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Anthony Hecht papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0775

Content Description

This small collection includes handwritten and typewritten correspondence, as well as clippings, programs, and other forms of ephemera. The collection notably includes a handwritten letter from Garry Wills. The materials range from 1982 to 2005, the later years of Hecht's literary career.

Dates

  • Creation: 1982 - 2005

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

One of the leading poets of his generation, Anthony Hecht (1923-2004) is known for his masterful use of traditional forms and linguistic control. Though his early work was often slighted as ornate or Baroque, his collection The Hard Hours (1967) is generally seen as his break-through volume. In that book, Hecht used his experiences as a soldier in Europe during World War II. The often unsettling and horrific insights into the darkness of human nature told in limpid, flowing verse that characterize the poems in the collection would become Hecht’s trademark.

Hecht's main profession was as a teacher of poetry, most notably at the University of Rochester, where he taught from 1967 to 1985. He also spent varying lengths of time teaching at other notable institutions such as Smith, Bard, Harvard, Georgetown, and Yale. Between 1982 and 1984, he held the esteemed position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Hecht won a number of notable literary awards including: the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (for the volume The Hard Hours), the 1983 Bollingen Prize, the 1988 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the 1989 Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry, the 1997 Wallace Stevens Award, the 1999/2000 Frost Medal, and the Tanning Prize. Hecht died October 20, 2004, at his home in Washington, D. C.; he is buried at the cemetery at Bard College. One month later, on November 17, Hecht was awarded the National Medal of Arts, accepted on his behalf by his wife, Helen Hecht.

Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and poets/poets/detail/anthony-hecht

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Hecht

Extent

.24 Cubic Feet (1 half legal size document box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Anthony Hecht (1923-2004), one of the leading poets of his generation, is most well-known for his anthology The Hard Hours (1967), generally seen as his break-through volume. Hecht's small holding of papers, separated from his donated book collection, includes handwritten and typewritten correspondence, as well as clippings, programs, and other forms of ephemera. The materials range from 1982 to 2005, the later years of Hecht's literary career.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Helen Hecht, wife of Anthony Hecht, in July 2015.

Separated Materials

The books in the Anthony Hecht Library, where the papers were interleaved, was cataloged and is housed off-site. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Processing Information

Processed by Annie Tang in February 2017. The papers were found in the Anthony Hecht Library, which was donated to Johns Hopkins University. The papers were transferred to the management of the Archives and processed as this separate manuscript holding.

Title
Guide to the Anthony Hecht papers
Author
Annie Tang
Date
January 2017
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA