William Everson Papers : Additions, 1931-1995

Summary

Creators:

Everson, William, 1912-

Abstract:

Consists of correspondence, manuscripts of both his poetry and prose, and ephemera and business material related to Everson's work as a writer, printer, and university lecturer, as well as his collection of poetry and prose by other writers, and some personal papers. Contains only a few letters written by Everson; most letters are from friends, publishers, fellow writers and handprinters, students, and fans. The bulk of the collection consists of writings by Everson, including rough and final drafts, published copies, and rewritings of his poetry and prose, including materials on Robinson Jeffers and Walt Whitman, as well as handprintings of Everson's own works. Numerous notebooks also contain drafts and rewritings of his poetry, prose, and correspondence.
Audio visual material: one reel to reel tape, unidentified; one sound cassette of an untitled lecture. A transcript of the leture is housed in carton 24, folder 51. One VHS videocassette with title, "A conversation with William Everson-- Brother Antoninus-- with Bob Hawley" August 8, 1988.
Also contains a substantial collection of poetry, prose, and fiction by other writers, including their works about Everson; publicity, reviews, ephemera, and financial and business papers relating to his work as as writer, printer, and public speaker; autobiographical, biographical, and bibliographical materials; and records from the course he taught at University of Calif., Santa Cruz. Everson also collected biographical and publicity material, and ephemera related to other writers, handprinters, and publishers. His personal papers include only a small amount of family correspondence, as well as some legal documents and ephemera from throughout his life, including astrological charts.

Extent:

Number of containers: 20 boxes, 26 cartons, 6 oversize folders, 5 oversize boxes, and 1 volume Linear feet: ca. 42.2

Language:

English

Background

Scope and content:

William Everson Papers: Additions, 1931-1995 consists of correspondence, manuscripts of both his poetry and prose, and ephemera and business material related to Everson's work as a writer, printer, and university lecturer, as well as his collection of poetry and prose by other writers, along with some personal papers.

Everson's outgoing correspondence is represented by letters he sent to Lee Bartlett, Allan Campo, and Robert Hawley and others. Everson's incoming correspondence contains letters from friends, publishers, fellow writers and handprinters, students, and fans; people often filled several of these roles in his life. The bulk of the collection consists of writings by Everson, and includes rough drafts, final drafts, published copies, and rewritings of Everson's poetry and prose, as well as handprintings of his own works. Everson's numerous notebooks contain drafts and rewritings of his poetry, prose, and correspondence.

Everson's papers also contain a substantial collection of poetry, prose, and fiction by other writers, including their works about Everson. His professional papers contain publicity, reviews, ephemera, along with financial and business records relating to his work as a writer, printer, and public speaker. These also contain biographical material, as well as files about awards and grants for which Everson applied, records from his tenure at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and funds and foundations created by his friends for Everson's benefit. Everson also collected biographical and publicity material, and ephemera related to other writers, handprinters, and publishers.

Everson's personal papers include a small amount of correspondence with his siblings and family, as well as some legal documents and personal ephemera dating from throughout his life.

Biographical / historical:

William Oliver Everson was born on September 10, 1912 in Sacramento, California, to Louis Waldemar Everson and Francelia Marie Herber Everson. He was the second of three children; his siblings were Vera Louise Everson Shorey and Lloyd Waldemar Everson. Two years later, the family moved to Selma, Calif., where Everson spent the next seventeen years. He entered California State University, Fresno, following his high school sweetheart, Edwa Poulson. A year later, Everson withdrew from college and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, but eventually returned to CSU Fresno. It was in the fall of 1934 that he discovered the poetry of Robinson Jeffers and published his first book of poems the following spring. It was not until 1938 that Everson and Edwa were married, but their marriage did not survive World War II. Everson was drafted as a conscientious objector and sent to a camp at Waldport, Oregon. He continued to write poetry in Oregon and also became involved in Untide Press, the fine printing press at the camp.

After his release from CO camp, Everson settled in Berkeley and became associated with the San Francisco Renaissance. During this time, Everson started the Equinox Press and won a 1949 Guggenheim Fellowship. He also became interested in Catholicism and eventually was baptised into that faith. He began to work in the Catholic Worker Movement and eventually became a tertiary lay brother of the Dominican Order, taking the name Brother Antoninus. Everson remained a monk until 1969, continuing to write and to publicly read his poems across the U.S., as well as involving himself in the press of St. Albert's Priory. He became associated with the Beat poets at this time, and was known as the "Beat monk". It was as a counselor at St. Albert's Priory that he met Rose Moreno Tanlund, inspiration for "Canticle of the Rose", and Susanna Rickson. Everson left the Dominican Order to marry Rickson in 1969, and adopted her son, Jude, the following year.

In 1971, Everson became a lecturer at Kresge College at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He taught his "Birth of a Poet" course, and was master printer for the university's Lime Kiln Press. It was during this time that Everson was diagnosed with Parkinson's. In 1981, he won a NEA grant and retired from both UC Santa Cruz and fine printing. He began to compile the poems from The Residual Years, The Veritable Years, and his "integral years" into "The Crooked Lines of God", working with a local handprinter as The Kingfisher Press, but this project was never completed. Everson continued to write, but almost ceased to appear in public. After his separation from Rickson in 1992, Everson's friends began The William Everson Fund as a means of support for him, as his Parkinson's progressed. It was not until two years later, at the age of 81, that Everson passed away.

Acquisition information:

The William Everson Papers : Additions were received as both gifts and purchases from the following individuals and book dealers: William Everson, John Knight, Robert L. Hawley, Allan Campo, Joseph the Provider, Maurice Neville, Ross Valley Book Store, and Bradford Morrow, during the years 1976 to 1998.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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