Anne Blonstein collection

Collection

Identifier: PCMS-0089

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Anne Blonstein collection, 1975-2011, consists of manuscripts, diaries, notebooks, and correspondence documenting the creation and publication of her work, as well as correspondence with friends. Of particular note is the series on Appearances and submissions, which includes Blonstein's meticulous documentation of where and when she submitted work for publication. The extensive series of workbooks, diaries, and notebooks are thoroughly dated and labeled, reflecting Blonstein's background as a scientific researcher.

2020-2021 Accruals includes photographs, postcards, poetry manuscripts and published poems and essays, as well as plans and details of a pottery collaboration with Patrick King.

Dates

1975-2011

Creator

Blonstein, Anne, 1958-2011 (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Anne Blonstein collection, 1975-2011, is open for research.

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

Anne Blonstein (1958-2011) was born in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, and studied plant genetics at Cambridge University. Her doctoral dissertation, "Dwarf Mutants in Barley" was published in 1986. In 1983 Blonstein was appointed to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, where she remained for the rest of her life. She began publishing poetry in 1987, and in 1991 she left her career in science to pursue writing full time, working as a freelance translator and editor. Blonstein was a devoted reader of Paul Celan, with whom Blonstein felt a kinship: All of her great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants to Britain. Blonstein used devices such as the notariqon in worked on screen and correspondence with nobody.

Blonstein authored six full-length collections: the blue pearl (Salt, 2003), worked on screen (Poetry Salzburg, 2005), memory's morning (Shearsman, 2008), correspondence with nobody (Ellectrique Press, 2008), the butterflies and the burnings (Dusie Press, 2009), and to be continued (Shearsman Books, 2011), as well as Sand. Soda. Lime. (Broken Boulder Press, 2002), From Eternity to Personal Pronoun (Gribble Press, 2005), That Those Lips Had Language (Plan B Press, 2005), Thou Shalt Not Kill (Dusie Wee Chap, 2007), Hairpin Loop: Poems (Bright Hill Press, 2007), and Memory's Morning (Shearsman Books, 2008).

Extent

16 Linear Feet (15 record cartons and 1 oversize legal manuscript box)

0.036 Gigabytes (36 files, 3 folders)

Additional Description

Abstract

Anne Blonstein (1958-2011) was born in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, and studied plant genetics at Cambridge University. In 1983 Blonstein was appointed to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, where she remained for the rest of her life. She began publishing poetry in 1987, and in 1991 she left her career in science to pursue writing full time, working as a freelance translator and editor. The Anne Blonstein collection, 1975-2011, consists of manuscripts, diaries, notebooks, and correspondence documenting the creation and publication of her work, as well as correspondence with friends.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by carton in its original order as prepared by Anne Blonstein's literary executor, Charles Lock ("CJSL" throughout the inventory), with the assistance of Dr. Maria Cecilia Holt, between July and September 2017. Additions are listed at the end of the series.

The collection is arranged into 12 series based on genre, with the final series consisting of the accruals.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Charles Lock, Anne Blonstein's literary executor. The materials were taken from Blonstein's home, Wattstrasse 25, CH-4056 Basel, to Lock's home in Denmark after the poet's death in 2011. The collection was shipped from Copenhagen in November 2017, and arrived at the University at Buffalo in January 2018. Additional material donated by Patrick King, December 2019 and 2020, Sam Israel and Franziska Gygax in 2021.

Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected.

Processing Information

Collection was processed by Marie Elia in 2018. Most materials were already well-organized and labeled, and the arrangement reflects this original order. Many materials were organized in binders and plastic portfolios; these were removed, and materials placed in archival folders with the original groupings maintained. Because the inventory provided by Blonstein's executors makes note of these color-coded binders and folders, the original container is described on the archival folder. Blonstein's meticulous record-keeping of her own work further enhances access to this collection and has been preserved. Please see the arrangement and acquisition notes and contact the Poetry Collection for more information about the provenance and preparation of Blonstein's papers.

Digital materials processed by Sarah Cogley in 2020.