Papers of American poet Bob Perelman, documenting his career as a poet, professor, literary critic, and one of the founders of the Language poetry movement on the West Coast.
Bob Perelman Papers, 1964-2016 (MSS 740)
Restrictions: Audiocassettes in boxes 11 & 24 are restricted. Listening copies may be available
for researchers.
Extent: 15 Linear feet (34 archives boxes, 1 flat box, 3 map case folders)
Robert Lawrence Perelman was born on December 2, 1947 in Youngstown, Ohio to Mark and Evelyn Perelman. An aspiring musician, he studied at Interlochen and then entered the University of Rochester as a music major before transferring to the University of Michigan's classics department in 1966. In 1969, Perelman was awarded a Bachelor of Arts by the University of Michigan, followed by a Master of Arts for classical studies in 1970 and a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1972. He held various teaching positions in Iowa and New England, and was cofounder and editor of Hills magazine, which continued publication through 1983.
Perelman married artist Francie Shaw in 1975. After traveling in Guatemala, they moved to San Francisco in 1976. Their children Max and Reuben were born in 1979 and 1983. Many of Perelman's published works, such as Playing Bodies (2003) were produced in collaboration with Shaw.
In San Francisco, Perelman became actively involved in the Language poetry movement, working with West Coast poets Ron Silliman, Rae Armantrout, Barrett Watten, Carla Harryman, Lyn Hejinian, Kit Robinson, and Steve Benson. Perelman published several volumes of poetry and one play (The Alps, 1980) before returning to graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. His Ph.D. dissertation, The Illegible Narratives of Modernist Genius: Pound, Zukofsky, Stein, and Joyce, was published in 1990.
Perelman was hired by the University of Pennsylvania as assistant professor of English in 1990. He was promoted to associate professor in 1995 and professor in 2001. In addition to his poetry, he is known for his literary criticism (The Trouble with Genius, 1994, and The Marginalization of Poetry, 1996) and his translations of poetry including Catullus, Vallejo, Salamun, and modern Russian poets. Perelman retired from teaching full time at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 and is now Professor of English Emeritus.
The Bob Perelman Papers document Perelman's career as a poet, professor, literary critic, and translator from 1964-2016. The collection includes correspondence and collaborative works with other prominent poets, writings and translations by Perelman, ephemera, interviews, conference and teaching materials, and photographs.
Arranged in thirteen series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) EPHEMERA, 4) CONFERENCES AND READINGS, 5) TEACHING MATERIALS, 6) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 7) WRITINGS, 8) COLLABORATIVE WORKS, 9) PHOTOGRAPHS, 10) NOTEBOOKS, 11) WRITINGS, 12) MISCELLANEOUS, and 13) NOTEBOOKS.
The collection was processed in stages at different times, first in 2012, and then in 2014 and 2019 to accomodate additions.