Call Number:

MSS 0537

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

.3 linear foot (75 items)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0537, George Sylvester Viereck correspondence with John Thomas Head, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1929-1956 (inclusive) and 1955-1956 (bulk)

Creator:

Viereck, George Sylvester, 1884-1962

Form:

correspondence, Manuscripts (documents), Tear sheets, and Photographs

Abstract:

The George Sylvester Viereck correspondence with John Thomas Head consists of letters, manuscripts, and other materials spanning the dates of 1929 to 1956. The correspondence (bulking 1955-1956) reflects an on-going literary exchange and mutual interest in Viereck's re-emergence into the literary scene.

German-American author George Sylvester Viereck was born December 31, 1884, in Munich, Germany; he died March 18, 1962, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Prior to World War I, Viereck enjoyed some literary fame as a poet. His German heritage became a focal point of his prolific and varied career as a poet, propagandist, interviewer, essayist, playwright, and novelist, and he publicized his pro-German sentiments in a variety of self-run periodicals during World War I and World War II. Viereck maintained that bias due to his political activities prevented publication and fair reception of his work.

After the war, Viereck continued to write: in addition to his journalistic activities for the

Saturday Evening Post and his work for his own periodical, Viereck published a study of propaganda, Spreading Germs of Hate (1930) and The Strangest Friendship in History: Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House (1932). Viereck also became known for his interviews with famous contemporaries, many of whom he numbered among his personal friends, including Kaiser Wilhelm II, George Bernard Shaw, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein.

World War II renewed Viereck's propagandistic activities; he wrote and worked for the

German-American Economic Bulletin and helped found Today's Challenge in 1939. Viereck's public defense of Nazism and many of its policies during this period led to his arrest in October 1941 for violation of the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. In 1942, Viereck was convicted and sent to prison, only to be released a year later when the Supreme Court overturned the decision. Yet in 1943, Viereck was again convicted and imprisoned until 1947. His incarceration inspired many poems and a memoir, Men Into Beasts (1952).

Viereck maintained that bias due to his political activities, which prevented publication and fair reception of his work; however, many of his poems were printed in Samuel Roth's

American Aphrodite .

Viereck's literary pursuits also included plays and novels. With novelist Paul Eldridge, Viereck penned a trilogy of novels based on the theme of the Wandering Jew:

My First Two Thousand Years: The Autobiography of the Wandering Jew (1929); Salome, The Wandering Jewess: My First Two Thousand Years of Love (1930); and Invincible Adam (1932). Viereck's other fiction includes The House of the Vampire (1907) and The Nude in the Mirror (1953). Viereck died March 18, 1962, in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Doenecke, Justus D. "George Sylvester Viereck."American National Biography Online. http://www.anb.org (accessed September 27, 2006).Biographical information also derived from the collection.

John Thomas Head was born in Ringgold, Georgia. George Sylvester Viereck called Head "a person stepping straight out of the Renaissance. A modern Leonardo Da Vinci," for his wide range of interests (F1 June 13, 1955). Head attended a preparatory school in Chattanooga, and in 1951 obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in philosophy. Head received his Ph.D. from Emory University and remained there as a professor of philosophy. In 1955, Head was in charge of small non-profit theatre group, and in addition to directing, Head also wrote his own plays.

The George Sylvester Viereck correspondence with John Thomas Head consists of letters, manuscripts, and other materials spanning the dates of 1929 to 1956. The correspondence (bulking 1955-1956) reflects an on-going literary exchange and mutual interest in Viereck's re-emergence into the literary scene.

Included in addition to the autographed typescript letters from Viereck to Head are carbon copies of Head's outgoing letters. Additional materials sent by Viereck to Head are also present, and include some Viereck's typed manuscripts, tear sheets of Viereck's published poems, a chapter of Elmer Gertz's manuscript of a biography of Viereck, an autographed photo of sexologist Dr. Albert Moll, dated 1929, and a carbon copy of a questionnaire detailing George Bernard Shaw's thoughts on Viereck, dated 1935. The bulk of the correspondence is between George Sylvester Viereck and John Thomas Head, although some miscellaneous items are present; these appear in the correspondence series and remain in chronological order: postcard to John Thomas Head from "Phillip Allen"; a carbon copy of letter from Head to "Margaret"; and miscellaneous envelopes that once contained letters from Viereck to Head.

The correspondence begins with something of a fan letter to Viereck—with Head expressing his appreciation for Viereck's poetry and sympathy at the unfair treatment his literary work has received because of his politics. Because of Head's theatrical activities, he was initially interested in producing Viereck's plays, and some of their early correspondence discussed revisions for staging. Viereck also sent Head his more obscure works, and Head offered criticisms as he read them. Head's belief in his literary merit developed a professional relationship that aimed at publishing new Viereck works: Viereck began to work on an autobiography (

More Lives Than One ) and a novel ( A House of Lesser Virtue ), and Head was editing a collection of Viereck's poems ( My Holy Satan ) while also composing a critical article titled "Buried Genius: A Study of the Poetry of George Sylvester Viereck." Their publication endeavors became frustrated, and Viereck discontinued work on his autobiography in February 1956. There is no evidence to suggest that these works were ever published under these titles.

The correspondence also shows that out of the literary discussion and the professional dealings taking place, Viereck and Head developed a personal friendship as they shared stories, promised and realized visits, and even traded photographs of themselves.

The letters are arranged chronologically followed by manuscripts and other material.