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Maureen Owen collection of Greenwich Village poetry

 Collection
Call Number: YCAL MSS 218

Scope and Contents

The Maureen Owen Collection of Greenwich Village Poetry consists of audio recordings on reel-to-reel tape and audio cassette. Many of the recordings are of poets reading their work or the work of others at literary events held by the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City. There are also recordings of poets reading their work and being interviewed on Susan Howe's radio shows on WBAI Radio in New York. Miscellaneous readings recorded in Connecticut and elsewhere are present as well. The collection includes two audio publications which were originally issued on cassette, Black Box No. 12 and BREATHINGSPACE/77.

The recordings include readings by the following authors: Russell Banks, Regina Beck, Ted Berrigan, Elizabeth Bishop, Ed Friedman, John Godfrey, Ted Greenwald, Barbara Guest, John Francis Alexander Heath-Stubbs, Dale Herd, Bob Holman, Fanny Howe, Carole Spearin McCauley, Douglas Messerli, Eileen Myles, Charles North, George Oppen, Maureen Owen, Ron Padgett, Charles Rezkinoff, Adrienne Rich, Ed Sanders, Ron Silliman, Jack Spicer, and Virgil Tomson.

Dates

  • 1975 - 1981

Creator

Physical Description

Other Storage Formats: Audio Recordings

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Digitized audio files are available via this finding aid for streaming on-site at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Digital versions of the original recordings are available for reference use to scholars off-site. Original recordings are housed in Restricted Fragile in boxes 1-3, and may only be consulted with permission of the appropriate curator.

Conditions Governing Use

The Maureen Owen Collection of Greenwich Village Poetry is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Richard Deming, 2004.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.green

Abstract

Collection consists of audio recordings, originally recorded on reel-to-reel tape and audio cassette. Many of the recordings are of poets reading their work or the work of others at literary events held by the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City. Also includes recordings of poets reading their work and being interviewed on Susan Howe's radio shows on WBAI Radio in New York. Miscellaneous readings recorded in Connecticut and elsewhere are present. The collection includes audio publications Black Box No. 12 and BREATHINGSPACE/77.
The recordings include readings by the following authors: Russell Banks, Regina Beck, Ted Berrigan, Elizabeth Bishop, Ed Friedman, John Godfrey, Ted Greenwald, Barbara Guest, John Francis Alexander Heath-Stubbs, Dale Herd, Bob Holman, Fanny Howe, Carole Spearin McCauley, Douglas Messerli, Eileen Myles, Charles North, George Oppen, Maureen Owen, Ron Padgett, Charles Rezkinoff, Adrienne Rich, Ed Sanders, Ron Silliman, Jack Spicer, and Virgil Thomson.

MAUREEN OWEN (1943- )

Maureen Owen, poet, editor, publisher, and editor, was born in 1943 in Graceville, Minnesota. Owen began publishing and editing Telephone Books and Telephone magazine in 1969. During the 1970s, she worked as coordinator and director (1976-1980) of the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City. She taught writing and magazine production workshops for the Poetry Project, a Greenwich Village collective founded in 1966 as a forum for public literary events and as a resource center for writers.

Owen's publications include Country Rush (1973), No Travels Journal (1975), Hearts in Space (1980), AE (Amelia Earhart) (1984), Zombie Notes (1986), Imaginary Income (1992), Untapped Maps (1993) and American Rush (1998).

Owen received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grant in 1979-80, and in 1998 was awarded by the Foundation of Contemporary Performance Arts. She received the Los Angeles Times Book Festival Prize in 1999. Owen has taught at Edinboro University, Swarthmore College, Saint Joseph College (CT), and Naropa University.

Processing Information

Recordings were digitized from audiocassettes and reel to reel recordings during processing. Original recordings are now housed in Restricted Fragile in boxes 1-3. In most cases, containers suffered from water damage and were discarded; sound recordings were retained.

Title
Guide to the Maureen Owen Collection of Greenwich Village Poetry
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Kathleen T. Burns
Date
June 2006
Description rules
Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.