George Bogin papers, 1938-1997, bulk 1953-1988

George Bogin papers, 1938-1997, bulk 1953-1988

Summary Information

Abstract

The papers of George Bogin consist primarily of drafts and typescripts of his poetry and translations. Also included is correspondence, biographical material, and a copy of the musical score for Lloyd Ultan's Pitchipoi, The Children of Drancy, which incorporated Bogin's poem, "Pitchipoi."

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1447
Bib ID:
6620304 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Bogin, George
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
4.62 linear feet (11 boxes 1 oversized musical score)
Language(s):
English , Italian , French .
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.

Flat Box # 739 is located on-site

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.

Description

Summary

Bogin's papers consist primarily of drafts and typescripts of his poetry and translations, but also include correspondence, biographical materials, and a copy of the musical score for Lloyd Ultan's "Pitchipoi, The Children of Drancy", which incorporated Bogin's poem "Pitchipoi.".

The strength of the papers is in their documentation of Bogin's work on poetry and translations. Bogin was well-organized in his creative process; most of his individual drafts are labeled with titles, dates, and a place of composition. Multiple drafts are also numbered in sequence. Most of the drafts are filed by title, although there are a few typescripts for larger collections. Bogin planned to publish a second book, and although there is no typescript, there is a list of the poems meant for this work filed in Box 11. There are a few published items from his time at Columbia University (1938-1939), otherwise, there is no documentation of his early work in his papers.

There is some correspondence related to Bogin's published material, as well as a few items of correspondence with Alain Bosquet, Robert Bly, Malcolm Cowley, and Lloyd Ultan.

Arrangement

This collection has been left in its original physical order, but is intellectually arranged in three series.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing 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.

Flat Box # 739 is located on-site

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); George Bogin papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accrual

No additions are expected

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was: Source of acquisition--Magda Bogin. Method of acquisition--acquired from; Date of acquisition--August 2002.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

This collection was processed b Catherine N. Carson.

Finding aid written by Catherine N. Carson in May 2008.

Collection is processed to folder level.

Revision Description

2008-11-07 File created.

2009/01/15 xml document instange created by Patrick Lawlor

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

History

George Bogin, a poet and translator, was born on April 28, 1920 in New York City. A lifelong New Yorker; he was raised in Queens and graduated from Columbia College in 1939. He served in World War II, and ultimately settled in Great Neck on Long Island, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was a passionate supporter of human rights and civil liberties, and was a founder of the Great Neck Peace Forum in the early 1950s. He married Ruth Fleischer (1920-1999), with whom he had two daughters, Nina and Magda Bogin.

He was widely published in literary magazines and anthologies, including The Paris Review, The American Poetry Review, The Nation, Chicago Review, Columbia Forum, New Letters, Massachusetts Review, Kansas Quarterly, and Ploughshares. He also held residencies at the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Tyrone Guthrie Center in Annaghmekerrig, Ireland. One of Bogin's poems , "Pitchipoi," was set to music for orchestra and soloists by Lloyd Ultan in Pitchipoi, The Children of Drancy" (1983). His translation work was primarily from the French, and included Bosquet and Supervielle. He published two books, a translation of Jules Supervielle's works, Selected Poems and Reflections on the Art of Poetry (1985), and his own book of poetry, In a Surf of Strangers (1981).

During the last few years of his life, Bogin struggled with lymphoma, and ultimately succumbed to the disease on October 7, 1988. After his death, Bogin's friends and family established the George Bogin Memorial Award. This is awarded for "a selection of four or five poems that reflects the encounter of the ordinary and the extraordinary, uses language in an original way, and takes a stand against oppression in all its forms."

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.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Correspondence
Name
Bogin, George
Drancy (Concentration camp) -- Songs and music
Supervielle, Jules, 1884-1960
Ultan, Lloyd, 1929-1998
Subject
American poetry -- 20th century
Poetry
Poets, American -- 20th century
Vocal duets with orchestra -- Scores

Series I: Biographical Materials, 1982-1988, undated

This series consists of Bogin's résumé and reading cards, which include information on the use and publication of his poetry. The files also include information on Bogin's awards, fellowships, interviews, and poetry readings. The "Readings" and "Poetry Prize" files also includes general biographical statements on Bogin.


Box 3 Folder 6

Readings (Material on readings actually performed by Bogin, correspondence, and requests for readings),, 1976-1985


Box 6 Folder 6

Poets for Peace Advertisement, 1982


Box 6 Folder 8-9

Poetry Prize, 1988-1997, (2 Folders)

(The George Bogin Memorial Award; includes biographical information)


Box 6 Folder 10

Poetry Society of American Awards Ceremony, 1985


Box 10 Folder 4

Résumé, circa, 1988


Box 11 Folder 2-3

Bogin's Poetry Cards for Readings, Undated, (2 Folders)

Series II: Correspondence, 1955, 1962-1997

Most of the correspondence in this series is related to the publication of Bogin's works or the performance of Pitchipoi, The Children of Drancy. There is also one folder of business correspondence, "Film 66 May," that is related to H. Bogin & Son, Inc. After 1988, Bogin's affairs were handled by his widow, Ruth Bogin. There is some additional correspondence filed with Bogin's poetry files. These files are noted in the container list for Series III: Poetry.


Box 5 Folder 14

Treacle Press Woodbine Press, circa, 1975

("Alone in the House: Poems by George Bogin")


Box 5 Folder 15

Correspondence, General: Open and Closed and Miscellaneous Items, 1980-1986


Box 5 Folder 16

Film 66, May, 1962-1966


Box 6 Folder 4

Contemporary Reader Copyright, 1955, 1973, 1955, 1973

(Includes correspondence and the publication with Bogin's poem "Two Poems")


Box 6 Folder 7

UCF (University of Central Florida) Press, 1980

(Mostly related ton a Surf of Strangers)


Box 10 Folder 1

Paul Janeczko Correspondence (and Other Anthology Correspondence),, 1986-1997


Box 10 Folder 2

Correspondence (Poetry)--Closed, 1974-1976


Box 11 Folder 10

Pitchipoi Files, Permissions and Lloyd Ultan Correspondence, etc.,, 1983-1987

Series III: Poetry, 1938-1939, 1953-1988

This series consists of drafts, typescripts, and a few copies of items from publications. There is also some correspondence interfiled with Bogin's poetry files. The container list makes note of files that include correspondence.


Subseries 1: Original Works, 1938-1939, 1953-1988

This subseries includes material related to original works of poetry by George Bogin. This material consists primarily of drafts; there is also a typescript that appears to be forIn a Surf of Strangers.Bogin was planning to publish a second full-length book of poetry. Although there is no typescript, there is a handwritten list of poems, apparently made by Ruth Bogin, of poems that were meant to be included in the book.

Bogin kept highly organized draft files. In most cases, the drafts are numbered, dated, titled, and include the location where he composed the draft. The files were left in their original order.

One of Bogin's poems, "Pitchipoi," was set to music inPitchipoi, The Children of Drancyby Lloyd Ultan. Drafts of the poem and a copy of the musical score are included in this subseries.


Box 1 Folder 1

Daughter II PPS 201, 1959 February 1-November 12, 1959 February


Box 1 Folder 2-3

Daughter Rewrite, 1961-1963, (2 Folders)


Box 1 Folder 4

50 Poets-Trees, 1954


Box 1 Folder 5

The Facts, 1974

(Also titled "Homage à Magritte")


Box 1 Folder 6

Bartender, 1979


Box 1 Folder 7

Grandfather's Room, 1958-1959, 1973-1974, 1958-1959, 1973-1974


Box 1 Folder 8

Georges L'Oiseleur and René Dova, 1979


Box 1 Folder 9

Grandmother, 1963, 1974-1977, 1963, 1974-1977


Box 1 Folder 10

Great Neck, 1960-1961


Box 1 Folder 11

Hurricane, 1955-1957


Box 1 Folder 12

How to Write a Poem, 1971


Box 1 Folder 13

Home, 1973-1974

(Also titled "The House")


Box 1 Folder 14

Home Movies, 1974


Box 1 Folder 15

Strand, 1973-1974


Box 1 Folder 16

Haircut, 1972-1974


Box 1 Folder 17

The Initiate, 1960, 1974, 1960, 1974


Box 1 Folder 18

Jew Remembers, 1957-1958


Box 2 Folder 1

Pitchipoi, 1982


Box 2 Folder 2

Poems and Their Burdens, 1974


Box 2 Folder 3

A Poem Entitled Untitled, 1978-1982


Box 2 Folder 4

Pogrom, 1958


Box 2 Folder 5

Praskovya Feodorovna, 1975


Box 2 Folder 6

Arterio, 1957-1964, 1971, 1957-1964, 1971


Box 2 Folder 7

Rifke, 1956-1958


Box 2 Folder 8

Singular, 1974-1976


Box 2 Folder 9

The Snows, 1982-1983


Box 2 Folder 10

Square du Vert Galant, 1972


Box 2 Folder 11

Stalemate, 1959-1963, 1971, 1959-1963, 1971


Box 2 Folder 12

The Store, 1982


Box 2 Folder 13

Still Life, 1982


Box 2 Folder 14

Stranger, 1974


Box 2 Folder 15

Song, 1956-1957


Box 2 Folder 16

Stieglitz, 1954-1959


Box 2 Folder 17

The Suicides, 1974

(Ernest Hemingway and Hart Crane)


Box 2 Folder 18

A Summer Night on Long Island, 1964, 1973-1983, 1964, 1973-1983


Box 2 Folder 19

"A Sunday at the Beach, 1938", 1983


Box 2 Folder 20

Abraham, 1982


Box 2 Folder 21

Alone in the House, 1973


Box 2 Folder 22

The Attaché Case, 1973


Box 2 Folder 23

Arletty-Garance, 1974


Box 2 Folder 24

At Sixty-Four, 1980-1990

(Includes correspondence with Ploughshares)


Box 3 Folder 2

Film--What Does Your Father Do?, 1957-1959

(Includes copy of "The Nation" in which the poem appeared in 1958 See Also Box 4)


Box 3 Folder 3

Translations, 1956-1957, Undated, 1956-1957, Undated


Box 3 Folder 4

Veinte poemas de George Bogin: Selección y traducciones de Magda Bogin y Mathilde Daviu,, 1985


Box 3 Folder 7

Poems for Xeroxing, circa, 1980-1984


Box 3 Folder 8

The Mediterranean, 1985-1986


Box 3 Folder 9

George Bogin, 1986-1988

(Poem)


Box 3 Folder 10

Martha Nelson, 1977-1979, 1984, 1993, 1977-1979, 1984, 1993

(Includes correspondence between Ruth Bogin and Mike Kirkland)


Box 3 Folder 11

This Tree is Mine, 1984


Box 3 Folder 12

Souvenir, 1972-1979


Box 3 Folder 13

Cynic, 1981


Box 3 Folder 14

Snow, 1978-1980


Box 3 Folder 15

The Furniture, 1975, 1988, 1975, 1988


Box 3 Folder 16

The Actor, 1985


Box 3 Folder 17

The Graves of My Grandparents, 1974, 1985-1988, 1974, 1985-1988


Box 3 Folder 18

Immortality, 1973, 1979, 1973, 1979


Box 3 Folder 19

When Things Run Deep, 1972, 1979, 1972, 1979


Box 3 Folder 20

Friends, 1975


Box 3 Folder 21

Short Poems, 1971, 1981-1983, 1971, 1981-1983


Box 3 Folder 22

The Eisenhower Cubes, 1985-1988


Box 4 Folder 1

Notes on a Black Sheep, 1979-1983


Box 4 Folder 2

Jean, 1978-1984

(Jean De Koven)


Box 4 Folder 3

The Beginning of Something, 1972-1973


Box 4 Folder 4

Snow Drop, 1975-1979


Box 4 Folder 5

Catalogue, 1959-1960

(Short notes on various autobiographical episodes)


Box 4 Folder 6

Places, 1976-1977


Box 4 Folder 7

Innocence, Greed and Envy, 1978-1979


Box 4 Folder 8

Joe Cooney II, 1978, 1982, 1978, 1982


Box 4 Folder 9

Rewrite - Treasure, 1963


Box 4 Folder 10

Treasure, 1959-1961


Box 4 Folder 11

The Towel, 1982


Box 4 Folder 12

Troopship for France, War II, 1973-1974


Box 4 Folder 13

Triavil, 1974


Box 4 Folder 14

A Twilight, 1982


Box 4 Folder 15

Three Poems, 1958


Box 4 Folder 16

Van Diemen Street, 1972-1973


Box 4 Folder 17

The Visitor, 1974


Box 4 Folder 18

Waldo, 1982


Box 4 Folder 19

What Does Your Father Do?, 1956-1957

(See Also Box 3)


Box 4 Folder 20

Whistle, 1954-1960


Box 4 Folder 21

A Night's Work, 1979


Box 4 Folder 22

A Young Man Dreams of Hitchhiking, 1976-1982


Box 4 Folder 23

The 1000-Room Hotel, 1974-1977


Box 4 Folder 24

To Be Human, 1982-1983


Box 4 Folder 25

At 64, Undated

(Includes a set of "Sample Poems")


Box 4 Folder 26

Repro Art, circa, 1980s

(Waves)


Box 4 Folder 27

Mr. R., 1972-1974


Box 4 Folder 28

Elegy for Joey, 1984-1986


Box 5 Folder 1

Art, 1975, 1988, 1975, 1988


Box 5 Folder 2

[l'inconnue noyée dans la Siene], Undated

(Newspaper clipping of a woman's face)


Box 5 Folder 3

Song of the Corpses, 1985-1988


Box 5 Folder 4

The Breast, 1983-1988


Box 5 Folder 5

MacDowell Poetry Notes, 1986 Winter, 1986


Box 5 Folder 6

Sarah, 1978, 1985-1988, 1978, 1985-1988


Box 5 Folder 7

Ascona, 1974-1976


Box 5 Folder 8

The Fish in Sargent Lake, 1982, 1988, 1982, 1988


Box 5 Folder 9

"MacDowell Notes 1983", 1974, 1983, 1974, 1983


Box 5 Folder 10

VCCA Summer, 1985


Box 5 Folder 11

Untitled, 1984-1986


Box 5 Folder 12

The Company of Women, 1982-1984


Box 5 Folder 13

[Alone in the House : Poems by George Bogin], 1975 or Later, 1975

(See Also: Box 11.)


Box 6 Folder 1

Notebook Pages, 1983-1987

(Poems)


Box 6 Folder 11

Poetry, Undated


Box 7 Folder 1-2

Work on 2 Landscapes, 1953 November-1954 March 9, 1953 November-1954 March, (2 Folders)


Box 7 Folder 3

Landscape, 1957-1958


Box 7 Folder 4

Early Work on the Lost Hotel and the Canoes, 1972


Box 7 Folder 5

The Losers, 1972-1973


Box 7 Folder 6

Mainguth, 1954-1957

(Also titled, "Soldier, 1943")


Box 7 Folder 7

Peopled Noon, 1954-1957


Box 7 Folder 8

Philosophy 148, 1965-1971


Box 7 Folder 9

Point of View, 1955-1960


Box 7 Folder 10

Nadya, 1973


Box 7 Folder 11

The Harbor, 1975-1979


Box 7 Folder 12

Neighbor, 1957-1960


Box 7 Folder 13

Never Died, 1960-1964


Box 7 Folder 14

"1934", 1970-1974


Box 7 Folder 15

On Hearing an Aluminum Disc Again of my Voice in 1938, 1983, 1938, 1983


Box 8 Folder 1

Blue, 1974


Box 8 Folder 2

Bodies, 1975, 1979, 1975, 1979


Box 8 Folder 3

Calamine Lotion, 1972-1974


Box 8 Folder 4

Cape Cod, 1964-1971


Box 8 Folder 5

Joe Cooney's Story, 1973


Box 8 Folder 6

Coup, 1975


Box 8 Folder 7

Cubes, 1978-1979


Box 8 Folder 8

Decalogue, 1956-1957


Box 8 Folder 9

The Delegation to Great Neck, 1972


Box 8 Folder 10

A Good Time for Poetry, 1974


Box 8 Folder 11

Quannacut, 1972-1973


Box 8 Folder 12

Avenue, 1973-1974, 1981, 1973-1974, 1981


Box 8 Folder 13

Snowman, 1974


Box 8 Folder 14

Uncle, 1973-1974


Box 8 Folder 15

Fike, 1954-1960


Box 8 Folder 16

Detached from "The Beginning of Something,", 1973-1975


Box 9 Folder 1

"1920", 1979, 1987, 1979, 1987


Box 9 Folder 2

Dust, 1978-1979


Box 9 Folder 3

Ed Conn, 1974, 1983-1987, 1974, 1983-1987


Box 9 Folder 4

Ashes, 1982-1987


Box 9 Folder 5

On the Death of Rose Fleischer, 1983, 1987, 1983, 1987


Box 9 Folder 6

Homage to Diane Arbus, 1985-1987


Box 9 Folder 7

The Dead Who Walk in My Dreams (Second Version), 1985

(See Also: Folder 31)


Box 9 Folder 8

Chicago, 1984


Box 9 Folder 9

When the Visitors are Gone, 1982-1984


Box 9 Folder 10

Helicoptering, new version, 1985


Box 9 Folder 11

The Kiss, 1985


Box 9 Folder 12

To Valentine, 1984-1986


Box 9 Folder 13

My Granddaughter Cécilia, 1986


Box 9 Folder 14

To Cécilia, 1984


Box 9 Folder 15

The Cremation of My Aunt, 1981-1984


Box 9 Folder 16

Monsieur Folantin, 1975


Box 9 Folder 17

Manifestations, 1972


Box 9 Folder 18

Rain God, 1975


Box 9 Folder 19

Encounter, 1987-1988


Box 9 Folder 20

Runaway, 1984, 1988, 1984, 1988


Box 9 Folder 22

Bars, 1964, 1972-1975, 1964, 1972-1975


Box 9 Folder 23

The Sigh, 1976-1979


Box 9 Folder 24

Forest Hills, 1972-1979


Box 9 Folder 25

Rampage, 1983-1984


Box 9 Folder 26

The Lightning Cure, 1980, 1984, 1980, 1984


Box 9 Folder 27

Lines for Jerome, 1978-1983

(On Jerome Mellquist; includes correspondence with Malcolm Cowley)


Box 9 Folder 28

Man, 1984


Box 9 Folder 29

Snapshot, 1981-1984


Box 9 Folder 30

Journey to the Old Camp, 1977, 1984, 1977, 1984


Box 9 Folder 31

The Dead Who Walk in My Dreams, 1984


Box 9 Folder 32

Which One is the Photograph?, 1984


Box 9 Folder 33

Sanders a Suicide, 1984


Box 9 Folder 34

Helicoptering, 1983


Box 9 Folder 35

Cottontail, 1983-1985


Box 9 Folder 36

Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, 1984-1985


Box 10 Folder 3

[Poems, Various], Undated


Box 10 Folder 6

Working Folder Jacobson Studio, 1988 Spring, 1988


Box 10 Folder 7

Afternoon and Evening at Torcello, 1983-1984


Box 10 Folder 8

13 Ways of Looking at Man, 1988


Box 10 Folder 9

My Life on Film, 1974-1975


Box 10 Folder 10

Annaghmekerrig, 1981, 1984, 1981, 1984


Box 10 Folder 11

In France, 1987


Box 10 Folder 12

[Poems, Various], 1956-1982


Box 10 Folder 13

Notes 4, 1978-1985


Box 10 Folder 14

The Three Salesmen, 1984-1987


Box 11 Folder 1

Columbia Poetry, 1938

(Monograph includes Bogin's poem "To Hart Crane")


Box 11 Folder 4

"Special Items" as per Ruth Bogin's Handwritten List, circa, 1999

(Folder includes correspondence from Robert Bly on Bogin's translation of Supervielle (1986), a few notes on poems, a copy of the 1939 Columbia Review that includes Bogin's poem "Long Island Sound," and a handwritten list of titles meant for inclusion in Bogin's unpublished second book of poems.)


Box 11 Folder 5

Alone in the House: Poems by George Bogin, 1975 or Later, 1975

(See Also: Box 5.)


Box 11 Folder 8

Published Items, 1980-1981


Box 11 Folder 9

Daughter I PPS 1-200, 1957 December 2-1959 January 31


Box Flat Box 739

Pitchipoi: The Children of Drancy, 1983, (Musical Score)


Subseries 2: Translations and Other Works, 1938, 1980-1985

Bogin primarily translated from French and Italian works. His translations of works by both Alain Bosquet and Jules Supervielle were published, and the subseries contains files related to both translation efforts. There is also a file of unpublished Italian translations. Also included is a file of Bogin's transcriptions of poems from the original notebooks of the poet Samuel B. Greenberg (1938).


Box 3 Folder 1

Translations, 1980-1981


Box 3 Folder 5

The Bosquet Poems, 1983-1985

(Includes translated poems and correspondence with Alain Bosquet)


Box 6 Folder 2

Typescript for Selected Poems and Reflections on the Art of Poetry by Jules Supervielle, circa, 1985


Box 6 Folder 3

Jules Supervielle Photo, 1954


Box 6 Folder 5

[Publication notice for Selected Poems...Supervielle], circa, 1985


Box 6 Folder 12

Greenberg Poems typed by gb in Philip Horton's apartment September '38 from Hart Crane's transcript of poems in Greenberg's actual notebooks (done in Cambridge, Mass.),, 1938


Box 8 Folder 17-18

Traductions de Supervielle Volume I-II, 1980 October 30-1982 July 4, (2 spiral notebooks)


Box 8 Folder 19

Le Corps Tragique par Jules Supervielle, (Photocopy)


Box 8 Folder 20

La Fable du Monde par Jules Supervielle, (Photocopy)


Box 8 Folder 21

Reflections on the Art of Poetry by Supervielle, 1982, Undated, 1982, Undated


Box 10 Folder 5

Italian Translations, 1982-1983


Box 11 Folder 6-7

Selected Poems and Reflections on the Art of Poetry by Jules Supervielle, translated by George Bogin,, 1984, (2 Folders)