Description
The papers of Joanne Kyger (1875-2018), an important member of the 'post-beat' West Coast poetry community. The papers document
Kyger's life and writing as she traveled through San Francisco, Japan, New York, and Bolinas, California. The bulk of the
collection covers the period from 1957 through 2017 and includes correspondence, poetry manuscripts and typescripts, journals,
ephemera, photographs, and sound recordings. Also included is a series of Kyger and Lamont family history materials.
Background
Joanne Elizabeth Kyger was a West Coast poet who emerged as the Beat movement was beginning to wane in the 1960s. The daughter
of Jacob and Anne Kyger, she was born November 19, 1934. Her father's career as a navy officer led to a peripatetic early
life: by the time she was fourteen she had lived in Vallejo, Ca. (where she was born), China, Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida,
and Illinois. Her father retired in 1949, and the family settled permanently in Santa Barbara, California.
Extent
74 Linear feet
(165 archives boxes, 1 record carton, 6 shoe boxes, 8 flat boxes, 10 map case folders and 1 film)
Restrictions
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Availability
Original material too fragile to handle from boxes 35 and 47 has been restricted; photocopies must be used instead. Original
sound recordings are restricted; listening copies may be available for researchers.