Archival & Manuscript Collections

Overview Helen Adam (1909-1993) was a poet and visual artist of the San Francisco Renaissance. Born in Scotland, she garnered acclaim at a young age for her collection of poems titled The Elfin Peddlar. After attending Edinburgh University for two years Helen and her sister and frequent collaborator Pat Adam worked as journalists in London before moving to the United States with their mother in 1939. The family made their way to San Francisco, at the beginning of what...

Overview

The Robert Duncan collection comprises over 100 linear feet of manuscript material, correspondence, artwork, ephemera, audio visual material, and printed material related to Robert Duncan’s (1919-1988) life and work, including a significant amount of material related to his partner, Jess (1923-2004), a visual artist who often collaborated with Duncan.

Overview The Robert Kelly Collection contains an extensive collection of Kelly’s autographed and typed manuscripts and notebooks (approximately 58,000 pages); over 4,000 letters to Kelly from such writers as Cid Corman, Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, Ted Enslin, Clayton Eshleman, Charles Olson, Jonathan Williams, and Diane Wakoski; and copies of many of Kelly’s letters to others.

Overview The Manroot/Paul Mariah Collection contains the editorial and business records for Manroot including production material, correspondence, and financial records; personal records for Paul Mariah including manuscripts, correspondence, school work, poetry community ephemera; and activism records for gay and prisoners rights.