Preliminary Inventory of the Walter H. Smith Collection of Beat Literature, 1959-2003
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Smith, Walter H. (creator)
Title
Walter H. Smith Collection of Beat Literature, 1959-2003
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
3.5 Linear Feet
200 Items
Abstract
200 Items
Walter H. Smith donated this collection of materials by and about Allen Ginsberg, a poet and member of the Beat Generation.
Accessions (2009-0113) and (2009-0130) (200 items; 3.5 lin. ft.; dated 1959-2003) include books, compilations, journals, magazines, and other publications with works by and about Allen Ginsberg. Also included are posters and broadsides advertising events, readings, or publications by Ginsberg; many of these are signed.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Walter H. Smith Collection of Beat Literature, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Walter H. Smith Collection of Beat Literature was received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
gift in 2008, 2009.
Processing Information
Processed by Meghan Lyon, August 2009
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, August 2009
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Walter H. Smith donated this collection of materials by and about Allen Ginsberg, a poet and member of the Beat Generation.
Allen Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in the New York area. He entered Columbia University in the 1940s, where he developed close friendships with men like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy, who, with Ginsberg, were founding members of what became known as the Beat Generation. Ginsberg's most famous work, Howl and Other Poems, was published in 1956, and became a test case for fighting obscenity and censorship laws. He was also an outspoken proponent for gay rights, the legalization of marijuana and other drugs, and free speech, and frequently led protests against the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s. He went on to publish numerous volumes and compilations of poetry, and later became a professor at Brooklyn College. He died in New York City at the age of 70. (Source: Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org)
[top]Collection Overview
Accessions (2009-0113) and (2009-0130) (200 items; 3.5 lin. ft.; dated 1959-2003) include books, compilations, journals, magazines, and other publications with works by and about Allen Ginsberg. Also included are posters and broadsides advertising events, readings, or publications by Ginsberg; many of these are signed.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997.
- Beat generation.
- Beat generation in literature.
- American literature--20th century.
- Posters.
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Publications and Periodicals Series | ||||||
 | | Broadsides, Handbills, and Posters Series | ||||||
Preliminary Description of Collection
Publications and Periodicals Series
(2 boxes)
Includes books, journals, magazines and other periodicals, and various other publications that include work by or about Allen Ginsberg. Several include Ginsberg's signature.
American Review, No. 16, 1973
Countdown, No. 3, 1970
Countdown, No. 2, 1970
New American Review, No. 11, 1971
Boss, 1966
Little Caesar (Lita Hornick article on Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poets at the Naropa Institute), No. 10, 1980
Long Shot, Vol. 27, 2004
Long Shot, Vol. 15, 1993
Long Shot, Vol. 4, 1986
Long Shot, 1982
The Paris Review (Thomas Clark interview, signed on page 13), Vol. 10, No. 37, Spring 1966
The Portable Lower East Side, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1989
ppHOO (Bengali-English-French from India, memorial issue), 1998
The Seventies (signed by Robert Bly), No. 1, Spring 1972
San Jose Studies, Vol. XIX, No. 1, Fall 1993
Stony Brook, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1968
Zero, Vol. 2, 1979
Birth, No. 3, 1960
California Librarian, Oct. 1970
The Cambridge Review (Includes poem and review of Howl; signed by Allen Ginsberg), Dec. 1956
New Directions, No. 14, 1953
The New York Quarterly (signed by Allen Ginsberg), No. 2, Spring 1970
Mulch (Ginsberg on Kerouac), Vol. 2, No. 2, 1974
Box 1
Folder 1
Adventures in Poetry, Vol. 12, 1975
Intrepid, No. 11/12, 1969
East Side Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1972
Box 1
Folder 2
Georgia Straight (Thomas Forcade letter about Ginsberg controversy in Canadian underground newspaper), Vol. 7, No. 303, 1973
Magical Blend (David Brown and Rebecca McGlen interview), No. 38, 1993
New Age (Peter Chowka interview; cover signed by Ginsberg), 1976
The New Censorship, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1994
Box 1
Folder 3
Nexus (Ginsberg memorial issue), Vol. 32, 1997
Oui (article by biographer Michael Schumacher), Vol. 11, No. 6, June 1982
Parapluie, No. 10, 1971
Playboy, Vol. 15, No. 12, Dec. 1968
Box 1
Folder 4
Nomad (signed), No. 9, Summer 1961
Big Sky, No. 1, 1971
Big Sky, No. 2, 1972
Anthology of Underground Poetry, Section 9, 1971
Columbia Review, 1961
Box 1
Folder 5
Third Rail, No. 8, 1987
Third Rail, No. 7, 1985/1986
Synapse 3, Jan. 1965
So & So, Fall 1978
Box 1
Folder 6
Ramparts, Vol. 5, No. 5, Nov. 1966
Shambhala Sun, Vol. 2, No. 6, July 1994
Shout! Vol. 2, No. 1, 1996
Swank, Vol. 7, No. 6, Jan. 1961
Box 1
Folder 7
Writer's Digest (article by biographer Michael Schumacher), May 1984
Herschel Silverman,
"High on the Beats."
Atom Mind, Vol. 4, No. 16, 1995
Bastard Angel 1, 1972
Evergreen Review, No. 42, Aug. 1966
Box 1
Folder 8
Evergreen Review, No. 40, April 1966
The Milk Quarterly, No. 8, 1975
Vinduet, No. 3, 1961
Eclipse, 8/9, 1971
Box 1
Folder 9
Camera Austria
SF Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 50, Jan. 1995
Opus International, 1968
Box 2
Panjandrum (vinyl LP and portfolio of broadsides and artwork), Vol. 1, No. 1, 1972
Box 2
Folder 1
The Sunday Camera Magazine, Nov. 11, 1984
The Sunday Camera Magazine, June 12, 1987
The Village Voice (Ginsberg memorial issue), Vol. XLII, No. 15, 1997
The Bloomsburg Review (interview by Bill Trembley), Vol. 5, No. 9, 1985
Bookforum (review by David Gates), Summer 2005
East West Journal (Marilyn Webb article on early Naropa scene), May 1976
Box 2
Folder 2
The American Poetry Review, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1994
Rolling Stone, No. 761 (Ginsberg memorial issue), 1997
Rolling Stone, No. 204, 1976
Jim Moore interview with Allen Ginsberg, Hungry Mind Review, No. 30, 1994
Broadsides, Handbills, and Posters Series
(2 boxes)
Posters and broadsides advertising events, readings, or publications by or about Allen Ginsberg.
Box 3
Folder 1
The Beat Generation, Spring class, 1982
First Annual Ginsberg Poetry Festival, 2003
New York Poets, German Publication, 1981
Kerouac Conference and Participants, 1982
A Celebration of Life, Boulder, CO, circa 1980
Reading at Columbia with Burroughs, 1975
Reading in Berkeley, CA, for Nyingmapa, 1971
Reading with Diane Di Prima, Denver, CO, 1982
San Francisco Oracle, Vol. 1, No. 7, 1969
Box 3
Folder 2
Promotional photograph by Robert Frank, circa 1990
Memorial services, Ann Arbor, MI, 1997
Concert with Patti Smith, Ann Arbor, MI, 1996
Planet News Tribute in New York City, 1998
Ginsberg Marathon, Ann Waldman, 2001
50 Years of Howl, 2006
Ginsberg at Tribal Stomp by Greg Savalin, 1978
Tribal Stomp Greek Theatre, Berkeley, 1978
50 Years of Howl, limited edition (signed by artist), 2006
First Blues LP (signed by Ginsberg and Bob Dylan), 1983
Box 3
Folder 3
A Ballad of the Skeletons, 1995
Ginsberg Tribute at Naropa, 1994
Tibetan Nyingmapa Benefit, 1971
Promotional Rhino Records, 1993
Concert with Patti Smith (signed by artist), 1996
Memorial Services and Concert (signed by artist), 1997
Beat Rushmore, by Wavy Gravy, 2004
Promotional poster for film The Source, 1999
Box 3
Folder 4
Reading at the University of Kentucky (signed by Ginsberg), 1993
Reading in San Antonio, TX, 1980s
Magazine advertisement for GAP khakis, 1993
Reading at Brown University (signed by Ginsberg), 1985
Rogue Dalton Culture Brigade, 1984
Shambhala (signed by Ginsberg), Cambridge, MA, 1983
Naropa Performing Arts Series (signed), 1987
Concert with Bhagavan Das, 1974
Reading at Bryn Mawr, PA, 1976
Naropa with Orlovsky and Scheenmon, 1980
Gathering of the Tribes, second printing, 1967
Box 3
Folder 5
Various Poets at Tulagi's, 1970s
Flaming Youth at Barnard, circa 1974
Naropa with Philip Whalen, circa 1975
Poetry on the Tractis Benefit, 1980
Rocky Flats Protest with Orlovesky, 1978
Poetry in Motion with Creeley, 1983
New Blood Reading at Naropa (signed by Ginsberg), 1981
Reading at Rochester Institute (signed by Ginsberg), 1984
Naropa with Corso and Waldman, circa 1980
Box 3
Folder 6
Workshop in New York City (signed by Ginsberg), 1985
Reading in London, 1983
Reading in Holland (signed by Ginsberg), 1984
Reading in Sweden, 1983
Naropa with Amiri Baraka, circa 1983
Naropa with Orlovsky and Brownstein, circa 1978
Rocky Flats Benefit Arts Festival, 1978
Three lectures (signed by Ginsberg), 1981
Kerouac Conference Historic Readings (signed by Ginsberg), 1982
Kerouac Conference with Kesey (signed by Ginsberg), 1982
The Beat Generation, Fall class, 1982
Box 4
108 Images Exhibition in Venice, Italy, 1995
Reality Sandwiches, Nishen, Germany, 1989
Tribute by artist Eric Drowker in New York City, 1998
Mantra Reading with Gary Snyder, 1972
