The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
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Francis, Robert, 1901-1987

Robert Francis Papers

1891-1988
17 boxes 8.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 403
Depiction of Robert Francis, by Frank A. Waugh,<br />Nov. 1939
Robert Francis, by Frank A. Waugh,
Nov. 1939

The poet and essayist Robert Francis settled in Amherst, Mass., in 1926, three years after his graduation from Harvard, and created a literary life that stretched for the better part of half a century. An associate of Robert Frost and friend of many other writers, Francis occasionally worked as a teacher or lecturer, including a brief stint on the faculty at Mount Holyoke College, but he sustained himself largely through his writing, living simply in “Fort Juniper,” a cottage he built on Market Hill Road in North Amherst. A recipient of the Shelley Award (1939) and the Academy of American Poets award for distinguished poetic achievement (1984), Francis was a poet in residence at both Tufts (1955) and Harvard (1960) Universities. He died in Amherst in July 1987.
The Francis Papers contains both manuscript and printed materials, drafts and finished words, documenting the illustrious career of the poet. Of particular note is Francis’s correspondence with other writers, publishing houses, and readers, notably Paul Theroux. Also contains personal photographs and Francis family records and a small number of audio recordings of Francis reading his poetry. Letters from Francis to Regina Codey, 1936-1978, can be found in MS 314 along with two typescript poems by Francis.

Biographical Note
Robert Francis was born on August 12, 1901, in Upland, Pennsylvania, the son of the Rev. Ebenezer F. Francis and Ida May Allen Francis. In 1910 the family moved to Massachusetts where Robert finished his grammar schooling and attended Medford High School, from which he graduated in 1919 as valedictorian. He entered Harvard College that year and graduated in 1923. The next year he taught English in the Prep School of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. During 1925-1926 he earned an Ed.M. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
A few months later he moved to Amherst to teach English in the high school. Although that position lasted for one year, he established his residence in Amherst, and used it as a base for his developing career as a writer. During these early years he supported himself by his writing, and by his violin teaching.
Numerous essays he wrote appeared in newspaper columns within the next decade. Some of these contributions, were on a regular basis, for example in the Christian Science Monitor “Home Forum” column (1938-1954). In addition, Francis’ poems and longer essays appeared frequently in those pages, and in numerous other publications.
His first volume of poetry, Stand With Me Here, was published by Macmillan in 1936. With this volume Robert Francis formally began his poetic career. This event prompted the attention and acquaintance of fellow writers. One of those instrumental in the publication of Stand With Me Here was David Morton of Amherst College, whose friendship brought the benefits of encouragement and wide experience with publishing.
In August, 1937, Mr. Francis was given a fellowship to the Breadloaf Writers Conference in Vermont, where he met Kentucky writer James Still. Valhalla and Other Poems, his second volume, and the praise which it drew from Robert Frost, followed a year later. In March, 1939, he vas co-recipient of the Shelley Memorial Award. Mr. Francis was also involved with the New England Poetry Club, and so became acquainted with another important friend and literary sponsor, Gretchen (Mrs. Fiske) Warren. In 1942-1943 he held the Golden Rose Award of the New England Poetry Club.
In 1940, Mr. Francis moved into the one-man house which was built for him on Market Hill Road, to which he gave the appellation Fort Juniper in 1942. Here he fulfilled all of the essential conditions of his philosophy, as he stated them in his autobiography: nature, leisure, and solitude.
After serving a brief stint in the army in World War II, he took a teaching position in the English Department at Mount Holyoke College in 1944. When he again resigned from the teaching profession, he renewed his commitment to his writing career. His essays, poems, and “Country Comment” columns were a regular feature of Forum magazine, beginning in 1946. A prose work, We Fly Away, was published in 1948, and Francis published his next volume of poems, Face Against the Glass, himself in 1950. In the early 1950’s he experienced what he called “Lean Years.” However, several following events were to balance the scales of success. His frequent violin solo performances in churches, publications in The New Yorker Magazine and The Saturday Review were some of the highlights of the next half-decade. He was Phi Beta Kappa poet at Tufts University in 1955, and at Harvard in 1960. Francis spent 1957-1958 at the American Academy in Rome with a fellowship from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Amy Lowell Poetry Scholarship again took him to Italy ten years later.
His next volume of poems was titled Come Out Into the Sun, published in 1965. Robert Francis’ autobiography, The Trouble With Francis, appeared in 1971. In 1972, he published Frost: A Time to Talk, his account of visits by Robert Frost in the 1950’s, taken from Francis’ journals. Like Ghosts of Eagles, a poetry volume, appeared in 1974. The University of Massachusetts Press handled the publication of these works, and became his regular publisher. A Certain Distance, a book of prose, “sketches” was published by the Pourboire Press. Francis’ Collected Poems, published by the University of Massachusetts Press, appeared in 1976. Francis On the Spot: An Interview With Robert Francis conducted by Philip Tetreault and Kathy Sewalk-Karcher appeared in 1976.
Mr. Francis gave numerous readings at the Jones Library (the public library of Amherst), and was featured on the Five College radio station, WFCR, in a program entitled “Poems to a Listener.” By his appearances he helped to advance the appreciation of poetry, particularly among the young.
The beginning of the 1980’s marked a period of activity and new-found recognition for Francis: a statement of his poetics, Pot Shots at Poetry, was published in 1980 by the University of Michigan Press; the Academy of American Poets bestowed upon him its award for “distinguished poetic achievement” in April 1984, while a book of poems, Butter Hill, and a book of prose, The Satirical Rogue on All Fronts, were published later that year; in 1985 Richard Gillman wrote a laudatory article about Francis in the New York Times Book Review, and Francis’ prose work, Travelling in Amherst, was published one year later.
Robert Francis died in July, 1987.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Robert Francis Papers at the University of Massachusetts are a rich source of information about the life and philosophy of Robert Francis and the development of his poetry. They were given to Special Collections and University Archives by Robert Francis beginning in November 1975, along with a collection of his printed works which are now housed in the Rare Books collection of the Special Collections and University Archives department. There were additions to the papers from Francis Quinn, Mr. Francis’ literary executor; from the University of Massachusetts Press; and from the Tunnel Press in 1977.
The papers occupy approximately 8.25 linear feet and are divided into seven series, including Bio-bibliographical, Correspondence, Poetry, Non-fiction, Fiction, Photographs, and Recordings.
The correspondence, poetry, and non-fiction series are especially strong and provide a detailed account of Mr. Francis’ long literary career.


Information on Use
Terms of Access and Use
Restrictions on access:
The collection is open for research.

 

Preferred Citation
Cite as: Robert Francis Papers (MS 403). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

 

History of the Collection
Acquired from: Robert Francis 1975-1987; Francis Quinn; the University of Massachusetts Press; and the Tunnel Press.
Accruals:
Additions to the collection are expected.

 

Processing Information
Processed by Stephanie Welch and Mark Madigan, 1988. The following letters, now interfiled with the Correspondence series, were previously arranged by Robert Francis in a file called “Help asked for and received.”

   
Apodaca, La Verne April 20, 1980
Brazeau, Peter April 27, 1978
Cochran, J. March 30, 1980
Haney, Paula May 1, 1980
Juscik, Steve n.d.
Motts, Dona May 28, 1980
Norbutt, John January 10, 1979 (with response January 22, 1979)
O’Gorman, Ned March 8, 1980 (with response March 18, 1980)
Quinn, John Robert July 22, 1978; July 28, 1978
Richards, Lucie A. (2 copies) March 6, 1979
Sussman, Sherry (with photo of Francis) n.d.
Shetline, Leonard J. May 28, 1978
Tuttle, Claire September 1978
Liz [?] July 30, 1978

The following letters, now interfiled with the Correspondence series, were previously arranged by Francis in a file called “Letters of appreciation.”

   
Abbe, George May 20, 1978
Boyd, Charles July 16, 1977
Brown, Rosellen November 16 [?]
Brown, Rosellen May 13, 1977
Cate, Edward W. January 22, 1977
Emery, Mary December 23, 1977
Faust, Pamela March 22, 1980
Hicks, John October 5, 1976
Howes, Jeanne February 12, 1977
Osborne, Marion A. September 6, 1977
Peterson, Lani January 17, 1979
Philbrick, Stephen November 5 [?]
Rand, Frank L. December 16, 1955
Reidy, P. Michael September 23, 1977
Rigby, Libby September 27, 1975
Roberts, Haslin Cherie August 13, 1978
Rosten, Norman December 6, 1976
Smith, Nathaniel B. July 29, 1978
Taylor, Thurston October 17, 1977
Tetreault, Phil May 29, 1979
Yolsen, Melvin B. August 21, 1978
Frank [?] December 16, 1954
Shirley [?] February 2, 1975

The following items, now filed in box 13, folders 165-169, were originally interleaved in the author’s copy of The Trouble With Francis in the pages noted below.

   
PAGES ITEMS
Front matter Near East, November
1954
4-5 photographs: “Entrance to Market Hill Rd in 1940,” “The Old House by the Brook, 1937-38”
12-13 photographs (4): “Adamites”
18-19 letter to Literary Executor for Robert Frost.
28-29 photograph: “Henry King of Flat Hills Road and one of his oxen”
32-33 photographs (2): “Forrest Sanborn”
34-35 photograph: “Porter Dickinson”
56-57 Christmas card (photo of rock.)
64-65 photographs “Walter from Brooklyn” & “Lord Wilbur”
70-71 photograph: “Richard Gillman at Fort Juniper”
74-75 photograph: “Full-grown mantids”
92-93 newspaper clippings (3) and photocopies about soybeans
98-99 Thanksgiving Dinner menus (8) with photocopies for Fort Juniper
108-109 postcard from Rebecca Richmond of Chautauqua Writer’s Institute
116-117 photographs (2): “Pasquino, Rome” & “Trattoria Pasquino”
118-119 newspaper clippings about late birthday card with photocopies; birthday card
delayed in mail nearly 30 years.
122-123 Christmas card from Francis Gillespie; postcard of Tyrellspass; vacation
brochure
136-137 photographs: “Ferris Pemberton” & “Baptist Church, Greenport,
NY”
142-143 photographs: “Aunt Addie” & “Aunt Nell” (2)
150-151 photographs: “James Allen Francis” & “West Medford Baptist
Church”
156-157 offprint of Matthew Francis photograph postcard: “Tower in Lawrence Fels, West Medford”
158-159 photograph: [?]
162-163 photograph: Pat Francis [cat]
178-179 letter concerning Francis’ illness
180-181 photographs: “Miss Phelan’s house, Cambridge, Mass.” (2), “Fellow inmate”
(2)
182-183 news clipping, Harvard Alumni Bulletin 5/13/50
184-185 letter of appointment to American University of Beirut, 3/21/23
186-187 photograph: RF with students in Beirut; carbon of letter from Dr. F.J.
McIntyre
188-189 letters (2) from Bancroft Beatley; news clipping and news photo of
Harvard
192-193 photograph: “Theodore Ward”; typescript epitaph for Theodore Ward
196-197 photographs: “Schoonmaker family”; [?]
198-199 photographs (2): “Hildegard”
200-201 photograph: “Frost’s house on Sunset Avenue”
204-205 photographs: “Jones Library” (2); “Prof. Arthur John Hopkins” [?]
218-219 Harvard Divinity School news clipping; letter to Harvard Divinity School

 

Additional Information

Sponsor
Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
 

Language
English.

 


Series Descriptions

       

 
Series 1. Bio-bibliographical

     

Francis family records, Francis’ own notes as a student, lectures, student papers and theses about the poet, along with blueprints of Fort Juniper, diplomas, and newspaper and magazine articles are found in Series 1. Also included is an extensive bibliography. Copies of the Syracuse University guide to the collection of papers Francis donated in 1968-1969 (4.5 linear feet) and the Jones Library guide to their collection of Francis materials, mostly published versions, are filed here as
well. See also Series 4.

 

       

 
Series 2. Correspondence

     
Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and content:

Incoming letters and copies of outgoing letters, chiefly with other writers, publishing houses, and readers are in Series 2. Notable are the letters relating
to publishing and business matters in general. These letters are revealing examples of the poet’s economics, or, as Mr. Francis has said, “how a lone poet learns to look out for his financial interests.” A number of letters come from young writers looking for advice and encouragement. Of special importance is the correspondence of novelist Paul Theroux, who came to know Mr. Francis while studying with Joseph Langland at the University of Massachusetts. The bulk of their correspondence is from Theroux’s graduation in 1963 until 1970. Series 2 also contains copies of correspondence between poet Marianne Moore and the University of Massachusetts Press (1956-1968). In these letters Ms. Moore
extends her praise to Robert Francis and to the Press for the worthy publication of his works. Other correspondents include John Ciardi, Peter DeVries, Gerald Warner Brace, Dudley Fitts, Donald Hall, Rolfe Humphries, Howard Moss, Richard Wilbur, Rosellen Brown, and Ted Shawn. See also Series 4.
       

 
Series 3. Poetry

     
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and content:

Series 3 is divided into subseries by book titles, which are arranged chronologically. Under the book title headings are author’s notes, worksheets and drafts, typescripts, galley proofs and copies of proofs. Book reviews and comments are filed under each title as well. Worksheets of poems in some instances contain page references to the poem in its final form in the Collected Poems. Journals in which Francis’ poems are published, Francis’ teaching materials, and Francis’ comments on poetry are also included in this series.
       

 
Series 4. Non-fiction

     
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and content:

Series 4 is divided into subseries by book titles, which are arranged chronologically, in the same manner as Series 3. Newspaper and magazine columns follow book-length works in the series and are arranged chronologically within their own subseries. Materials pertaining to the author’s autobiography, The Trouble With Francis, including his interleaved copy of the book (Mr. Francis keyed photographs, biographical documents, correspondence, and notes to their corresponding pages), are also contained in Series 4.
       

 
Series 5. Fiction

     

Series 5 contains Mr. Woodchuck (three chapters of an unfinished novel) and “What a Witch Told Me.”

 

       

 
Series 6. Photographs

     

Photographs from virtually every period of Francis’ life and of Francis’ family and friends are included in Series 6. See Series 4 for additional photos.

 

       

 
Series 7. Recordings

     

Tapes of Mr. Francis reading and discussing his poetry; WFCR Radio “Poems for a Listener” broadcasts; phonograph recordings of readings; and a phonograph recording of Koopman’s musical composition for “Picasso and Matisse” are in Series 7.

 

Contents List

       
Series 1. Bio-bibliographical
     
Guide to the Robert Francis Papers
1988
 
Box 1:1
UMass public info file on Robert Francis
n.d.
 
Box 1:2
Contemporary Authors biographical entry
n.d.
 
Box 1:3
Bibliography
n.d.
 
Box 1:4
Revised bibliography
n.d.
 
Box 1:5
Syracuse and Jones Library inventories
1977
 
Box 1:6
Guide to the Robert Francis Collection at
the Jones Library
1979
 
Box 1:7
Autobiographical notes
n.d.
 
Box 1:8
Allen grandparents: genealogy, news
clippings
n.d.
 
Box 2:9
Francis: family genealogy
n.d.
 
Box 2:10
Francis, James (RF’s uncle): diary
1891-1896
 
Box 2:11
Francis, May Allen (RF’s mother): funeral
notices
n.d.
 
Box 2:12
Francis, Ruth Isabel (RF’s sister):
biographical sketch
n.d.
 
Box 2:13
Francis grandparents: Tupper Family
Association
1949-1980
 
Box 2:14
Robert Francis’ education records
1904-1919
 
Box 2:15
Fort Juniper house plans
see Fort Juniper blueprints, Map Case 4, Drawer 1,
and Posters for readings 1948-1977, Map Case 4,
Drawer 1
1940
 
Box 2:16
Readings: notices
1941-1977
 
Box 2:17
Readings: news clippings
1941-1977
 
Box 2:18
Mass. State College: class notes, botany
1946-1947
 
Box 2:19
Mass. State College: lecture notes, geology
1946-1947
 
Box 2:20
Chautauqua Writer’s Workshop: student
comments
1956
 
Box 2:21
Notes on Italy, American Academy
1957-1958
 
Box 2:22
School visits: mementos
1960-1975
 
Box 2:23
Honorary degree from University of
Massachusetts
1970
 
Box 2:24
Massachusetts Archive: pamphlet
1973
 
Box 2:25
American Poets Fellowship Award
1984
 
Box 2:26
Articles about Robert Francis
1936-1967
 
Box 3:27
Articles about Robert Francis
1969-1976
 
Box 3:28
Articles about Robert Francis
1977-1981
 
Box 3:29
Articles about Robert Francis
1982-1988
 
Box 3:30
Wellman, Cora B., undergraduate paper on RF,
Harvard University
1937
 
Box 3:31
Lectures (2) on RF by Howard Nostrand
1945
 
Box 3:32
California State College, student papers (7)
on RF
1971
 
Box 3:33
Coleman, J.M., undergraduate paper on RF, U.
of Virginia
1972
 
Box 3:34
Zmuda, R., undergraduate paper on RF,
Allegheny Community College
1972
 
Box 3:35
California State College, undergraduate
papers (5) on RF
1973
 
Box 3:36
“Robert Francis: A Critical Biography”
(master’s thesis) by Elinor Phillips Cubbage
1975
 
Box 3:37
“Freedom to Fastidious Form: Theory, Form
and Theme in the Poetry of Robert Francis” (master’s
thesis) by Charles Sides
1975
 
Box 3:38
Lecture by David Young
1975
 
Box 3:39
“Move Over, Henry Thoreau” and “Robert
Francis’s Concept of ‘E'” by Charles Sides
1976
 
Box 3:40
“Robert Francis: The Best Neglected Poet” by
Delores Whitney
1978
 
Box 3:41
       
Series 2. Correspondence
     
Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.
Abbe – Arnold (except Allen
grandparents)
   
Box 4:42
Allen grandparents
   
Box 4:43
Atlantic Monthly
   
Box 4:44
Baird – Beasley
   
Box 4:45
Beirut, American U.
   
Box 4:46
Bennetto – Boyd (except Berger, Arthur and
re: “The Boy Who Will Play Beethoven’s
Fifth”)
   
Box 4:47
Berger, Arthur
   
Box 4:48
re: “The Boy Who Will Play Beethoven’s
Fifth”
   
Box 4:49
Brace – Cates
   
Box 4:50
Cheroweth – Crozier (except Contemporary
Poets)
   
Box 4:51
re: Contemporary Poets
   
Box 4:52
Dakin – DeMarrais
   
Box 4:53
Donnelly, Dorothy
   
Box 4:54
Dostal – Fox
   
Box 4:55
Fox, Walter
   
Box 4:56
Francis grandparents
   
Box 4:57
Francis, James, Francis, Matthew
   
Box 4:58
Francis, May Allen
   
Box 4:59
Francis, Robert (French author)
   
Box 4:60
Francis, Robert (RF’s namesake)
   
Box 4:61
Francis, Ruth I.
   
Box 4:62-63
Francis – Hamburger
   
Box 4:64
Hammarstrom – Hosford
   
Box 5:65
re: “Home Forum” column
   
Box 5:66
Howes, Jeanne C.
   
Box 5:67
The Power of Will (Howes
enclosure)
   
Box 5:68
Humphries – Juscik (except Junkins,
Donald)
   
Box 5:69
Junkins, Donald
   
Box 5:70
Kaplan, Herbert
   
Box 5:71
Kaplan, Peter
   
Box 5:72
Hates – Ledert
   
Box 5:73
Lindh – Lyric
   
Box 5:74
McGinty – Maynard (except MacMillan
Publishing Co.)
   
Box 5:75
MacMillan Publishing Company
   
Box 5:76
Meachem – Musser (except Miller,
Charles)
   
Box 5:77
Miller, Charles
   
Box 5:78
Nelson, Howard
   
Box 5:79
NY Times – New Yorker
   
Box 5:80
Nicholson – Osbourne
   
Box 5:81
Pacelli – Phillips
   
Box 5:82
Piskor, Frank
   
Box 5:83
Plunge – Rigby
   
Box 5:84
Risdon – Scherer (except Sanborn,
Forest)
   
Box 5:85
Sanborn, Forest
   
Box 6:86
School groups
   
Box 6:87
Schoonmaker – Starbuck
   
Box 6:88
Stein – Thompson (except Still,
James)
   
Box 6:89
Still, James
   
Box 6:90
Theroux, Paul
1962-1963
 
Box 6:91
Theroux, Paul
1964-1970
 
Box 6:92-93
Torell – Virginia Quarterly (except re: The
Trouble With Francis and Tunnel Press)
   
Box 6:94
The Trouble With Francis
   
Box 6:95
Tunnel Press
   
Box 6:96
re: “Two Days Among the Feeble
Minded”
   
Box 6:97
U of Massachusetts Press
   
Box 6:98-99
U of Massachusetts Press (L. Stein – M.
Moore)
1956-1968
 
Box 6:100
Visual Education – Walcott
   
Box 6:101
Warren, Gretchen
   
Box 6:102
Warren, Gretchen
   
Box 7:103
Wesleyan U. Press
   
Box 7:104
Wesleyan U. Press – Worrel
l
 
Box 7:105
Yoken Young
   
Box 7:106
Robert Francis’ Christmas cards
   
Box 7:107
Poems written for Robert Francis
   
Box 7:108
Poems written for Robert Francis
   
Box 7:109
Poems written for Robert Francis
   
Box 7:110
       
Series 3. Poetry
     
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.
Stand With Me Here: proofs
1936
 
Box 8:111
Valhalla and Other Poems: proofs
1938
 
Box 8:112
The Sound I Listened For: proofs
1944
 
Box 8:113
Valhalla and Other Poems, The Sound I
Listened For: Reviews
1938, 1944
 
Box 8:114
The Face Against the Glass: proofs
1950
 
Box 8:115
The Orb Weaver: proofs
1960
 
Box 8:116
We Fly Away, Face Against the Glass, The Orb
Weaver: reviews
1948, 1950, 1960
 
Box 8:117
Come Out into the Sun: galley proofs
1965
 
Box 8:118
Come Out into the Sun: proofs with author’s
corrections
1965
 
Box 8:119
Come Out into the Sun: proofs
1965
 
Box 8:120
Come Out into the Sun: reviews
1965
 
Box 8:121
Like Ghosts of Eagles: worksheets of poems
n.d.
 
Box 8:122
Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966-74:
typescript with author’s manuscript alterations
1974
 
Box 8:123
Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966-74: mss.
and reader’s evaluation
1974
 
Box 8:124
Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966-74:
mock-up
1974
 
Box 8:125
Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966-74: proofs
1974
 
Box 9:126
Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966-74:
reviews and comments
1974
 
Box 9:127
Collected Poems: worksheets
n.d.
 
Box 9:128
Collected Poems: worksheets
n.d.
 
Box 9:129
Collected Poems: original unpublished
preface
1976
 
Box 9:130
Collected Poems: proofs
1976
 
Box 9:131
Collected Poems: proofs
1976
 
Box 9:132-33
Collected Poems: proofs
1976
 
Box 10:134-36
Collected Poems: reviews
1976
 
Box 10:137
Journals with Robert Francis’ poems
1972-1977
 
Box 10:138
Field: journal celebrating Robert Francis’
birthday
1970
 
Box 10:139
The Hollins Critic: special issue on RF
10/1977
 
Box 10:140
Misc. offprints, photocopies of published
poems
n.d.
 
Box 11:141
Misc. offprints, photocopies of published
poems
n.d.
 
Box 11:142
Miscellaneous worksheets
n.d.
 
Box 11:143
Miscellaneous worksheets
n.d.
 
Box 11:144
Father Gander Rhymes
1952
 
Box 11:145
“Seagulls”: signed typescript
n.d.
 
Box 11:146
Poems by Robert Francis’ students
1950-1959
 
Box 11:147
Robert Francis’ comments on poetic theory
n.d.
 
Box 11:148
Notes on geographical locations of poems
n.d.
 
Box 11:149
       
Series 4. Non-fiction
     
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.
The Satirical Rogue: source materials
1968
 
Box 12:150
The Satirical Rogue: essays in Field
1975
 
Box 12:151
The Satirical Rogue: proofs of 1964 and1968
printings
1964, 1968
 
Box 12:152
The Satirical Rogue: reviews
1968
 
Box 12:153
The Trouble with Francis: author’s notes
n.d.
 
Box 12:154
The Trouble with Francis: “Soybeans for
Walden” typescript
n.d.
 
Box 12:155
The Trouble with Francis: “Todo and the
Mantises”: material related to
n.d.
 
Box 12:156
The Trouble with Francis: original
typescript with author’s alterations
n.d.
 
Box 12:157
The Trouble with Francis: carbon copy of
final typescript, chapters 1-12
n.d.
 
Box 12:158
The Trouble with Francis: carbon copy of
final typescript, chapters 13-17 and index (two drafts)
n.d.
 
Box 12:159
The Trouble with Francis: reviews
1971
 
Box 12:160
The Trouble with Francis: galley proofs with
manuscript corrections
n.d.
 
Box 13:161
The Trouble with Francis: author’s position
on Chapter 17
n.d.
 
Box 13:162
The Trouble with Francis: materials
pertaining to J. Still, W. Shumway, R. Gillman
1940-1948
 
Box 13:163
The Trouble with Francis: materials
pertaining to pp. 63-64
n.d.
 
Box 13:164
The Trouble with Francis: materials
interleaved in author’s copy (list attached)
n.d.
 
Box 13:165-169
The Trouble with Francis: author’s copy
1971
 
Box 13:170
Frost: A Time to Talk: reader’s evaluation
1971
 
Box 13:171
Frost: A Time to Talk: page proofs with
author’s manuscript corrections
1971
 
Box 13:172
Frost: A Time to Talk: reviews
1972-1973
 
Box 13:173
A Certain Distance: manuscript of the prose
items
n.d.
 
Box 13:174
A Certain Distance: reviews
1976
 
Box 13:175
Francis On the Spot: working papers
1976
 
Box 14:176
Francis On the Spot: mock ups
1976
 
Box 14:177
Travelling in Amherst: copy of book
1986
 
Box 14:178
Newspaper publications
1925-1977
 
Box 14:179
Two Days Among the Feeble Minded:
unpublished manuscript
1931
 
Box 14:180
“Country Comment” column: selected newsprint
copies and carbon manuscripts
1946-1950
 
Box 14:181
Philadelphia Forum: newsprint copies and
carbon typed version
1947-1948
 
Box 14:182
“Home Forum” column: carbon typed
manuscripts
1951-1954
 
Box 14:183
Christian Science Monitor: newsprint copies
of selected essays
n.d.
 
Box 14:184
Christian Science Monitor: author’s
statement on refusal to publish further columns in CSM
1954
 
Box 14:185
“The Satirical Rogue Again”: typescript with
author’s manuscript alterations
1970
 
Box 14:186
“The Satirical Rogue Returns”: typescript
with author’s manuscript alterations
1970
 
Box 14:187
“A Month in Amherst in the 1920’s”: drafts,
news clippings
1975
 
Box 15:188
Misc. publications in journals: typed
manuscripts and published versions
1946-1966
 
Box 15:189
Misc. publications in journals: carbon typed
manuscripts and published versions
1951-1967
 
Box 15:190
Publications in various journals
n.d.
 
Box 15:191
Addresses
   
Box 15:192
       
Series 5. Fiction
     
Mr. Woodchuck: three chapters of an
unfinished novel
c.1950
 
Box 15:193
“What a Witch Told Me”: a copy of typescript
n.d.
 
Box 15:194
       
Series 6. Photographs
     
Early photos of Robert Francis
n.d.
 
Box 16:195
Photo album (1)
n.d.
 
Box 16:196
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
1923-1924
 
Box 16:197
Photo album (2)
1936-1976
 
Box 16:198
American Academy, Italy
1957-1958
 
Box 16:199
Photo album (3)
1972-1976
 
Box 16:200
U of Mass. photo center: contact sheets
1974
 
Box 16:201
Allen grandparents
n.d.
 
Box 16:202
Francis grandparents
n.d.
 
Box 16:203
Francis, James, and Francis, Matthew (RF’s
uncles)
n.d.
 
Box 16:204
Francis, May Allen (RF’s mother)
n.d.
 
Box 16:205
       
Series 7. Recordings
     
Robert Francis Reads His Poetry: 7 1/2 IPS two
track tape
   
Box 17:206
Discussion by Doris Abramson, Joseph
Langland, Quentin de Streel and Robert Francis of the
recently published Like Ghosts of Eagles, broadcast by
WFCR, Part I: 7 1/2 IPS two track tape
1974
 
Box 17:207
Discussion, Part II: 7 1/2 IPS two track tape
1974
 
Box 17:208
Robert Francis reading from his Collected
Poems at their publication party, with an introduction
by Joe Langland and introductory comments by Francis
1976
 
Box 17:209
“Poems to a Listener” — WFCR broadcast tape
of the program and script: 7 1/2 IPS two track tape
1976
 
Box 17:210
RF Day, Jones Library
In MS Phonograph Records Box:
1980
 
Box 17
1. Today’s Poets, volume 1: 33 RPM
1967
 
Box 17
2. Robert Francis Reads His Poems From
Like Ghosts of Eagles and Come Out Into the Sun: 33
RPM
1975
 
Box 17
3. Picasso and Matisse: 33 RPM (and
score)
1966
 
Box 17
Connect to another siteListen to interviews with Francis on Poems to a Listener", 1977-1978

Subjects

Amherst (Mass.)--HistoryPoetry--PublishingPoets--MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts Press

Contributors

Brown, RosellenCiardi, John, 1916-De Vries, PeterFitts, Dudley, 1903-Francis, Robert, 1901-1987Hall, Donald, 1928-Humphries, RolfeMoore, Marianne, 1887-1972Moss, Howard, 1922-Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972Theroux, PaulWilbur, Richard, 1921-

Types of material

AudiotapesPhonograph recordsPhotographs