Manuscripts
Department of Special Collections
Washington University Libraries
Washington University in St. Louis

Finding-Aid for the Cid Corman Papers (WTU00030)

Finding aid prepared by:
Special Collections Staff

Summary Information

Title: Cid Corman Papers
Creator: Corman, Cid, 1924 - , American author and editor
Call number: WTU00030
Language: English

Access and Use:

Source:

Unknown.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Processing Information:

Processed by Washington University Department Special Collections Staff.

Biography

Cid Corman was born in Boston and graduated from Tufts University in 1945. He studied in a graduate program at the University of Michigan, but left the university to travel before he completed a degree. In 1948, Corman returned to Boston where he started “This Is Poetry,” a program of poetry readings, on radio station WMEX. In the three years that he hosted the show, Corman presented the work of numerous poets to his radio audience, including Robert Creeley, John Crowe Ransom, Theodore Roethke, Stephen Spender, and John Ciardi, among others. In 1951, Corman began publishing Origin , a poetry magazine which featured the work of many of the finest young poets of the day. He moved to Europe in 1954 where he worked extensively with Creeley and Paul Blackburn. Corman has long been associated with many of the poets who comprised what came to be called the Black Mountain Group, including Creeley, Blackburn, Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, and Denise Levertov. Following a short period in the United States, Corman moved to Japan in the late 1950's. Corman was a prolific poet and translated from both French and Japanese. He edited and published numerous series of Origin from Kyoto during his years there, and it remained a vibrant and influential publication until his death in 2004.

Collection Scope and Content Note

Scope and Contents Note

Washington University's Corman Papers consist almost entirely of correspondence between the author and the book dealer Henry Wenning from 1962-1964, most of which deals with the distribution of Origin Press materials and books, and with Corman's life and work in Japan.

Contents List

		Title
box-folder   -/-		Papers 1962-1964 (36 items)    Scope: Washington University's Corman Papers consist almost entirely of correspondence between the author and the book dealer Henry Wenning from 1962-1964, most of which deals with the distribution of Origin Press materials and books, and with Corman's life and work in Japan.