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Special Collections and Archives

Will Petersen, Papers, 1956-94

Will Petersen, Papers, 1956-94

Inventory

Prepared for the WWW by Barbara Bass, May 21, 2002; Updated September 17, 2002
2 document cases, .66 cu. ft., 11th floor

Biographical Note

Lithographer, painter, and poet, Will Petersen (1928-1994) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the United State Army during the Korean Conflict and also served a year in Japan, where he later returned to live and study Japanese calligraphy, printmaking and Noh performance. After his service in Korea, he lived for a time in the Oakland, California, area and came in contact with many poets of the Beat Generation, including Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Jack Kerouac, and Cid Corman. In addition to teaching at Ohio State University and West Virginia University, Morgantown, he founded the Plucked Chicken Press through which he published works of art and poetry by many different artists.

Scope and Content

Petersen's papers consist of correspondence between Petersen, L. Hubbell, Philip Whalen and Tessa Lowell from 1956 to 1982. There is also some correspondence between Will Petersen and Jim Lowell dating from 1963 to 1993. For additional correspondence to Will Petersen, see the Gary Snyder, Manuscripts collection. Box 2 contains manuscripts and miscellaneous publications.

Box 1

Folder -- Contents

  1. Apr. 3, 1956: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen
  2. Sept. 15, 1956: L. Hubbell to Mrs. Will Petersen
  3. Sept. 21, 1956: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen
  4. Nov. 22, 1956: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen
  5. Dec. 24, 1956: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen
  6. Apr. 19, 1957: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen
  7. July 6, 1957: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  8. Aug. 31, 1957: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  9. Oct. 28, 1957: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  10. Nov. 22, 1958: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  11. Apr. 23, 1973: Will Petersen to Philip Whalen
  12. July 30, 1972: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  13. July 8, 1974: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  14. July 20, 1974: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  15. Nov. 16, 1974: Will Petersen to Tessa Lowell
  16. Mar. 3, 1975: Will Petersen to Philip Whalen
  17. May 12, 1975: Philip Whalen to Will Petersen
  18. May 14, 1975: Will Petersen to Philip Whalen
  19. Sept. 6, 1981: Will Petersen to James Lowell
  20. Apr. 6, 1982: Will Petersen to James Lowell
  21. n.d.: L. Hubbell to Will Petersen

Items received after initial processing are arranged by year of correspondence.

  1. 1963-1969: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  2. 1970-1973: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  3. 1973: Will Petersen to Jim and Tessa Lowell
  4. 1974-1975: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  5. 1977: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  6. 1981: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  7. 1982: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  8. 1983: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  9. 1984: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  10. 1985: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  11. 1988: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  12. 1989: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  13. 1990: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  14. 1991: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  15. 1993: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  16. no date: Will Petersen to Jim Lowell
  17. Apr. 1, 1994: From Tom Nakashimia read at Will's memorial

Box 2

Folder -- Contents

Note: All manuscripts below are from a book commemorating Gary Snyder's 60th birthday, Gary Snyder: Dimensions of a Life (Sierra Club, 1990).

  1. Manuscript [draft, with autograph additions and corrections]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After, [1989?]
  2. Manuscript [manuscript copy, inscribed by the author to "Special Collections Library"]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After, 15 July 1989
  3. Manuscript [manuscript copy, inscribed by the author to "Jim"]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After, 15 July 1989
  4. Manuscript [final manuscript copy]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After, 9 Jan. 1990
  5. Manuscript [final manuscript copy, inscribed by the author to "James"]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After, 9 Jan. 1990
  6. Manuscript [final revision, inscribed by the author to "James"]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After [1990]
  7. Manuscript [final revision, signed by the author]: September Ridge, 1957: Before & After [1990]
  8. Miscellaneous publications by Petersen:
    • "Buddha's Knee: Images from the Land of the Rising Sun." World. n.1(1983): 4-15.
    • "From a Notebook." Doshisha Chimes: Journal of Doshisha U. E. S. S. (1962): 56-58.
    • "Hagoromo 63."
    • "The Mask." The Ear in a Wheatfield. Second Series, n.9 (July 1974): 3-38.
    • So 'E Sez: Matsushita English Newsletter. v.2 n.1(August 1963). [Petersen is listed as Managing Editor]
    • "Visual/Verbal/Musical Structures." Reflections. (April 1977): 2.
  9. Miscellaneous, [various dates]

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