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The May Swenson photograph collection, 1938-1991
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Swenson, May.
- Title
- The May Swenson photograph collection
- Dates
- 1938-1991 (inclusive)19381991
- Quantity
- 1 Box, (.25 Linear Feet)
- Collection Number
- UUS_P0437
- Summary
- Collection contains 74 items, including photographs and a few pieces of writing from or about May Swenson. Photos include images of May Swenson, places she lived or visited, and her friends and family.
- Repository
-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
May Swenson was born on May 28, 1913, in Logan, Utah, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. (Her father, Dan Swenson, was a professor of mechanical engineering at Utah State University.) Following her graduation from USU in 1934 she took a job as a reporter for the Deseret News. A year later she moved to New York City where she worked in a variety of jobs, including as a stenographer, until she became the editor for New Directions Press in 1959. In 1966 Swenson quit working as an editor in order to devote herself full time to writing. For the remainder of her life she lived in Sea Cliff, New York. She died on December 4, 1989, and was buried in Logan.
Swenson's trademark was her use of complex wordplay in her poems, which frequently took the form of riddles or unusual arrangements of the words on the page. These "iconographs" often were arranged to resemble the shape of the poem's subject. Frequently classified as a nature poet, Swenson received much praise for her descriptions of natural phenomena and her sensory tone. Her chief themes were animal and human behavior, sexuality, death, and the nature of art and perception. Swenson's poetry has often been compared to the writings of Elizabeth Bishop, E. E. Cummings, and Gertrude Stein. Over the course of her career, Swenson published seven volumes of poetry (see list below). In addition to her poetry, Swenson also wrote three books of poems for children, a play, three short stories, and a book of translated poems by the Swedish author Tomas Tranströmer. Several additional volumes of Swenson poetry have been published posthumously.
May Swenson received a wide variety of recognitions and honors during her career, including serving as poet-in-residence at several universities in the United States and Canada during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was the recipient of Guggenheim, Ford, Rockefeller, and MacArthur fellowships and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. In 1972 she received a medal from the International Poetry Forum for her translation of Tranströmer. Swenson also received the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Bollingen Prize from Yale University, and an Award in Literature from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. She was also elected a member of the latter organization, as well as the Academy of American Poets of which she later served as chancellor. In 1967 she received a Distinguished Service Gold Medal from Utah State University, and in 1987 an honorary doctor of letters.
Books of Poetry: • Another Animal (1954) • A Cage of Spines (1958) • To Mix with Time (1963) • Half Sun Half Sleep (1967) • Iconographs (1970) • New and Selected Things Taking Place (1978) • In Other Words (1987)
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The May Swenson photograph collection consists of 74 images relating to May Swenson. Photos include images of May Swenson, places she lived or visited, and her friends and family. The items were not initially organized in any identifiable way, and so have been reordered into the following categories: professional photos of May and others, negatives and reel photos, candid photos of May and others, locations (mostly at or around May’s home in Sea Cliffs), friends and family, and writings. Most of the photographs are original, but a few items are copies (these have been indicated in the item description). Most items are not dated, or dated generically (i.e. by decade). All images are black and white unless otherwise indicated.
USU Special Collections also holds a number of other items from or about May Swenson, both manuscript and photograph. The manuscript collections include: • The May Swenson Papers (MSS 282) • The May Swenson Addendum (MSS 485) • The Kenneth W. Brewer Papers (MSS 275, boxes 41, 69, 75, 92, and 95) • The Gary Smith Papers (MSS 132, box 15) • The Veneta Nielson Papers (MSS 315, box 4) • The Stanford O. Cazier Papers (MSS 3.1/12-2, box 100) • The Paul Swenson Papers (MSS 476, Boxes 3 and 4) Other photograph collections include: • The Gary Smith Photographs (P0106, items 2-03-01 through 2-03-380 and 15-10-01 through 15-10-13) • The Herald Journal Newspaper Photographs (P0001, box 58) • The Outlook Magazine Photographs (P0320, boxes 11 and 13) • The Kenneth Brewer Photographs (P0381, box 1) • The A-Board Historical Photographs (Aboard1, Drawer 19)
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the The May Swenson photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Preferred Citation
Initial Citation: USU_P0437; The May Swenson Photographs Collection; Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_P0437, USUSCA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The May Swenson Photographs Collection has been arranged thematically. Folder 1 included posed images of May and her friends or family. Folder 2 included candid photos of May and others. Folder 3 includes images of locations. Folder 4 includes images of family and friends of May. Folder 5 includes negatives.
Processing Note
Processed in January of 2014
Acquisition Information
Donated by members of Paul Crumbley from members of the Swenson family
Related Materials
USU Special Collections also holds a number of other items from or about May Swenson, both manuscript and photograph. The manuscript collections include: • The May Swenson Papers (MSS 282) • The May Swenson Addendum (MSS 485) • The Kenneth W. Brewer Papers (MSS 275, boxes 41, 69, 75, 92, and 95) • The Gary Smith Papers (MSS 132, box 15) • The Veneta Nielson Papers (MSS 315, box 4) • The Stanford O. Cazier Papers (MSS 3.1/12-2, box 100) • The Paul Swenson Papers (MSS 476, Boxes 3 and 4) Other photograph collections include: • The Gary Smith Photographs (P0106, items 2-03-01 through 2-03-380 and 15-10-01 through 15-10-13) • The Herald Journal Newspaper Photographs (P0001, box 58) • The Outlook Magazine Photographs (P0320, boxes 11 and 13) • The Kenneth Brewer Photographs (P0381, box 1) • The A-Board Historical Photographs (Aboard1, Drawer 19)
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Posed and professional images of May, family, and friends, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | 1-001: May with cat, series |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-002: May, head only, 8x10 Glossy |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-003: May, smoking, 8x10 Glossy |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-004: May, head only, 8x10 Glossy |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-005: May, at beach, 8x10 Glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 1 | 1-006: May, head only, 8x10 Satin |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-007: May, head only, 8x10 Glossy |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-008: May, on balcony, 6x9 paper, by Thomas Victor |
1970-1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-009: May, head only (from balcony photo), promotional, for “New and Selected Things” |
1979 March |
1 | 1 | 1-010: May, head only, 6x9 Paper, by Layle Silbert (3 dates: copyright 1979, Billinger Prize 1981, Jun/Feb 1988) |
1979 |
1 | 1 | 1-011: May, seated at park, flyer clipping (copy), for “Poets at the Park”, NYC |
1979 May 21 |
1 | 1 | 1-012: May, seated by tree, clipping (copy) |
1960-1969 |
1 | 1 | 1-013: George Swenson, torso, 8x10 Sepia |
1940-1949 |
1 | 1 | 1-014: Swenson Family Photo, all seated, 5x7 Glossy |
1940 |
1 | 1 | 1-015: Anne Margaret Swenson (mother), seated, 8x10 paper on board |
1938-1991 |
1 | 1 | 1-016: Dan Swenson (father), seated, 8x10 paper on board |
1938-1991 |
Candid images of May and others, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 2 | 2-017: May with friends (unidentified), Virgin Islands, 3x3 Glossy, color |
1966 March |
1 | 2 | 2-018: May and Pearl camping, Montana, 3x4 Glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 2 | 2-019: May and Zan (Rozanne Knudson), eating ice cream, New Zealand, 3x4 Glossy, color |
1987 January |
1 | 2 | 2-020: May, Ann (Guialconi?), Ruth Jacobson, by fence, 3x4 Glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 2 | 2-021: May, camping, Wildwood (LI?), 3x4 Glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 2 | 2-022: May, Zan or Miken (?), on beach, 2x3 Glossy, color |
1968 |
1 | 2 | 2-023: May, at Sue Bigelow’s house, 3x3 Satin, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 2 | 2-024: May, eating, at MacDowell(?), John LaMontaine, composer, 5x7 Glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 2 | 2-025: May, seated, outdoors, 2x4 Glossy |
1930-1949 |
1 | 2 | 2-026: May, standing near water, 2x4 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
1 | 2 | 2-027: May, at Vesuvius from the Amalfi Drive, 12.5 km from Sorrento, 3x3 Glossy, color |
1960 September 9 |
1 | 2 | 2-028: May, on beach (probably Coney Island, 2x4 Glossy |
1940-1949 |
1 | 2 | 2-029: May, in water at beach, 2x4 Glossy |
1940-1949 |
1 | 2 | 2-030: May, standing at beach, 2x4 Glossy |
1940-1949 |
1 | 2 | 2-031: May, standing in South California Desert, 3x5 Satin, color |
1973 February |
1 | 2 | 2-032: May, standing on Terrace at 73 Blvd. (Sea Cliffs), 4x6 Satin, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 2 | 2-033: May, standing in Sante Fe, NM, 3x3 Satin, color |
1973 |
1 | 2 | 2-034: May, standing in UCLA Garden, 4x6 Glossy |
1978 |
1 | 2 | 2-035: May, standing near photo, location unknown, 4x5 Glossy |
1965 February |
1 | 2 | 2-036: Unknown person (maybe “Zan” or Miken?) seated at May’s grave marker, 8x12 Glossy, color |
1980-1989 |
Addendum to candid photos, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 2a | 2a-001: May and a cousin (?), 2x2.5 paper |
1922 |
1 | 2a | 2a-002: May at the beach, 2x3 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
1 | 2a | 2a-003: May at Riverside, CA, 2x3 Glossy |
February 1973 |
1 | 2a | 2a-004: May and Pearl with unknown English professor at Tucson University |
1970-1979 |
1 | 2a | 2a-005: May in apartment on Grant Street in Lafayette, IN |
1970-1979 |
1 | 2a | 2a-006: May in apartment on Grant Street in Lafayette, IN |
1970-1979 |
Locations, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 3 | 3-037: May’s house at 73 The Boulevard, balcony from below, 2x3 Glossy, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-038: View from May’s house at 73 The Boulevard, from balcony overlooking the bay, 3x5 Satin |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-039: May’s house at 73 The Boulevard, from below looking at balcony, May waving from foreground, 3x3 Glossy, color |
1969 |
1 | 3 | 3-040: Terrace at 73 The Boulevard, taken by Margaret, 5x7 Glossy, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-041: View from May’s desk at 13 Addy Road, Bethany, DE, Scene of “Angels at Unsubdued,” 4x6 Glossy, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-042: Windoe at Sea Cliffs book shop, displaying May’s book “In Other Words,” 3x5 Glossy |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-043: Window at Sea Cliffs book shop, display of May’s work and news clippings, 3x5 Glossy, color |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-044: May’s grave marker, front, 4x6 Glossy, color |
1990 |
1 | 3 | 3-045: May’s grave marker, back, 4x6 Glossy, color |
1990 |
1 | 3 | 3-046: 1--May’s terrace at 73 The Boulevard, 2--indoor home library, person and location unknown (likely 73 The Boulevard), photocopies on 8.5x11 |
1970-1979 |
1 | 3 | 3-047: 1--indoor sitting room w/ library, location unknown, 2--woman seated at desk, looking over bay (not May) location and person unknown (likely 73 The Boulevard) |
1970-1979 |
Family and friends of May, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 4 | 4-048: Mr. (Roy) Swenson, Grace, Grace’s husband, and Mrs. Swenson (May?) in California, 3x4 glossy |
1960-1969 |
1 | 4 | 4-049: Margaret Swenson, as child, 3x6 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-050: Persons unknown (Roy and Mrs. Swenson?) from flyer clipping, list of missionaries on reverse, 4x4 paper |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-051: George Swenson in New York, photograph by May, 2x5 Glossy |
1938 |
1 | 4 | 4-052: George Swenson in Washington Park New York, photograph by May, visiting her on way to mission in Sweden, 2x4 Glossy |
1938 |
1 | 4 | 4-053: George “Swede” Swenson, dressed as soldier in kilt, 3x5 Satin |
1944 September |
1 | 4 | 4-054: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-055: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-056: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-057: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-058: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-059: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-060: Anca, 2x4 Glossy |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-061: Unknown person with dog, on USU campus, 2x4 Glossy |
1933 |
1 | 4 | 4-062: Woman with baby (unknown), USU Old Main Tower in background, 3x4 paper |
1938-1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-063: Rick (Ruth’s son), in coveralls, maybe 18 months old, 3x4 glossy |
1945 |
1 | 4 | 4-064: Reisa (center) and Arnold, Zan’s editor and friend, taken at event in New York City, 3x5 Glossy, color |
1991 |
1 | 4 | 4-065: May Swenson Memorial Readers (list of names on back), Dorothy Alexander, photographer, 5x7 Glossy |
1990-1991 |
Addendum to family and friends of May, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 4a | 4a-001: May's mother, Ruth, 2x2.5 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
1 | 4a | 4a-002: May's mother, Ruth, after Paul's birth, 2x3 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
1 | 4a | 4a-003: May's father, Dan, with child, 3x4 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
1 | 4a | 4a-004: May and Pearl with unknown English professor at Tucson University |
1970-1979 |
1 | 4a | 4a-005: May's father, Dan, 3x4 Glossy |
1950-1959 |
1 | 4a | 4a-006: "Trail Builders," children, unknown, 2x2.5 Glossy |
1930-1939 |
Negatives, 1938-1991Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 5 | 5-066: Negative, May at desk |
1938-1991 |
1 | 5 | 5-067: (36) negatives, May seated, at home, in the woods, all posed |
1938-1991 |
1 | 5 | 5-068: Series of developed negatives (all appx. 1x1), May seated, at home, in woods, all posed |
1938-1991 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Authors, American--Utah--Photographs.
- Poets, American--Utah--Photographs.
Personal Names
- Swenson, May.