The Louis Zukofsky Papers (1923-1969) chronicle his relationship with a number of his contemporaries, particularly Rene Taupin, as well as describing what life was like for a poet in the 1930's. The papers contain correspondence, printed material and typescripts.
They are housed in two document boxes. The papers are divided into four series: 1) Correspondence (1928-1969), 2) Literary works (1931, n.d.), 3) Printed material (1930-1933) and 4) Miscellaneous. The most significant part of this collection is the correspondence. It is divided into four sub-series: a) Louis Zukofsky to Rene Taupin (1930-1941), b) Louis Zukofsky to various others (1942-1969), c) various individuals to Rene Taupin (1923-1946) and d) other correspondence (1927-1940).
The correspondece in each sub-series is arranged in chronological order. The correspondence from Zukofsky to Taupin is the largest and most significant part of the collection (70 items) containing references to works in progress and contemporaries, such as Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Harriet Monroe, George Oppen, Basil Bunting, Jesse Loewenthal, Tibor Serly and Robinson Morton. Other comments offer insight into the economy and social atmosphere of 1930's America. The second sub-series of correspondence (22 items, 7 correspondents) focuses primarily on Zukofsky's literary career: responses to inquiries to reprint his poetry, notification of new works and mention of reviews. His family and contemporaries are mentioned in a number of letters. Primary correspondents are: Clayton Hoagland and Tom Pickard. The third sub-series of correspondence (60 items, 47 correspondents), various individuals to Rene Taupin, focuses primarily on the creation of La France en Liberte (13 items) and responses to a questionnaire concerning France's survival under German occupation (8 items). A significant portion of these letters (29 items) is in French and has not been translated. Notable correspondents include: Ivan Goll, Sommerville Story, Germaine Sinclair, Warre Bradley Wells, Carl Van Doren, Patrick Braybrooke, Dorothy Canfield Fischer, A. E. Bacon, Charles A. Beard, Charles M. Stern and Tibor Serly. The fourth sub-series of correspondence is primarily in French and has not been translated.
The correspondence in English contains comments on Taupin's abilities and promotional information about La France en Liberte. Correspondents include: Jean de Gourmont, Raymond Arne and Fernand Baldensperger. The literary works series includes typescript reviews by Zukofsky of Hidden Flame by Bunichi Kagawa and Redimiculum Matellarum by Basil Bunting. Also included is an essay in French on Andre Salmon by Rene Taupin. The printed material series contains a review of Zukofsky's Objectivists' Anthology, an essay on Ezra Pound by Zukofsky, a review of Maldorer by Taupin and reviews of Taupin's L'Influence du symbolisme Francais sur la poesie Americaine (de 1910 a/ 1920) The final series contains a prescription sheet, a bibliographical sketch of Taupin (1923-1930) and the first page of an essay entitled Profession of Faith. The Special Collections unit of the Kansas State University Libraries' contains a collection of publications written by Louis Zukofsky.
