection. Writing for Choice: Current Reviews for Col­ R. Bradley s Oral History Duncan was interested in contemporary art lege Libraries, Professor M. Thomas Inge as both a collector and an artist himself. He be­ found the first two volumes "distinguished by The oral history of Philip Read Bradley, Jr., A Robert Duncan Exhibit gan working with wax crayons, his favorite meticulous editorial standards and exacting Mining Engineer in Alaska, Canada, the West­ In February of next year, Bancroft will mount medium, in the late 1930s. Guest curator scholarship. The letters of few other authors ern United States, Latin America, and Southeast an exhibition of the work and art collections of Wagstaff explained this preference: "Duncan have been handled with such exhaustive and Asia, distills the experiences of three genera­ Robert Duncan in conjunction with the Uni­ has probably done more with children's intelligent care.... When completed, Mark tions of distinguished Californians in mining. versity Art Museum. Christopher Wagstaff, crayons than any other artist in our century. He Twains Letters will constitute a comprehensive Like his uncle, father, brother, and four Instructor in the Freshman Program on cam­ was drawn to them partly because they were autobiography of a major American author cousins, Philip Bradley studied mining at the pus, will serve as guest curator of the exhibi­ not associated with high or important art. He and as such should be a part of all library col­ ' University of California College of Mines. tion. liked working with what was casual and not lections." • "I started with the class of '25,...so I'm a Robert Duncan is widely recognized as one revered, and it often led him to make new dis­ Containing some 188 letters, most of them 'twenty-fiver,'" says Philip Read Bradley, Jr. of the most important poets in post-World coveries." published for the first time, Volume j follows "When I came back from [working at a tin War II American letters. He came to Berkeley Robert Duncan died in 1988 in San Francis­ Clemens through the production and initial mine in] Bolivia and went back to college, I in 1936 as an undergraduate majoring in En­ co. The University of California Press is now reception of his first great success, The Inno­ had no trouble with grades. I had aged, I had glish. Soon afterward, he published his first preparing an edition of his collected works. cents Abroad. "Nothing like it since Uncle matured, I was just fine...After working at my poems in Occident, a campus literary magazine. The University Art Museum will show a Tom's Cabin, I guess," he told his fiancee, trade, I found that I knew why I was in col­ In his sophomore year, Duncan moved to An­ portion of Duncan's own art collection.