2019-05-07 Guide to the Robin Blaser Papers, circa 1960s SPEC.RARE.0281 Finding aid prepared by Beth Crowner Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2019 March This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-07-15T10:23-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Robin Blaser Papers SPEC.RARE.0281 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.18 Cubic feet circa 1960s Robin Blaser was an American and Canadian poet who was born in Denver, Colorado, but moved to California in 1944, where he attended the University of California. Blaser met Robert Duncan and Jack Spicer, fellow students, poets, and gays, and the three men went on to start the Berkley poetry renaissance in the 1940s, a precursor to San Francisco’s poetry renaissance in the 1950s-1960s. The Robin Blaser Papers contain materials related to the 1964 publication of Blaser's "The Moth Poem," including a publishing proof, a dummy, a duplicate loose page from the dummy with a note from the author explaining the poem's dedication, and a corrected typescript. The collection also contains a black and white photograph of the author pictured with a semi-nude, unnamed man, dated circa 1960s. (4) letter file folders; (1) oversize folder English Blaser, Robin Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged chronologically, with publishing materials of the same date arranged in the order in which they were created.

 Acquisitions Information

Purchased, 1969 August

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Robin Blaser Papers, SPEC.RARE.0281, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Beth Crowner, 2019 March; Finding Aid written by: Beth Crowner, 2019 March

 Biographical Note

Robin Blaser (1925-2009) is an American and Canadian poet who was born in Denver, Colorado, but moved to California in 1944, where he attended the University of California. Blaser met Robert Duncan and Jack Spicer, fellow students, poets, and gays, and the three men went on to start the Berkeley poetry renaissance in the 1940s, a precursor to San Francisco’s poetry renaissance in the 1950s-1960s. Blaser published his first collection of poems, "The Moth Poem" through White Rabbit Press in 1964, then moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1966, and eventually became a citizen there in 1972. He is considered influential among Canadian experimental poets, and in 2005 Blaser received the Order of Canada for his contributions to literature and the arts. He passed away from cancer on May 7, 2009.

 Scope and Contents

The Robin Blaser Papers contain materials related to the 1964 publication of Blaser's "The Moth Poem," including a publishing proof, a dummy, a duplicate loose page from the dummy with a note from the author explaining the poem's dedication, and a corrected typescript. The collection also contains a black and white photograph of the author pictured with a semi-nude, unnamed man, dated circa 1960s.

 Blaser, Robin White Rabbit Press. Black-and-white photographs Dummies (printed matter) Experimental poetry, American--California--San Francisco--20th century Galley proofs Gay men--Poetry--20th century Poets, American--California--San Francisco--20th century Poets, Canadian--20th century "The Moth Poem" corrected typescript RARE Shared 1 1 1964 "The Moth Poem" dummy 1 1964 "The Moth Poem" dummy page with handwritten note RARE Shared 1 2 1964 "The Moth Poem" proof RARE Shared 1 3 1964 Black and white photograph of author and unnamed man RARE Shared 1 4 circa 1960s