Skip to Content

Gail Sher Collection

 Collection
Identifier: PCMS-0080

Scope and Contents

The Gail Sher Collection includes several manuscripts, both handwritten and typescript, along with notebooks for some manuscripts. The collection also includes a file of correspondence between Sher and her publishers; correspondence between Sher and Andrew Schelling, documenting their collaborative process in writing renga; photographs of Gail Sher and artwork by Gail Sher; and documentation of her published work, including many journals in which her poetry has appeared.

Dates

  • 1975-2023

Creator

Terms of Access and Use

The Gail Sher Collection is open for research. Digital files are accessible via the Gail Sher Digital Collection.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Poetry Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Historical Note

Gail Sher is a San Francisco area-based writer, teacher, and psychotherapist. She earned her B.A. in English from Northwestern University, received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to study linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin but chose instead to study middle English and (later) harpsichord at the University of California, Berkeley. She won a Teacher of the Year award from the combined education faculties of Berkeley, Stanford, and San Francisco State for her high school teaching of English. She completed her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy University and has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1991. In 1970 she was ordained as a lay disciple of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and her work as both a writer and a therapist is influenced by her training in Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Yoga. Since 1982, she has published over thirty books of poetry and three books on writing as a craft and a spiritual practice.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet (6 boxes; one item in map case drawer)

299.282 Gigabytes (1,220 files)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Gail Sher is a San Francisco area-based writer, teacher, and psychotherapist. She earned her B.A. in English from Northwestern University, received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to study linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin but chose instead to study middle English and (later) harpsichord at the University of California, Berkeley. She won a Teacher of the Year award from the combined education faculties of Berkeley, Stanford, and San Francisco State for her high school teaching of English. She completed her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy University and has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1991. In 1970 she was ordained as a lay disciple of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and her work as both a writer and a therapist is influenced by her training in Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Yoga. Since 1982, she has published over thirty books of poetry and three books on writing as a craft and a spiritual practice. The Gail Sher Collection includes both handwritten and typed manuscripts, correspondence between Sher and other poets and poet-editors, art, photographs, and documentation of her published work, including many journals in which her poetry has appeared.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in five series:

  • Manuscripts, 1978-1999
  • Correspondence, 1980-2010
  • Other Writing and Personal Material, 1959-2007
  • Publications, 1985-1998
  • Audio Material and Electronic Records, 1982-2015
  • Additions, 1975-2022
  • Acquisition Information

    Donated to the Poetry Collection by Gail Sher in 2016.

    Accruals

    Periodic additions to this collection are expected.

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Marie Elia, 2016. Digital material processed by Sarah Cogley and Grace Trimper.

    Digital files created by Gail Sher were transferred to the Poetry Collection on various types of storage media including compact discs and USB flash drives. Where possible, digital content saved on storage media was migrated from the storage media, normalized to standard preservation and access formats, and transferred to a stable preservation environment following the University Libraries' Digital Preservation guidelines.

    Source

    Title
    Finding aid for the Gail Sher Collection, 1978-2021
    Status
    Under Revision
    Author
    Finding aid prepared by Marie Elia.
    Date
    2016
    Description rules
    Describing Archives: A Content Standard
    Language of description
    English
    Script of description
    Latin
    Language of description note
    Finding aid written in English.

    Revision Statements

    • August 2021: Additions processed and finding aid revised.
    • September 2021: Born digital material processed and finding aid revised.
    • Aprl 2022: Born digital material processed and finding aid revised.
    • August 2022: Born digital material processed and finding aid revised.
    • September 2022: Additions processed and finding aid revised.
    • September 2023: Additions processed and finding aid revised.

    Repository Details

    Part of the The Poetry Collection Repository

    Contact:
    420 Capen Hall
    Buffalo New York 14260-1674 US
    716-645-2917
    716-645-3714 (Fax)