Robert Peters Papers, 1923-2017 (MSS 672)

Restrictions: Original sound recordings are restricted. Listening copies are available for researchers.

Extent: 23 Linear feet (25 archives boxes, 4 card file boxes, 12 records cartons and 6 oversize folders), + 1.046 GB of digital files

Digital Content

Sound recordings in this collection have been digitized.

Papers of Robert Peters (1924-2014), American poet, critic, scholar, and teacher. A professor of literature (1968-1992) at the University of California, Irvine, Peters reviewed contemporary poetry for small press magazines beginning in the 1970s, published over thirty poetry collections, and performed his work internationally. Materials include manuscript drafts of recent writing, including individual poems and drafts for collected poetry publications, book reviews; several novels; play scripts; correspondence; and journals.

Robert Peters, distinguished American poet, critic, scholar and teacher, was born in 1924 in Eagle River, Wisconsin. His father, Samuel, and mother, Dorothy, were farmers, and his own hard physical work and closeness to the land may contribute to the preference for the concrete over the abstract in his poetry, criticism, and scholarship. He studied British literature at the University of Wisconsin, receiving the Ph.D. degree in 1952 with a dissertation on several late Victorian poets and their relationship to the visual arts. It served as the basis for his major scholarly work, The Crowns of Apollo: Swinburne's Principles of Literature and Art (Wayne State University Press, 1965). He co-edited the 3-volume edition of The Letters of John Addington Symons (Wayne State University Press, 1967-69) and edited Letters to a Tutor: The Tennyson Family Letters to Henry Graham Daykins, 1866-1911 (Scarecrow Press, 1988) and Edmund Gosse's diary of his visit to America (Purdue University, 1966) among other scholarly pursuits in the field of Victorian literature. After several post-doctoral stints (University of Idaho, Boston University, and Ohio Wesleyan University), Peters received tenure in the English Department of Wayne State University. In 1963, he was hired by the rapidly expanding University of California, Riverside and five years later transferred to the University of California, Irvine, from which he retired in 1992.

Peters had felt the urge to be a writer from his adolescent years, but college studies, military service (1943-46), his teaching and research responsibilities, and raising a family -- he was married in 1950 and had three children by 1959 -- provided him with little time to pursue non-academic writing seriously. However, the sudden death from meningitis at age five of his second son, Richard, in 1960 led to an outpouring of poetry that was collected in his first major volume, Songs for a Son, published in 1967 by W.W. Norton on the strong recommendation of Denise Levertov. Early influences on his work are varied, and include Robert Bly, James Dickey, Allen Ginsberg, Theodore Roethke, and Gary Snyder.

Although he continued to teach and do research in Victorian literature, particularly on Symonds and the Tennyson family, until his retirement, from 1967 on Peters' identity increasingly became that of a poet and critic of contemporary poetry. Songs for a Son was followed quickly by The Sows Head and Other Poems (1968), Connections: In the English Lake District (1972), Red Midnight Moon (1973), Cool Zebras of Light and Holy Cow: Parable Poems (both 1974), Bronchial Tangle, Heart System (1975), Gauguin's Chair: Selected Poems 1967-1974 (1977), and The Drowned Man to the Fish (1978). In 1973, the first of what would become a long-standing interest in biographical poetry, Byron Exhumed: A Verse Suite, appeared. It was followed by The Gift to be Simple: A Garland for Mother Ann Lee (1975), Hawthorne: Poems Adapted from Journals (1977), The Picnic in the Snow: Ludwig of Bavaria (1981), Hawker (1984, winner of the Poetry Society of America's Alice Fay di Castagnola Prize), Kane (1985), The Blood Countess: Erzebet of Hungary (1987), Shaker Light: Mother Ann Lee in America (1987), and Haydon (1989). Peters also adapted his work on King Ludwig and the Blood Countess into performance pieces, which he has performed internationally.

After his divorce in 1972 and meeting with life partner and fellow poet Paul Trachtenberg (b. 1948) later that year, Peters' poetry began to reflect his experiences as a middle-aged gay man; this theme is particularly apparent in Cool Zebras of Light (1974), The Poet as Ice-Skater (1975), Love Poems for Robert Mitchum (1981), What Dillinger Meant to Me (1983), and in Snapshots of a Serial Killer: A Fiction and a Play (1992). In his mid-sixties, Peters began to write autobiographical work, including Crunching Gravel: Growing Up in the Thirties (1988), For You, Lili Marlene: A Memoir of World War II (1995), Feather: A Child's Death and Life (1997), and Familial Love and Other Misfortunes: Poems of My Early Years (2002).

Feeling that too much academic criticism of poetry had become overly theoretical, Peters began publishing reviews of contemporary poetry in the 1970s, primarily in small-press magazines. These reviews were collected in four volumes entitled The Great American Poetry Bake-Off (1979, 1982, 1987, 1991). In this same vein, he began writing reviews of the little magazines themselves; these have been published, also in three volumes, as The Peters Black and Blue Guide(s) to Current Literary Journals (1983, 1985, 1987). The astuteness and the directness of tone and language in these reviews and their wide circulation among small press readers led Peters to receive and write an unusually large amount of correspondence with contemporary poets, all of which is preserved in archives at UC San Diego and at the University of Kansas.

In the mid-2000s, Peters began to exhibit symptoms of dementia. He and Trachtenberg, who wed in 2008, enjoyed attending Scrabble® tournaments, visiting the occasional casino, and reading and writing, but no further books appeared. Peters died at his home in Huntington Beach on June 13, 2014.

Papers of Robert Peters, American poet, critic, scholar, and teacher. A professor of literature (1968-1992) at the University of California, Irvine, Peters reviewed contemporary poetry for small press magazines beginning in the 1970s, published numerous poetry collections, and performed his work internationally. The collection contains manuscript drafts of recent writing, including individual poems, collected poetry publications, book reviews (1993-2001), plays, journals (1957-2004), and novels. Also includes correspondence with family members, friends, colleagues and editors; interviews; sound recordings of Peters' readings and performances; and photographs of Peters. Photograph albums document Peters' personal life, travels and his relationship with his husband, Paul Trachtenberg.

Accession Processed in 2008

Arranged in seven series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) WRITINGS OF OTHERS, 5) JOURNALS, 6) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 7) SOUND RECORDINGS.

Accession Processed in 2020, 2022

Arranged in five series: 8) BIOGRAPHICAL, 9) CORRESPONDENCE, 10) WRITINGS, 11) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 12) SOUND RECORDINGS.

Container List

Accession Processed in 2008

BIOGRAPHICAL

Scope and Content of Series

Series 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS: Arranged in three subseries: A) Miscellaneous, B) Interviews and C) Peters' Family.

A) Miscellaneous: Memorabilia and documents related to important events in Peters' life, biographical and bibliographical information, and keepsakes.

B) Interviews: Arranged alphabetically by interviewer. Includes published interviews, as well as drafts of biographical questionnaires.

C) Peters' Family: Largely contains materials related to the death of Peters' four year old son, Richard, including a "death journal" and family correspondence.

Miscellaneous

Box 1 Folder 1
Arrest narrative, 1969
Box 1 Folder 2
Bibliography for Robert Peters, 1948-1991

Edited by Madeline Jaroch.

Box 1 Folder 3
Biographical notes by Peters
Box 1 Folder 4
Biography for Academic Personnel, 1981
Box 1 Folder 5
Calendars, 1997 - 2002
Oversize FB-443 Folder 11
Calendars, 2003 - 2004
Box 1 Folder 6
Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series - Peters' entry
Box 1 Folder 7
Contemporary Poets

Biography entry proof.

Box 1 Folder 8
Divorce papers, 1968 - 1972
Box 1 Folder 9
Famous Authors Calendar with Robert Peters aphorism (signed), 1976
Oversize FB-447 Folder 2
Johnny Visits Granmama

Ink on board drawing.

Box 1 Folder 10
Lists of publications and recordings

Drafts.

Box 1 Folder 11
Newspaper reviews, 1994 - 2002
Oversize MC-141-08
Posters of readings by Peters
Box 1 Folder 12
Reviews of Robert Peters

Interviews

Box 1 Folder 13
Jason, Philip K. "Robert Peters: An Interview by Philip K. Jason", 1987

Published in The Signal Network International, vol. 1, issue no. 1. Annotated by Peters.

Box 1 Folder 14
Lerner, Linda. "Interview with Robert Peters", 1996

Includes "Questionnaire for Linda Lerner."

Box 1 Folder 15
Moffet, Penelope. "Life on the Outside: Robert Peters", 1985 fall

Published in Electrum Magazine.

Box 1 Folder 16
Oberc, Larry. "Answer to Larry's Questions"
Box 1 Folder 17
Oberc, Larry. "Talking to Robert Peters", 1993

Published in Oxygen.

Box 1 Folder 18
Picano, Felice. "Not Exactly a Good Gay Grandfather of Poetry", 2002 April

Published in Lambda Book Report.

Box 1 Folder 19
Weber, Mark. Peters' response to Mark's questions, 1994

Peters Family

Box 1 Folder 20
Keck Family genealogy (Peters' mother's family)
Box 1 Folder 21-22
Peters, Richard - Baby book, correspondence and memorabilia following Richard's death, 1955-1960
Box 2 Folder 1-4
Peters, Richard - Family correspondence surrounding his death, memorial record, photographs, and death journal written by Robert Peters, 1960
Box 2 Folder 5
Willard, Leora Pepple. "A Genealogical Record of Our Kinsfolks - Peters"

CORRESPONDENCE

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) CORRESPONDENCE: Arranged in two subseries: A) Family and B) Professional.

A) Family: Recent correspondence with Peters' two sons, Jeff and Robert, and his daughter, Meredith, among other family members.

B) Professional: Correspondence regarding the publication of Peters' poetry.

Family

Box 2 Folder 6-10
Peters, Jeff (son), 2000 - 2004
Box 3 Folder 1
Peters, Jeff (son), undated
Box 3 Folder 2-10
Peters, Meredith (daughter), 2001 - 2005
Box 3 Folder 11
Peters, Robert (son), 1994 - 2003
Box 4 Folder 1-2
Robert Peters' letters to all children, 2001 - 2004
Box 4 Folder 3
Family - Miscellaneous, 2002 - 2004

Professional

Box 4 Folder 4
5 AM Magazine , 1999 - 2002
Box 4 Folder 5
Alvarez, Lisa, 2004
Box 4 Folder 6
American Book Review (Rebecca Kaiser, editor), 2000 - 2003
Box 4 Folder 7
Bachardy, Don, 1970 - 2014

Photographs of artistic portraits of Robert Peters and Paul Trachtenberg included.

Box 4 Folder 8
Baker, Penny, 2001
Box 4 Folder 9
Balaban, John, 2003
Box 4 Folder 10
Balingit, Joann, 2002 - 2004

Poems enclosed.

Box 4 Folder 11
Ballard, Lara, 2002
Box 4 Folder 12
Banbow, Mr. and Mrs. Richard, 2002
Box 4 Folder 13
Barton, David, 1994

Poems enclosed.

Box 4 Folder 14
Baver, Dale, 2002 - 2003
Box 4 Folder 15
Benway Institute Studies

Undated.

Box 4 Folder 16
Berch, Eric, 1993
Box 4 Folder 17
Berg, Jim, 1998 - 2001

Regarding "The Isherwood Century."

Box 4 Folder 18
Blind Date , undated
Box 4 Folder 19
Bogen, Laurel Ann, 2001
Box 4 Folder 20
Bogg Publications, 1994
Box 4 Folder 21
Borchardt, Georges, Inc., 1994
Box 4 Folder 22
Bosveld, Jennifer (Pudding House Publications), 2000 - 2005
Box 4 Folder 23
Boyd, Greg (Asylum Arts), 2000 - 2004
Box 4 Folder 24
Boyd, Mary, 2004
Box 4 Folder 25
Brockmeier, Douglas, 2001
Box 4 Folder 26
Butscher, Ed, 2001 - 2002
Box 4 Folder 27
Cape Review (Wayne Atherton, editor), 1999
Box 4 Folder 28
Cahuenga Press, 2004
Box 4 Folder 29
Cesaretti, Robert, 2004
Box 4 Folder 30
Chandler, Jim (Thunder Sandwich) , 2001
Box 4 Folder 31
Chapman, David L., 2003 - 2004
Box 4 Folder 32
Chesnut, Glen, undated
Box 4 Folder 33
Chichetto, James, 2002 - 2004

Regarding tenureship at Stonehill College.

Box 4 Folder 34
Chiron Review (Ruth Kemper), 2002
Box 4 Folder 35
Chorlton, David, 2003
Box 4 Folder 36
Cigale, Alex, undated
Box 4 Folder 37
Cirino, Leonard, 2001

Contains broadsides.

Box 4 Folder 38
Coake, Art, 2001 - 2009
Box 4 Folder 39
Collins, Billy, 2002
Box 4 Folder 40
Collins, Richard, 2000 - 2010
Box 4 Folder 41
Congdon, Kirby, 2001 - 2005
Box 4 Folder 42
Connecticut Poetry Review , 2004 - 2005
Box 4 Folder 43
Cory, Jim, 2002 - 2009
Box 4 Folder 44
Cotter, Craig, 1999 - 2004
Box 5 Folder 1
Dakyns, Andrew, 2004 - 2005

Great grandson of Henry G. Dakyns (Alfred Tennyson's son's tutor).

Box 5 Folder 2
Dale, Scott, 2001 - 2002
Box 5 Folder 3
Davis, Gray
Box 5 Folder 4
Dewey, Fred, 2002
Box 5 Folder 5
Duffy, Dan, 2005
Box 5 Folder 6
Electronic Poetry Review (Doug Powell), 2002

Poems with line edits enclosed.

Box 5 Folder 7
Elysium Press (David Deiss), 2004
Box 5 Folder 8
Eshleman, Clayton, 2001
Box 5 Folder 9
Europa Publications (Alison Neale, associate editor), 2003
Box 5 Folder 10
Fellows, Will, 2001 - 2004
Box 5 Folder 11
Field, Edward, 2001 - 2006
Box 5 Folder 12
Fisher, David, 2002 - 2003

San Francisco poet.

Box 5 Folder 13
Flores, Cristian
Box 5 Folder 14
Ford, Michael, 2001
Box 5 Folder 15
Frank, Amelie, 2002
Box 5 Folder 16
Fulton, Len, 2002

Dust book publication.

Box 5 Folder 17
Gale Group, 2002
Box 5 Folder 18
Giles, Fiona, 1998 - 1999

Regarding "Pig-Family Game" reprint.

Box 5 Folder 19
Gilgun, John, 2002
Box 5 Folder 20
Glaze, Andrew, 2002 - 2003

Alabama poet.

Box 5 Folder 21
Handorf, Dug, 2002 - 2005
Box 5 Folder 22
Harrey, Jack, 2001 - 2002
Box 5 Folder 23
Hart, Henry, 2000
Box 5 Folder 24
Hathaway, Michael (Chiron Review) , 1998 - 2006
Box 5 Folder 25
Hauk, Barbara, 2003 - 2004
Box 5 Folder 26
Healy, Eloise Klein, 2005
Box 5 Folder 27
Healey, Trebor, 2003 - 2004

Los Angeles fiction writer.

Box 5 Folder 28
Heeltap (Richard Houff), 1999 - 2000
Box 5 Folder 29
Hewett, Greg, 2001
Box 5 Folder 30
Hippen, Robert, 2002
Box 5 Folder 31
Hofstadter, Marc, 2001

Poems and graphics enclosed.

Box 5 Folder 32
Holsclaw, Susan, 2001
Box 5 Folder 33
Home Planet News , 2000
Box 5 Folder 34-36
Hood, Charles, 2000 - 2005

Photos enclosed. Includes manuscript entitled "Tiger Songs".

Box 6 Folder 1
Hoppenbrouwers, Toke, 2005
Box 6 Folder 2
Hunt, Nan, 2002

Broadside enclosed.

Box 6 Folder 3
Iddings, Kathleen, 2001
Box 6 Folder 4
Johnston, Devin, 1999
Box 6 Folder 5
Jones, Bovien, 2003
Box 6 Folder 6
Jones, Seaborn, 2001 - 2004
Box 6 Folder 7
Kaiser, Rebecca (American Book Review, editor), 2003
Box 6 Folder 8
Katcher, Antje (Three Mile Harbor, editor)
Box 6 Folder 9
Kempher, Ruth Moon, 2001 - 2003

Broadside enclosed, Florida poet.

Box 6 Folder 10
Killacky, John, 1992
Box 6 Folder 11
Kim, Chungmi, 2003

Korean-American poet, Robert Peters review enclosed.

Box 6 Folder 12
Kostos, Dean (Painted Leaf Press), 1999
Box 6 Folder 13
Krause, Richard, 2002
Box 6 Folder 14
Kuzme, Greg, 2001
Box 6 Folder 15
Los Angeles Times Book Review (Steve Wasserman, editor), 1999
Box 6 Folder 16
Last, Curt, 2001 - 2002
Box 6 Folder 17
Leaping Dog Press, 2001 - 2003
Box 6 Folder 18
Lee, Terry, 2002
Box 6 Folder 19
Lerner, Linda, 1996 - 2005

Includes 1996 edition of Poets on the Line.

Box 6 Folder 20
Lev, Donald, 2001
Box 6 Folder 21
Library of Congress Copyright Office, 1996
Box 6 Folder 22
Lifshin, Lyn
Box 6 Folder 23
Linehan, Katherine, 2002

Oberlin College.

Box 6 Folder 24
Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2004
Box 6 Folder 25
Lummox Press, 2000
Box 6 Folder 26
Louisiana State University, 1993
Box 6 Folder 27
Mallory, Lee
Box 6 Folder 28
Manic d Press (Lisa Taplin), 1994

Excerpt from unpublished novel Candyman enclosed.

Box 6 Folder 29
Manners, Robert, 2001
Box 6 Folder 30
Manza, Jenny (Copper Canyon Press), 2001
Box 6 Folder 31
Marquis Who's Who in America (Fred Marks, managing director), 2002
Box 6 Folder 32
McClellan, Dennis, 2001
Box 6 Folder 33
McCombs, Judith, 2004 - 2014
Box 6 Folder 34
McCrie, Bob and Fulvia, 2001 - 2015
Box 6 Folder 35
McDaniel, Wilma E., 2000 - 2003
Box 6 Folder 36
McKee, Louis, 2001 - 2003
Box 6 Folder 37
McKinnon, Patrick

Poet.

Box 6 Folder 38
Metras, Gary, 2001

Poems enclosed.

Box 6 Folder 39
Millett, John, 2001 - 2002
Box 6 Folder 40
Minotaur Press (Jim Watson-Gove), 2004
Box 6 Folder 41
Mohr, Bill, 2002
Box 6 Folder 42
Mohring, Ron, 2000
Box 6 Folder 43
Murie, Martin, 2002
Box 6 Folder 44
Murphy, Sheila, 2002

Regarding Leo Connellan.

Box 6 Folder 45
Mycue, Edward, 2004
Box 6 Folder 46
Neon (Kirk Robertson, editor), 1999
Box 6 Folder 47
The New Yorker , 2002
Box 6 Folder 48
Northup, Harry and Holly Prado, 2001 - 2003

Poems enclosed.

Box 6 Folder 49
Nusbaum, Arthur S., 2001
Box 6 Folder 50
Offen, Ron (Free Lunch, editor), 2002 - 2009
Box 6 Folder 51
Parkinson, Carol, 2003
Box 6 Folder 52
Pearl (Barbara Hauk), 1993 - 2004
Box 6 Folder 53
Perchik, Simon, 2001
Box 6 Folder 54
Picano, Felice, 1998 - 2005

Los Angeles writer.

Box 6 Folder 55
Pliura, Vytautas, 2003
Box 6 Folder 56
Plumb, David, 2004

Poet.

Box 6 Folder 57
Plymell, Charles, 1998 - 2004
Box 7 Folder 1
Potts, Charlie
Box 7 Folder 2
Powers, Michael, 2002 - 2015
Box 7 Folder 3
Prado, Holly, 2002 - 2004

Los Angeles poet.

Box 7 Folder 4
Pygmy Forest Press (Leonard Cirino, editor), 2001

Includes broadsides.

Box 7 Folder 5
Questia Media, Inc. (Ashlee Ross), 2000
Box 7 Folder 6
Raindog , 2002 - 2003
Box 7 Folder 7
Ratch, Jerry, 2001 - 2009
Box 7 Folder 8
Ratner, Rochelle (American Book Review, editor), 2001 - 2003

New York poet, novelist.

Box 7 Folder 9
Red Hen Press (Mark Cull and Kate Gale, editors), 2001 - 2004
Box 7 Folder 10
Reynolds, Eric, 2001 - 2003

Graphic artist for Robert Peters' Love Poems for Robert Mitchum.

Box 7 Folder 11
River King Poetry Press (Wayne Lanter, editor), 2000
Box 7 Folder 12
Sandy, Stephen, 2001 - 2006
Box 7 Folder 13
Schneider, Dan, 2002
Box 7 Folder 14
Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers, 1999 - 2001
Box 7 Folder 15
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review
Box 7 Folder 16
Speer, Laurel, 2004
Box 7 Folder 17
Stier, Daryn, 1999
Box 7 Folder 18
Stoloff, Carolyn, 2001 - 2005

Poet and painter.

Box 7 Folder 19
Stolzfus, Ben, 2002
Box 7 Folder 20
Strongin, Lynn, 2002 - 2005

Poet and editor.

Box 7 Folder 21
Sundog (Jarret Keene, editor), 2000
Box 7 Folder 22
Suntup, Paul (Three Penny Poets, editor), 2000 - 2003

Council for Tebot Bach Anthology of California Poetry.

Box 7 Folder 23
Taggart, Phil, 2000 - 2006
Box 7 Folder 24
Thomas, John and Philomene Long, 2002 - 2007
Box 7 Folder 25
Thus Spake the Corpse (Mark Spitzer, editor), 2000
Box 7 Folder 26-27
Tieger, Harold and Helen, 1999-2002
Box 7 Folder 28
Titus, Tom
Box 7 Folder 29
Trachtenberg, Paul, 2001
Box 7 Folder 30
Turney, Robert, 2001 - 2004
Box 7 Folder 31
UCSD Soft Reserves Services, 1999
Box 7 Folder 32
University of Iowa Press, 1999
Box 7 Folder 33
University of Wisconsin Press, 1998 - 2003
Box 7 Folder 34
Urbanus Press (Peter Drizhal, editor), 1993
Box 7 Folder 35
Van Gogh's Ear (Ian Ayres, editor), 2004
Box 7 Folder 36
Vazquez, Paul, 2003 - 2005

Painter.

Box 7 Folder 37
Voss, Jason, 2001
Box 8 Folder 1
Wakoski, Diane, 2002

Poet.

Box 8 Folder 2
Warner, Bill (GLB Publishers), 1998 - 2004
Box 8 Folder 3
West Beach Books (Jim Ericson), 2001

Regarding Robert Peters' erotica submission.

Box 8 Folder 4
West, Eleanor (Sandy), 2001 - 2002
Box 8 Folder 5
Wheeler, Jackson, 2002
Box 8 Folder 6
Whoreson Dog (Dennis Nishi, editor), 1993
Box 8 Folder 7
Wilkie, Phil, 2001
Box 8 Folder 8
Willard, Leorah (great aunt)
Box 8 Folder 9
Williams, Jonathan, 2002
Box 8 Folder 10
Williams, Walter (One Institute Center for Advanced Studies, director), 2000
Box 8 Folder 11
Wisconsin River Valley Journal , 2003 - 2004
Box 8 Folder 12
Yaddo News
Box 8 Folder 13
Yamada, Mitsuye May, 2004 - 2005
Box 8 Folder 14
Yon, Paul, 2002
Box 8 Folder 15-17
Unidentified correspondents

WRITINGS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 3) WRITINGS: Arranged in nine subseries: A) Reviews, B) Novels, C) Short Fiction, D) Plays, E) Collected Poetry, F) Individual Poems, G) Non-Fiction, H) Essays, and I) Miscellaneous.

A) Reviews: Includes manuscript drafts of recent (1993-2001) book reviews by Peters' of other poet's published work. Arranged chronologically.

B) Novels: Drafts of unpublished novels, arranged chronologically.

C) Short Fiction: Includes three works.

D) Plays: Scripts for many of Peters' performances, including The Blood Countess, Ludwig of Bavaria and Serial Killer: A Play for Single Performer. The subseries also includes the costume for Ludwig of Bavaria.

E) Collected Poetry: Dating from 1992, materials include Love Poems for Robert Mitchum (1992), Familial Love and Other Misfortunes: Poems of My Early Years(2002), and Makar's Dozens (2006).

F) Individual Poems: Drafts of poems arranged alphabetically by title.

G) Non-Fiction: Published and unpublished works related to Peters' early life and career. Arranged chronologically.

H) Essays: Short essays on poets Katherine Ann Porter and Charles Bukowski, the Los Angeles poetry scene and a visit with William S. Burroughs.

I) Miscellaneous: Contains a tribute to Charles Bukowski of poems by other authors collected by Peters and files related to publication business.

Reviews

Box 8 Folder 18
Bibliography of Robert Peters reviews, 1988 - 1999
Box 8 Folder 19
Review of Dakota: A Spiritual Biography, by Kathleen Norris, 1993

Includes edited draft.

Box 8 Folder 20
Review of City of Coughing and Dead Radiators, by Martin Espada, 1994
Box 8 Folder 21
Review of Back: Brazil-Peru Poems, by Hugh Fox, 1997
Box 8 Folder 22
Review of "Fireflies", by Carol Muske, 1997

Includes correspondence with Michael Hathaway.

Box 8 Folder 23
Review of Quantum Genesis and Other Poems, by Philip Fried, 1997
Box 8 Folder 24
Review of Still Life with Buddy: A Novel Told in Fifty Poems, by Leslea Newman, 1997

Includes correspondence with Michael Hathaway.

Box 8 Folder 25
Review of Alphabet Soup: A Laconic Lexicon for Word Lovers, by Paul Trachtenberg, 1998

Includes draft copy.

Box 8 Folder 26
Review of Blessings The Body Gave, by Walter McDonald, 1998
Box 8 Folder 27
Review of Bukowski in the Bathtub, by Philomene Long, 1998

Includes correspondence with the author.

Box 8 Folder 28
Review of Esperanza: Poems for Orpheus, by Holly Prado, 1998

Draft with line edits and correspondence with Chicago Review.

Box 8 Folder 29
Review of In the Flesh: Undressing for Success, by Gavin Dillard, 1998

Includes correspondence with Michael Hathaway (editor, Chiron Review)).

Box 8 Folder 30
Review of New and Selected Poems, by Linda Lerner, 1998
Box 8 Folder 31
Review of Selling the Hammock, by Kate Gale, 1998
Box 8 Folder 32
Review of A Day for a Lay: A Century of Gay Poetry, by Gavin Geoffrey, 1999
Box 8 Folder 33
Review of Anytime Blues, by Linder Lerner, 1999
Box 8 Folder 34
Review of Blood and Tears: Poems for Matthew Shepard, ed. Scott Gibson, 1999
Box 8 Folder 35
Review of Early Grrrl, by Marge Piercy, 1999
Box 8 Folder 36
Review for Endless Tongue: 22 Semi-Automatics for Andre Breton, by Richard Houff, 1999

Incomplete.

Box 8 Folder 37
Review of Glass Town, by Lisa Russ Spaar, 1999

Includes correspondence regarding publishing in ABR and edited drafts.

Box 8 Folder 38
Review of God's Haircut and Other Remembered Dreams, by Ron Offen, 1999

Includes edited drafts.

Box 8 Folder 39
Review of House of Peace, by Marc Hofstadter, 1999

Includes correspondence with author.

Box 8 Folder 40
Review of Iceman: An Expansive Narrative: WWII, by John Millet, 1999
Box 8 Folder 41
Review of Lost River Mountain, by Charles Potts, 1999

Includes correspondence with The Cafe Review (editor, Wayne Atherton).

Box 8 Folder 42
Review of Betrayal's Like That, by John Bennett, 2000
Box 8 Folder 43
Review of Cool, Calm, and Collected: 1960-2000, by Carolyn Kizer, 2000

Includes edited draft.

Box 8 Folder 44
Review of Enemies of Time, by Donald Leu, 2000
Box 8 Folder 45
Review of Geography of the Forehead, by Ron Koertge, 2000
Box 8 Folder 46
Review of Modern Love: And Other Tall Tales, by Greg Boyd, 2000
Box 8 Folder 47
Review of "Osso Buco," by Billy Collins, 2000
Box 8 Folder 48
Review of Picking the Lock to Paradise, by Joan Jobe Smith, 2000
Box 8 Folder 49
Review of The Xopilote Cantos, by Charles Hood, 2000
Box 8 Folder 50
Review of Archaeology of Desire, by Miriam Sagan, 2001

Includes edited draft.

Box 8 Folder 51
Review of Borrowed Coats, by Wilma E. McDaniel, 2001

Draft.

Box 8 Folder 52
Review of The Cave: Selected and New Poems, by C.H. Hanzlicek, 2001
Box 8 Folder 53
Review of The Complete Poetry of James Hearst , 2001

Includes edited drafts.

Box 8 Folder 54
Review of Fuck You - Aloha - I Love You, by Juliana Spahr, 2001

Draft copy.

Box 8 Folder 55
Review of Loose Change, by Louis McKee, 2001

Includes chapbook with line notes by Robert Peters and correspondence.

Box 8 Folder 56
Review of The Million Dollar Hole, by Michael Casey, 2001
Box 8 Folder 57
Review of The Prisons, by Maggie Jaffe, 2001
Box 8 Folder 58
Review of Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems, by Denise Duhamel, 2001
Box 8 Folder 59
Various reviews - Incomplete, undated

Novels

Box 9 Folder 1-3
Joseph Lord , 1986

Unpublished novel; includes correspondence regarding publishing.

Box 9 Folder 4
Candyman , 1992

Correspondence regarding manuscript; unpublished novel.

Box 9 Folder 5
Hunting the Snark: A Compendium of New Poetic Terminology , 1996 - 2007

Correspondence, notes and review.

Box 9 Folder 6-7
Shadow and Stone

TS with line edits by Paul Trachtenberg; unpublished.

Short Fiction

Box 9 Folder 8
Bus Ride
Box 9 Folder 9
The King
Box 9 Folder 10
The Visitor
Box 9 Folder 11-12
Miscellaneous source material

Plays

Box 9 Folder 13
Performance and reading shows - Contacts and correspondence
Box 9 Folder 14
The Blood Countess , ca. 1985, 2007

Abbreviated acting version and review.

Box 9 Folder 15-16
Daisy and Mignionette: A Chamber Play for Three Actors

Includes source materials and poem by Richard Peabody.

Box 9 Folder 17
Hawker of Morwenstow , 1989

TS and two duplicates.

Box 10 Folder 1
Hawker of Morwenstow , 1989

Play adapted from Hawker (1984).

Box 10 Folder 2
Haydon: A Performance Work for Single Actor , 1990

Version with line notes for presentation at Festival of Britain.

Box 10 Folder 3-4
Ludwig and Blood Countess - Production notes and tour diaries, 1982 - 1988
Oversize FB-445 Folder 1
Ludwig - Costume
Box 10 Folder 5
Mengele's Uterus: The Sex Life of J. Edgar Hoover, A Fairy's Tale
Box 10 Folder 6
Mother Ann Lee of the Shakers
Box 10 Folder 7
Picnic in the Snow: Ludwig II of Bavaria
Box 10 Folder 8
Polaroids for a Serial Killer , 1991

Edited reading version.

Box 10 Folder 9
Railroad Spikes and a Bed of Shaved Ice: A Reading Version , 1991

Line edits for performance.

Box 10 Folder 10-11
Serial Killer: A Play for Single Performer

Includes 1992 and 1993 performance flyers and materials.

Box 10 Folder 12-13
A Mad King, Two Killers, Two Saints, A Pair of Siamese Twin Vaudeville Stars, and J. Edgar Hoover: Seven Short Plays Mainly for Solo Performers - Typescript and correspondence with Asylum Arts, 2001

Collected Poetry

Box 10 Folder 14
Picnic in the Snow: Ludwig of Bavaria - Review by Edward Butscher, 1983
Box 10 Folder 15
Good Night, Paul: Poems (1992) - Reviews and contracts
Box 10 Folder 17
Love Poems for Robert Mitchum (1992) - Correspondence and miscellaneous, 1981 - 2001

Drafts of Eric Reynolds' Mitchum graphics, photos, and chapbook enclosed.

Box 11 Folder 1-2
Love Poems for Robert Mitchum (1992) - Undated manuscript and cover illustration by Meredith Peters
Box 11 Folder 3
Poems: Selected and New, 1967-1991 (1992)

Revisions.

Box 11 Folder 4
Where the Bee Sucks: Workers, Drones, and Queens of Contemporary American Poetry (1994)

Correspondence and reviews.

Box 11 Folder 5
Newspoems , 2004

January 26.

Box 11 Folder 6-13
Familial Love and Other Misfortunes: Poems of My Early Years (2002), 1999 - 2003

Drafts and correspondence.

Box 12 Folder 1-5
Familial Love and Other Misfortunes: Poems of My Early Years (2002)

Drafts and proofs.

Box 12 Folder 6-7
Bob's selected poems, 2005
Box 12 Folder 8
Pulling Hens' Teeth: Poems 2005 , 2005 May 2
Box 12 Folder 9-28
Makar's Dozens (2006)

Includes poems from Pulling Hens' Teeth: "Adeline," "Berry-Gathering-Time Fears," "Bivouac: Ft. Jackson, SC," "Blephartis," Brownie Box Camera," "Cowboys at Reno," "Dietrich in Wisconsin," "Dunwich, the North Sea," "An Elegy for Marry Perry," "English Lake District Lover," "Fine Points," "For Paul on his Birthday," "Freaks at the Orange County Fair," "Frost: Early May," "Garter Snake Gurgitates a Toad," "Hiram Ewald," "How Old Men Die: Commemorating the Explorer," "Jeff and Akemi Return to Japan," "At Al Jolson's Tomb," and "July 4th Cemetery Walk."

Box 13 Folder 1-13
Makar's Dozens (2006)

Uncorrected proof, ephemera, and poems from Pulling Hens' Teeth,: "Mom's Friday Hair Ritual," "On the Night he Died They Sat Side by Side Swinging on Their Front Porch," "Old Man Observes a Shopping Mall Christmas Tree," "Osteoarthritis as a House Mate," "Picking Blueberries," "Pomegranates," "The Possum," "Saw-Rig, Home-Made," "Son," "Today: A Love Poem for Paul," "Traipsing Through a Local Cemetery," and "Wisconsin Snapshots."

Individual Poems

Box 13 Folder 14
Correspondence with small presses, 2000
Box 13 Folder 15
Poems published in magazines
Box 13 Folder 16
Poems submitted to journals and magazines, 1992 - 1994

Correspondence enclosed.

Box 13 Folder 17
Poetry reading flyers/promos
Box 13 Folder 18
78th Birthday Poem: Emir for a Day
Box 13 Folder 19
Aging
Box 13 Folder 20
Aging Father Loses His Children, 1994
Box 13 Folder 21
Arctic Nights, Wild Men, Venison
Box 13 Folder 22
Backyard Garden
Box 13 Folder 23
Basilisk in Hollywood
Box 13 Folder 24
Boy in a River as Painted by Seurat
Box 13 Folder 25
Casino
Box 13 Folder 26
Caught
Box 13 Folder 27
Celebrity poems (4-11, 15-36)

Includes "For Lawrence Welsh".

Box 13 Folder 28
Christmas
Box 13 Folder 29
Christmas Tree
Box 13 Folder 30
On Climbing a Mountain with a Son
Box 13 Folder 31
Compiegne, France
Box 13 Folder 32
Cranberries
Box 13 Folder 33
Departure Poem
Box 13 Folder 34
Dick and Jane Poems - Unpublished, 1982
Box 13 Folder 35
Disembodied Poem
Box 13 Folder 36
Elegy for Marry Perry
Box 13 Folder 37
Eskimo Dog
Box 13 Folder 38
Failed Poet
Box 13 Folder 39
For Paul on his 53rd birthday, 2001

25 November 2001.

Box 13 Folder 40
Frigates of Illusion: Childhood
Box 13 Folder 41
Gambling at the Pechanga Casino
Box 13 Folder 42
Geography, Agism, and Coprophagia, 1994
Box 13 Folder 43
Grand Retirement Chair
Box 13 Folder 44
Hare Blight
Box 13 Folder 45
Heaven's Barbecued Passenger
Box 13 Folder 46
High Tea Poem
Box 13 Folder 47
Howard Warner
Box 13 Folder 48
How to Cook a Flamingo Old Roman Style
Box 13 Folder 49
I Find You at Last in Patagonia
Box 13 Folder 50
Indian Burial Ground, Onyx, California, 1993
Box 13 Folder 51
Inertia: The Party Goer
Box 14 Folder 1
Inhabited Heart
Box 14 Folder 2
Intergalactic Travel, Heaven's Passenger
Box 14 Folder 3
It Takes Guts to Eat a Pet
Box 14 Folder 4
J. Edgar Hoover and the Lindbergh Baby
Box 14 Folder 5
Killing Turkey
Box 14 Folder 6
Las Vegas Poem #1
Box 14 Folder 7
Las Vegas Poem #3: My Brother's Keeper
Box 14 Folder 8
Last Testament
Box 14 Folder 9
Living Cycle
Box 14 Folder 10
Memory Loss in the Parking Lot
Box 14 Folder 11
Mountain Cataract
Box 14 Folder 12
Mountain Shape Memory
Box 14 Folder 13
My Son Returns to Japan
Box 14 Folder 14
Nude Father Sleeping with Son
Box 14 Folder 15
O Beautiful Ohio, in Dreams Again I See
Box 14 Folder 16
On Helping a Wounded Friend
Box 14 Folder 17
On the Steppes
Box 14 Folder 18
On Turtle Lake: November
Box 14 Folder 19
On Walking Nude on the San Bernardino Mountains
Box 14 Folder 20
Orange
Box 14 Folder 21
Our Gander
Box 14 Folder 22
Palm Springs
Box 14 Folder 23
Palm Springs Tournament
Box 14 Folder 23
Pig Family Game
Box 14 Folder 24
Playing in the Tavern Band
Box 14 Folder 26
Pomegranates
Box 14 Folder 27
Reno
Box 14 Folder 28
Reno Poem #2: Vignettes
Box 14 Folder 29
Running Away From Home
Box 14 Folder 30
Safe for the Night
Box 14 Folder 31
Sambone
Box 14 Folder 32
San Gorgonio Mountain Walk
Box 14 Folder 33
Saw-Rig, Home-Made, Picking Strawberries, Frost
Box 14 Folder 34
Skeleton Dance
Box 14 Folder 35
Skin
Box 14 Folder 36
Sleeping in the Mojave Desert
Box 14 Folder 37
So Far, Few Wolf Children Have Been Authenticated
Box 14 Folder 38
Songs for a Son (1967) - "I Hunger to Count Them" and "Easter"
Box 14 Folder 39
Suite on Death of Byron, 1999
Box 14 Folder 40
Sun is in the Trees
Box 14 Folder 41
Swallows Arrive at Capistrano
Box 14 Folder 42
Thanksgiving Turkey Ritual
Box 14 Folder 43
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel, 2000

Drafts.

Box 14 Folder 44
Trespassing
Box 14 Folder 45
Vision of Helen Tieger
Box 14 Folder 46
While You Were Gone
Box 14 Folder 47
Wisconsin Deer Hunting Tale: The Severed Foot
Box 14 Folder 48
Poem fragments and drafts

Non-Fiction

Box 14 Folder 49
Crunching Gravel: Growing Up in the Thirties (1988) - Reviews
Box 14 Folder 50
Nell's Story: A Woman from Eagle River (Nell Peters with Robert Peters,1995) - Correspondence and ephemera
Box 14 Folder 51-53
For You, Lili Marlene (1995) - Photographs, correspondence, and reviews
Box 14 Folder 54-55
Feather, A Child's Death and Life (1997) - Proofs, 1996
Box 15 Folder 1-4
Feather, A Child's Death and Life (1997) - Proofs, photographs, reviews, and correspondence, 1996

Revised page proof.

Box 15 Folder 5-11
The House that Robert Built - Drafts and correspondence, 1997 - 1998

Unpublished memoir of the 1960s and 1970s.

Box 16 Folder 1-3
Clean Writing, Dirty Shirts: A Memoir of the Sixties - Correspondence, drafts and source material, 1970 - 2001

Includes correspondence with Billy Collins and Jean Peters.

Essays

Box 16 Folder 4
Gab Poetry, or Shrike vs. Nightingale Music: Charles Bukowski
Box 16 Folder 5
Gay Isherwood Visits Straight Riverside, 1999

With copy edits.

Box 16 Folder 6
Katherine Ann Porter on Jews, Homosexuals, and Herself
Box 16 Folder 7
The L.A. Poetry Goose Keeps on Laying Plastic Eggs: Thoughts on West Coast Poetry
Box 16 Folder 8
Trip to Hardy County, 1989
Box 16 Folder 9
Visit with William S. Burroughs

See also Box 30, Folder 22.

Miscellaneous

Box 16 Folder 10
Charles Bukowski, 1920-1994

Poems by others collected by Peters.

Box 16 Folder 11-12
Publishing contracts and copyright agreements, 1968 - 1999
Box 16 Folder 13
Royalty statements

WRITINGS OF OTHERS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 4) WRITINGS OF OTHERS: Includes several works by Peter's relatives, as well as other authors.

Box 16 Folder 14
Dzama, Marcel. Artwork

Student of Peters.

Box 16 Folder 15
Hauk, Barbara
Box 16 Folder 16
Hofstadter, Marc, 2005
Box 16 Folder 17
Peters, Jefferson

Robert Peters' son.

Box 16 Folder 18
Peters, Meredith. Artwork
Box 16 Folder 19
Peters, Sam. "A Dakota Boyhood", 1981

Edited by Robert Peters.

Box 16 Folder 20
Trachtenberg, Paul.

Miscellaneous poems.

JOURNALS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 5) JOURNALS: Bound blank books (primarily dating from 1966-2004) with diaristic entries, poem drafts, memorabilia and photographs pasted in, and occasional letters that document Peters' life. Arranged chronologically.

Box 17 Folder 1
Journal and paste-up book, 1957
Box 17 Folder 2-15
Journals, 1966 January - 1973 November
Box 18 Folder 1-12
Journals, 1973 November - 1980 March
Box 19 Folder 1-14
Journals, 1980 April - 1984
Box 20 Folder 1-13
Journals, 1984 March - 1990
Box 21 Folder 1-11
Journals, 1990 September - 2000
Box 22 Folder 1-4
Journals, 2001 - 2004

PHOTOGRAPHS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 6) PHOTOGRAPHS. Arranged in two subseries: A) Photograph Albums and B) Prints and Slides.

A) Photograph Albums (1977-2003): Snapshot color prints pasted into albums that describe Peters' travels, especially with Paul Trachtenberg. At the end of this series is a World War II album documenting his service in Europe.

B) Prints and Slides: Largely documents Peters' performances and contains publicity images taken for book jackets and portfolios.

Photograph Albums

Box 23 Folder 1
Europe, 1977
Box 23 Folder 2
Tombs and Flowers: A Curiosity Assembled by Robert Peters, 1977 July 30
Box 23 Folder 3
Trip to England, 1981 summer
Box 23 Folder 4
Huntington Beach, 1977 - 1980
Box 23 Folder 5
S.F., 1981 summer
Box 23 Folder 6
1981-1982
Box 23 Folder 7-8
England; Eagle River family; Disneyland, Anaheim, 1982 summer
Box 23 Folder 9
1982 June - November
Box 24 Folder 1
S.F., 1982
Box 24 Folder 2
1983-1984
Box 24 Folder 3
England, 1985 July
Box 24 Folder 4-5
1986 - 1987
Box 24 Folder 6
London and Norwich, Isle of Man, 1987 summer
Box 25 Folder 1
Australia, 1988 May 22 - June 5
Box 25 Folder 2
1989
Box 25 Folder 3
Trip to England, 1989 August
Box 25 Folder 4
Scrapbook, 1990
Box 25 Folder 5
Wisconsin trip, 1991 April - June
Box 25 Folder 6
Scrapbook, 1991 - 1992
Box 26 Folder 1-6
1988 - 1993
Box 27 Folder 1
1993 August - 1994 January
Box 27 Folder 2
Scrapbook, 1994
Box 27 Folder 3-6
1995 - 1999
Box 28 Folder 1
Christmas with Karen and Rob, 1998
Box 28 Folder 2
Paris, 1999 April
Box 28 Folder 3-6
2001 - 2003
Box 28 Folder 6
Disneyland
Box 28 Folder 7
Ludwig and Countess performances
Box 29 Folder 1
Ludwig: Performance history
Box 29 Folder 2
Old photos printed from slides
Box 29 Folder 3-6
Miscellaneous

Includes modeling for book, and family.

Box 29 Folder 7
World War II album

Prints and Slides

Box 30 Folder 1
The Blood Countess , 1985 - 1989
Box 30 Folder 2
Dakyns, Janine in Huntington Beach, 1985-1986
Box 30 Folder 3-4
Robert Peters and family, 1923 - 1994
Box 30 Folder 5
Friends, visitors, and visits of Robert Peters, 1979 - 1990
Box 30 Folder 6
Gravestones
Box 30 Folder 7
Historical - Miscellaneous photos
Box 30 Folder 8
"Killer" costume
Oversize FB-443 Folder 12
Levin, Sheree - Portraits of Robert Peters and Paul Trachtenberg
Box 30 Folder 9
Mad King Ludwig, 1976 - 1988
Box 30 Folder 10
May's visit and Poet's Conference, 1990
Box 30 Folder 11
Mother Ann Lee's grave site
Box 30 Folder 12
Robert Peters with "No Regrets" mural
Box 30 Folder 13
Robert Peters and Paul Trachtenberg
Box 30 Folder 14
Photographs of Robert Peters, ca. 1980 - 1990
Box 30 Folder 15
Photographs of Robert Peters and family, sent by his sister Marjorie, 1925 - 1955
Box 30 Folder 16
Poetry readings, 1999 - 2000
Box 30 Folder 17
Purvis, Melvin, 1938
Box 30 Folder 18
Drawing by Eric Reynolds
Box 30 Folder 19
Robert Peters at Bowling Green, 1992 February
Box 30 Folder 20
Robert Peters teaching
Box 30 Folder 21
Robert Peters visits Burroughs, Lawrence, Kansas, 1991 February 3

See also Box 16, Folder 9.

Box 31 Folder 1
Robert Turney portraits of Robert Peters, ca. 1987
Box 31 Folder 2
Snapshots, 1977 - ca. 1987
Box 31 Folder 3
Trachtenberg, Paul, 1979 - 1985
Box 31 Folder 4
Travels, 1985 - 1992
Box 31 Folder 5
UC Riverside's Writer's Conference, 1982 February

February.

Oversize FB-447 Folder 3
Will Kirkland photograph album of images of Peters

SOUND RECORDINGS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 7) SOUND RECORDINGS. Arranged in three subseries: A) Readings by Peters, B) Readings by Others and C) Interviews.

A) Readings by Peters: Audiocassette tapes of poetry readings at UC Irvine and other venues.

B) Readings by Others: Tapes collected by Peters.

C) Interviews: Audio versions of interviews with Peters.

Readings by Peters

Box 32 Folder 1
Box 32 Folder 2-3
Box 32 Folder 4
Box 32 Folder 5
Box 32 Folder 7
Box 32 Folder 8
Box 32 Folder 11
Box 32 Folder 15
Box 32 Folder 17
Box 33 Folder 15
Box 33 Folder 1-3

Readings by Others

Box 33 Folder 10
Box 33 Folder 11
Box 33 Folder 12
Box 33 Folder 13
Box 33 Folder 17
Box 34 Folder 2
Box 34 Folder 3
Box 34 Folder 4