5 linear feet (8 containers, 11 free-standing volumes)
Collection Number:
Coll. 215
Summary:
The Rosalie Moore Papers contain correspondence, manuscripts, tearsheets, and published versions of literary work. The correspondence
includes personal correspondence, as well as and professional correspondence with various publishers. In addition to poetry, Moore's forte, the manuscripts contain
plays and children's stories written in collaboration with Moore's husband, Bill Brown. The collection also includes published versions of Moore's work.
Repository:
University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through
a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Rosalie Moore was born Gertrude Elizabeth Moore in Oakland, California on October 8, 1910. She first ventured
into poetry as a teenager, with a poem protesting--in the grand high flown, "poetic" manner-- the building of the
Golden Gate Bridge. The poem was published in the Oakland Tribune. Since that time she has become a widely
published poet.
Rosalie Moore attended the University of California at Berkeley where she majored in English and graduated magna
cum laude with a B.A. in 1932; in 1934 she received her M.A. in English Literature, also at Berkeley. However, Moore
insists that her career as a poet really began several years later when she began attending the poetry-writing classes
of critic and writer Lawrence Hart in 1937. Hart, Jeanne McGahey, Moore, Robert Horan, and several other poets formed
a group known as the Activists who worked from the tenet that through accurate language and imagery a poem should give
the reader a corresponding experience.
In 1938 Rosalie Moore was awarded the University of Chicago's Charles H. Sergel award for poetic drama with her play
The Boar, now expanded and entitled The Calydonian Boar Hunt. She won the Albert Bender Award in literature in 1943,
and in 1949 received the Yale Series Younger Poet Award for her collection of poems The Grasshopper's Man (originally
titled "Journeys Toward Center"). Rosalie Moore also has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, in 1950 and again in 1951.
Rosalie Moore's work has been published in many periodicals, including Accent, Furioso, The New Yorker, and
Saturday Review. Her books include, among others, The Grasshopper's Man and Other Poems, 1949; Year of the Children,
1977; a book of poems dealing with the Children's Crusade in Europe in 1212 A.D.; and Of Singles and Doubles, a collection
of poems published in 1979. Both Year of the Children and Of Singles and Doubles were published by Woolmer/Brotherson,
and Year of the Children was nominated for a Pulitzer award. With her husband, Bill Brown, she collaborated on a series
of children's books published by Coward-McCann, including The Forest Fireman, Whistle Park, The Boy Who Got Mailed,
Big Rig, and The Department Store Ghost. Two other books, Tickley and the Fox and The Hippopotamus That Wanted to
Be a Baby were published by Lantern Press.
In 1965 Rosalie Moore joined the faculty at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California, and taught basic writing
and creative writing classes until her retirement in 1976. Miss Moore is currently living in the San Francisco Bay
area and has three daughters and three grandchildren also living in Marin County.
Content Description
The Rosalie Moore collection consists primarily of correspondence, manuscripts, and published examples of her work.
The correspondence series is composed mainly of letters between Moore and her publishers concerning reprint rights to
her poems. Of special not are two letters from W.H. Auden concerning his introduction to Rosalie Moore's first published
volume, The Grasshopper's Man and Other Poems in the Yale Younger Poets Series. Other correspondents include Karl
Shapiro of Poetry (Chicago), John Ciardi of Saturday Review, Louis Untermeyer, Lawrence Hart, Hoanne McGahey Hart,
and extensive communication with both The New Yorker and Yale University Press.
The manuscripts in the collection include examples of many of Moore's poems, plays, and fictional writings. A manuscript
of The Grasshopper's Man can be found here. Also available in a manuscript for Moore's poem "Catalog", a popular poem
about cats that has been reprinted in many textbooks and anthologies. Play manuscripts include The Calydonian Boar Hunt.
Fiction manuscripts include "The Forest Fireman," a children's story co-written with Moore's husband, Bill Brown, and
several other children's stories by Bill and Rosalie Brown.
A large portion of the collection is devoted to published examples of Rosalie Moore's work in a wide variety of publications,
including The New Yorker, The Pacific Spectator, Poetry, and Voices. Also, a publication called Tuesdays, 1 to 3
(1978) contains poems written by Moore's students in her classes at College of Marin.
Book jackets, galley proofs, and tearsheets pertaining to Moore's published work are found in this collection, as
well as a collection of poetry anthologies containing examples of her work. Of special note is the book entitled
Learned and Leaved: A Tribute to Rosalie Moore. Written by colleagues at the Marin Poetry Center to honor Moore, it
contains a more precise biography than presented here.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use :
Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the
Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The
reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation :
[Identification of item], Rosalie Moore Papers, Coll. 215, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Collection is organized into the following series: Series I. Correspondence; Series II. Manuscripts; Series III. Tearsheets; Series IV.
Publications Containing Moore's Work; Series V. Package; Series VI. Free Standing Volumes.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Anthology of the First Annual Women's Poetry of San Francisco: "Domestic Sonnet: Unseparate"
1977
5
3
The Blue Unicorn, Vol. 1, No. 1: "Domestic Sonnet: Unseparate"
1977
5
3
The Blue Unicorn, Vol. 1, No. 2: "Retirement Colony"
1977
5
3
The Blue Unicorn, Vol. 6, No. 2: "Sea Coast, Standing Still"
1983
5
4
The Bystander: "Old Woman With a Basket"
November 1, 1930
5
4
The California Pelican: "Ignition"
March 1930
5
4
The California Pelican: "Pretty Good"
April 1931
5
5
The California Pelican: "Mathematics"
December 1931
5
5
The California Pelican: "Only One"
5
6
California State Poetry Quarterly: "Building Charters" "Runaway"
1976
6
1
California Writers Club Poems: "Collector"
1930
6
1
California Writers Club Poems: "I Know a Splendor" "Gordon Came"
1932
6
1
California Writers Club Poems: "This Is Monterey"
1933
6
2
Child Life: "Pegleg and the Whale" by Bill and Rosalie Brown
August 1948
6
2
Child Life: "The Big Baby" by Bill and Rosalie Brown
September 1948
6
2
Child Life: "The Hopping Scotchman" by Bill and Rosalie Brown
September 1949
6
3
University of California Chronicle: "Margot's House"
April 1932
6
4
University of California Chronicle: "Forest Pastoral"
July 1932
6
5
Circle, Vol. 1, No. 1: "Poem in Two Scenes"
1944
6
5
College Forum, Vol. 1, No. 6: "Pipe Dreams About Pipe Courses"
1931
6
6
College Verse: "Song for Widsith" "To a Conqueror"
February 1934
6
7
Experiment: "Vision with Images"
Summer 1945
6
7
Furioso. Vol. 11, No. 1: "Driving by Night"
1943
6
7
Kavita. Vol. 16, No. 1: "This Is the Morning" "Elegy"
1950
7
1
Moraga Society of Catholic Poets: "Orpheus" "Pastoral"
1932
7
1
Moraga Society of Catholic Poets: "Encounter" "I Know a Splendor" "McCarren" "Star Ascendent" "The Gulls"
1934
7
2
National League for Women's Service: "Height" "Stopshot" "Doors" "The Grasshopper's Man"
September 1949
7
2
The New Yorker: "What Fun to Be, etc."
November 18, 1939
7
2
Number 5: "Wedding" "After Season"
November 1954
7
3
The Occident: "Keep the Change"
April 1931
7
3
The Occident: "After You, My Dear Steig"
Fall 1951
7
3
The Pacific Spectator, Vol. 3, No. 2: "Shipwreck"
Spring 1949
7
4
The Poet, No. 3: "Sun at Vera Cruz" "Fear By Hanging"
Summer 1952
7
4
Poetry, Vol. 74, No. 6: "Blood, Sweat and Poets"
September 1949
7
4
Poetry, Vol. 76, No. 3: "O That Shakespearian Rag"
June 1950
7
4
Poetry, Vol. 78, No. 2: "Summer Camp: Wane" "The Enchantment" "Bird and Bell" "Poem" "Venice"
May 1951
7
5
Poetry, Vol. 93, No. 2: "Richard in England" "Poem for a Commencement"
November 1958
7
5
Poetry, Vol. 110, No. 4: "Death of the Story Teller" "Sea Look" "Love Poem" "What He Sees"
July 1967
7
5
Poetry: "Poet as a Bullfighter"
October 1962-November 1962
7
6
Prairie Schooner: "The Joy Ride"
Fall 1958
7
7
Quarterly Review of Literature, Vol. 4, No. 1: "Moving, By Roads Moved . . ." "The Wheel" "Dream and Interpretation" "Prologue" "Fish and Fur" "O Bet the Nickel Daisies" "Parade with Piccolos" "Night Poem for a Child" "Appointment, December 25"
7
7
Southern Poetry Review, Vol. 14, No. 1: "Letter to Belden"
Spring 1974
8
1
Spirit, Vol. 5, No. 4: "Do Not With Too Persistent Eye"
September 1938
8
1
Spirit, Vol. 5, No. 6: "A Little Way to Glory"
January 1939
8
1
Spirit, Vol. 7, No. 5: "Down-Settling"
November 1960
8
2
300: "Talking Turkey"
November 1940
8
2
The Treasure Chest: "The Weeze's Other Eye"
November 1926
8
2
The Treasure Chest: "The Woes of a Nose"
March 1927
8
2
The Treasure Chest: "I'll Tell You--" "Matron" "Oh, Sugar"
August 1927
8
2
The Treasure Chest: "The Ballad of the Oriole" "The Western Sea"
November 1927
8
3
Tuesdays 1 to 3, Vol. 2: "The Outpost"
April 1978-June 1978
8
3
Tuesdays 1 to 3: "The Phone"
January 1978-February 1978
8
4
Variegation, Vol. 5, No. 1: "Lake Latitude"
Winter 1950
8
4
Variegation, Vol. 11, No. 41: "The Country Near Fort Ross"
Winter 1956
8
5
Voices, No. 104: "Oak"
Winter 1940
8
5
Voices, No. 115: "Poem for a Time of Year"
Autumn 1943
8
5
Voices, No. 127: "Trio for Moonlight"
Autumn 1946
8
6
Voices, No. 132: "The Ghost"
Winter 1948
8
6
Voices, No. 153: "Spinster"
January 1954-April 1954
8
7
Westward, Vol. 3, No. 6: "Michael's Song"
November 1934
8
7
Westward, Vol. 3, No. 6: "No Sight, No Sound" "Quietus"
January 1935
8
7
What's New, (a publication by Abbott Laboratories) No. 163: "A Christmas Calendar"
Quinn, Kerker and Charles Shattuck (ed.). Accent Anthology. "Journey Toward Center". NY:
Harcourt, Brace and Company.
1946
2
Montague, Carroll A, et. al (ed.). First the Blade, Vol. 2. "Brother". Redlands, CA:
Citographic Printing Co.
1929
3
Bennett, Caroline (ed.). First the Blade, Vol. 3. "An Impression of Alcatraz Island".
Claremont CA: Scripps College
1930
4
Miller, William Robert (ed.) First the Blade, Vol. 4. "Bequest" "Pathetic Fallacy".
San Bernadino, CA: San Bernadino Valley Junior College
1931
5
Backus, Jean Louise (ed.). First the Blade, Vol. 5. "Hymn" "Star". Pasadena, CA: Pasadena
Junior College
1932
6
Sharkey, Peter L. (ed.). Learned and Leaved: A Tribute to Rosalie Moore. Marin, CA: Marin
Poetry Center
1986
7
Wetherby, Terry (ed.). New Poets, Women: An Anthology. "Letter to Belden." Millbrae, CA: Les Femmes
Publishing
1976
8
Moore, Rosalie. Of Singles and Doubles. Andes, New York: Woolmer/Brotherson
1979
9
Custudio, Maurice et. al (ed.). Peace and Pieces: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry. "The Glimpse." "Upon Driving Past Flowers." San Francisco: Peace and Pieces Press
1973
10
Whisnant, Charleen (ed.). Red Clay Reader. "The Disease." Charlotte, NC: Southern Review
1970
11
Chester, Laura and Sharon Barba (ed.). Rising Tides. "Imprecations for an Aesthetics Society
with Newts, Warts, Waxes and Pins." "After the Storm." "The Wheel." New York: Washington Square Press
1973
12
Reese, Bette et al. (ed.). We Are Connected. Kentfield CA: Compass Rose Press (College of Marin).
A collaboration with Mary Hedin and Adrianne Marcus.
1979
13
Moore, Rosalie. Year of the Children. Andes, New York: Woolmer/Brotherson
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Personal Names :
Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973--Correspondence
