William Meredith and Robert Drew Papers

Meredith, William (1919-2007)

A member of the Princeton Class of 1940, William Meredith worked for the New York Times before joining the U.S. Army Air Force in 1941. Meredith later transferred to the Navy, serving as a pilot during World War II. During the war, Meredith's first collection of poems, Love Letter from an Impossible Land (1944) was published. After World War II, Meredith taught English at Princeton University and the University of Hawaii before returning to the Navy for service during the Korean War. Following the war, Meredith continued to teach and write, eventually joining the faculty of Connecticut College, where he taught from 1955 to 1983. In 1964, Meredith was elected a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets and from 1978-1980, Meredith served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Additionally, Meredith was recognized with the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his work, Partial Accounts: New and Selected Poems (1987), and the National Book Award for Efforts at Speech (1997). Meredith's friend, Robert Drew, was an artist.

The collection consists of 167 letters by Meredith to his intimate friend Robert Drew from 1949 to 1972, postmarked Princeton, N.J., New London, Conn., and other places. The letters are mostly personal in nature but also discuss Meredith's poetry, his other writings, and his teaching and literary careers; some include a few poems in their text. There are also about 25 other autograph, typed, or printed poems, all sent to Drew, and several photographs of Meredith. Also included are miscellaneous papers relating to Robert Drew, such as passports, a birth certificate, documents for his name change (1960) from Zygmund Lewicki to Robert Drew, his will, death certificate, art brochures, clippings about both Drew and Meredith, and a portrait of Meredith on a wooden block.

Purchased from Bart Auerbach Ltd in 1994. AM1995-54.

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Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.

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Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William Meredith and Robert Drew Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Publisher

Manuscripts Division

Date

2008

Creator

Meredith, William (1919-2007)

Subject

American poetry -- 20th century

Gay men's writings, American -- 20th century

Poets, American -- 20th century -- Correspondence

People

Drew, Robert (1923-1987)

Occupation

Artists -- United States -- 20th century

Language

English

Form

Correspondence -- 20th century

personal papers -- 20th century

photographs -- 20th century

Poetry -- 20th century