Lindley Williams Hubbell papers, 1933-2005

Summary Information

Abstract

The collection contains the correspondence and written works (both published and unpublished) of the poet and ex-patriot, Lindley Williams Hubbell.

Description

Summary

The collection consists predominantly of correspondence from Lindley Williams Hubbell and compiled by friends. There are also early passports of Hubbell's, his official expatriation documents, business cards, drafts of creative works, and several published books and pamphlets written by Lindley Williams Hubbell.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 3 series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lindley Williams Hubbell Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Acquisition

Robert Wilbur Gift in memory of Roland O. Baughman, 1968. Gift from Hiroaki and Nancy Sato to Columbia University in 1998; gift from Yoko Dano to Columbia University in 1999; gift from the International House of Japan to Columbia University in 2002; gift from David Burleigh to Columbia University in 2010.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 07/--/89.

Cataloged Lea Osborne July 2010.

Processed Vanessa Cano June 2010.

Revision Description

2010-06-28 xml instance created by Lea Osborne

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical Note

Lindley Williams Hubbell, poet, translator, and expatriate, was born to a well-to-do family in Hartford, Connecticut on the 3rd of June, 1901.

Hubbell's formal education was brief. He dropped out of Hartford High School after two years and was subsequently educated by private tutors in Greek, Latin and Provencal. Having an affinity for languages, Hubbell later learned German, French, and Italian from a polyglot aunt.

Hubbell spent the bulk of his American career, from 1925-1946, as a reference librarian at the New York Public Library. He would rely on his skills in library sciences later in his life, during his initial time living in Japan.

Hubbell received a Yale Younger Poets award in 1927, and his books of poetry were published by major publishers in the US. He was an early admirer of Gertrude Stein; he corresponded with her and wrote an article defending her first early novels. He was a regular companion of Stein's during her 1934 trip to New York City.

Though Hubbell never went to university, from 1946-1953 he was the Head of the Literature Department at Randall School in Hartford, Connecticut, where he taught the history of drama, Shakespeare, Ibsen and Modern Poetry.

In 1953, after the death of a cousin and the consequent inheritance he received, Hubbell moved to Japan and began to work as a cataloger at the library in Daitokuji Temple. This would lead to his professorship at Doshisha University and later to his becoming a Japanese citizen (1960). Once he had taken Japanese citizenship, Hubbell never again left Japan and officially changed his name to the Japanese, Shuseki Hayashi.

Hubbell was an admirer of Nô drama and saw 186 out of the extant 240 plays, 849 performances in all. He helped translate Kadensho (secret teachings on Nô performance) by Zeami (1363 - 1443), published by the foundation of Sumiya-Shinobe Scholoarship (1968). He also dedicated himself to Shinto, especially to the beauty of its ceremonies and rituals, its music and dance.

In 1970 Hubbell, along with his friends and fellow scholars Hisao Kanaseki and Yoko Danno, established a non-profit, private press known as the Ikuta Press. Through this Hubbell published 16 volumes of his own poetry and prose.

Hubbell retired from Doshisha in 1970 and went on to teach at Mukogawa Women's University in Nishinomiya until the age of 86. He continued to write throughout his later life. Lindley Williams Hubbell passed away in 1994 in the Kunishima Hospital in Kyoto.

A memorial stone was installed by his former students, friends and colleagues in the precincts of Kannon-ji Temple in Oh-yamazaki, Kyoto.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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