Jorge Guillén writings and letters to Nancy Palmer Wardropper

Collection

Identifier: MS-0203

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of writings and outgoing letters spanning 1957-1984. The writings are presentation copies of seven of Guillén's published works: El Abanico de Solita, Cantico, Huerto de Melibea, Mediodia, Otra Serie, Poesia de Miguel Pizarro, and Serie Italiana. The copies are inscribed to Nancy Palmer (later Wardropper). Fourteen outgoing letters span 1957-1979. They are of a personal nature and document that part of Guillén's life spent in the United States. The six letters written between 1957-1959 give itineraries of his travels with addresses and phone numbers; news of members of his family; get-well wishes after Nancy Palmer's operation; and news of her classmates at Wellesley. The rest of the letters (1960-1984) congratulate Nancy on her engagement and marriage to Bruce Wardropper, extend Christmas and New Year's greetings, and give news of colleagues. There is also one card from Teresa Guillén to the Wardroppers acknowledging their expression of sympathy upon Guillén's death.

Dates

Creation: 1957-1984

Creator

Guillén, Jorge, 1893-1984 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

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

Collection is open for use; it had formerly been closed until 2016. See accession file for more information.

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 Note

Jorge Guillén y Alvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27, as well as a university teacher, scholar and literary critic. He was born on January 18, 1893 in Montero Calvo, Spain. He received his Ph.D from the University of Madrid in 1924. Guillén lectured at the Sorbonne (1917-1929) and was professor at the University of Murcia (1926-1929), lecturer at Oxford (1929-1931) and professor at the University of Seville (1931-1938). His opposition to Franco during the Spanish Civil War led to his self-imposed exile from Spain in 1938. He moved to the United States, and taught at Middlebury (1938), Wellesley (1940-1957) and Harvard (1957-1958). Guillén also taught as a guest lecturer at Yale, Berkeley, Ohio State, University of the Andes, University of Puerto Rice, University of Pittsburgh, and University of California/San Diego.

Guillén died on February 6, 1984 at age 90 in Malago, Spain.

Extent

0.24 Cubic Feet (1 legal half-size document box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Jorge Guillén y Alvarez was a Spanish poet as well as a university teacher, scholar and literary critic. The collection consists of writings and outgoing letters spanning 1957-1984.

Provenance

The collection was donated to Special Collections in July 1985. It was the gift of Dr. Nancy Palmer Wardropper, a longtime friend of Guillén.

Related Materials

Special Collections also has approximately 15 letters from Guillén to Eleanor Turnbull (MS.0055). The letters span 1939-1953 and discuss Turnbull's translations of his works.

The bulk of Guillén's papers are held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Processing Information

This is no known processing information for this collection. Kristen Diehl revised the Related Materials note in this finding aid in February 2024 to bring it into compliance with Johns Hopkins guidelines for inclusive and conscientious description (2023). The previous version of the finding aid is available upon request.