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Correspondence, poems and reviews by and about Barbara Howes

 Collection
Call Number: MS P650

Overview

This collection of manuscript and printed material relating to the American poet and editor, Barbara Howes (1914-1996), was made by Stewart P. Park (died 1976) and his wife, Evelyn, of Mamaroneck, New York. They were friends who visited North Pownal, Vermont, where Howes lived. The correspondence consists of one letter and three postcards from Barbara Howes. Also present are 15 poems sent by her as Christmas cards (1958-1974) and poems written for Petie and Frank Palmer (1964) and Helen and Bob Allen (1970). There are 4 clippings of and about her poetry, as well as advertisements from Wesleyan University Press for her 1959 book of poetry, Light and Dark. The correspondence refers to William Jay Smith (1918-), the poet to whom Barbara Howes was married, and there is also a clipping of a book review written by him.

Dates

  • Creation: 1958 - 1974

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Barbara Howes

Barbara Howes was born in 1914, growing up in an affluential suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. After receiving her education at Bennington College in Vermont, she moved to New York City and became editor of the literary magazine Chimera from 1944-1947.

Howes published her first collection of verse, The Undersea Farmer, in 1948. Other poetry volumes followed, including Light and Dark (1959), The Blue Garden (1972), and a collection of her best works in 1995. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies, including New Poems by American Poets (1957) and The Marvelous Light (1970).

Howes edited several works, including From the Green Antilles: Writings of the Caribbean (1966) and The Sea-Green Horse (1970), a collection of juvenile short stories she co-edited with her son, Gregory Jay Smith.

Howes married poet William Jay Smith in 1947, with whom she had two sons: David and Gregory. They later divorced, and Howes spent much of the rest of her life in Pownal, Vermont. She died in 1996.

Extent

3 folders ; Folders measure 22x37 cm.

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

The collection is organized by format in three folders: one for correspondence, one for poetry, and one for news clippings, which include both reviews and poems.

Physical Location

MS P650

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, bookseller Bernice Weiss, 1977.

Title
Guide to the Barbara Howes Collection
Subtitle
Correspondence, poems and reviews by and about Barbara Howes
Author
Finding aid prepared by ksc, 2007. Finding aid encoded by mab, 2007.
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4914675797
Preferred citation
Correspondence, poems, and reviews by and about Barbara Howes, Department of Special Collections, MS P650, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
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Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334