Richmond Lattimore papers
Scope and Contents
The Richmond Lattimore collection contains the papers of Richmond Lattimore, a former Professor of Greek at Bryn Mawr College who was well known for his translations. The collection, which dates from circa 1924 to 1984, although the bulk of the materials are concentrated circa 1950-1980. The collection is wide-ranging, and provides insight into Lattimore’s professional and personal lives.
The collection includes ten boxes of materials. The collection is divided into the following five series: “Series I: Poetry;” “Series II: Biblical and Classical Translations;” “Series III: Articles, Essays, Lectures, and Reviews;” “Series IV: Correspondence and Works of Others;” and “Series V: Miscellaneous Personal and Bryn Mawr Materials.”
“Series I: Poetry” contains Richmond Lattimore's various handwritten and typed poetry drafts. The majority of the drafts, with the exception of a few translations from the ancient Greek in Folder 3, consist of his original works or translations from modern languages. Chronological groups of poems include the early poems from Dartmouth (1924-1926), poetry from Illini publications (1927-1929), poems of 1949-1957 and poems of 1957-1969. Groups of poetry drafts published in specific collections include the following: Sestina for a Far-off Summer, Continuing Conclusions, Poems, The Stride of Time, and Poems from Three Decades. Other materials included are clippings, offprints, notes on other poets, an unpublished manuscript, a list of published poems and publications, and poems concerning Bryn Mawr College. The groups of drafts are categorized chronologically, miscellaneously, and by publication. Individual poems with multiple drafts in different folder locations are cross-listed. All folder contents are arranged alphabetically by poem title except for Folder 20, which is by publication title, and Folders 3 and 4, which contain notebooks of drafts and are ordered according to page number. For poetry drafts elsewhere in the collection, see Box 8, Folder 13.
“Series II: Biblical and Classical Translations” includes the following items: Richmond Lattimore's notebooks, typescripts, and notes for his biblical translations of The Four Gospels and the Revelations and Acts and Letters of the Apostles; the notebooks, typescripts, and notes for his translations from classical Greek texts, which include Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Works and Days, Theogony and Shield of Herakles, lyric poetry, comedy, and tragedy; and the unpublished manuscript and drafts of Three Battles in Herodotus.
“Series III: Articles, essays, lectures, and reviews” contains a number of Lattimore's published and unpublished works, as well as articles and dissertations written about him. There are also a number of published articles, essays, and reviews of other scholars and poets by Richmond Lattimore; his material from the Penrose Memorial Lecture; a bibliography in his hand; and book reviews of his work. The arrangement of the material is chronological.
“Series IV: Correspondence and Works of Others” is largely constituted by incoming letters and is organized alphabetically by correspondent. His personal correspondents include his brother Owen Lattimore as well as many renowned poets and writers such as Richard Eberhart, Allen Ginsberg, Phyllis McGinley Hayden, Carolyn Kizer, Alexander Laing, William Meredith, Robert Penn Warren, William Carlos Williams, and Anne Sexton. Occasionally his correspondence with other writers enters into dialogue about generational differences among poets and the effect of classical languages on English poetry. Lattimore also corresponded with notable scholars, among them Rhys Carpenter, E.R. Dodds, I.A. Richards, Eric G. Turner, and T.B.L. Webster. The collection also houses correspondence with several publishers of his works, Lattimore's memorial of Penn Haile, his former classmate at Dartmouth; the poems and translations of his sister Isabel Casseres, and poems and essays sent to Lattimore by other writers. For Bryn Mawr correspondence, refer to Box 8, Folder 1 of the miscellaneous personal and Bryn Mawr materials.
“Series V: Miscellaneous Personal and Bryn Mawr Materials” includes incoming and outgoing correspondence with Bryn Mawr personages such as Rhys Carpenter, Katharine McBride, Gertrude Ely, and Carol Rittenhouse. Lattimore's affiliations with national institutions such as The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (AAIAL) and the Peace Movement as well as with Bryn Mawr projects are attested by correspondence and other materials. A few small notebooks contain additional poetry drafts and various notes and lists. Other miscellaneous materials include clippings kept by Lattimore on various topics, a group of programs featuring his poetry or personal participation in various events, pencil sketches, and teaching evaluations by U.C.L.A. students. Also included among his personal materials are his cryptanalysis notebooks from the Navy during World War II and various laudatory certificates. Most material is chronologically arranged, except for the lists of poem drafts, which are arranged alphabetically by poem title.
Best known for his translations of Homer and other Greek greats, Lattimore was respected as both a classicist and a poet. This collection highlights his abilities as a translator and as a creator of original works. Additionally, it showcases some of his personal relationships through his correspondence with people such as his brother, Richard Eberhard, William Carlos Williams, and Katherine McBride. It would be of value to anyone interested in Greek poetry and plays, Lattimore’s work, or Lattimore’s life.
Dates
- Creation: 1924 - 1984
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1950 - 1980
Creator
- Lattimore, Richmond, 1906-1984 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Richmond Lattimore papers are the physical property of the Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.
Biographical / Historical
Richmond Lattimore was born in 1906 in Paotingfu, China, to David and Margaret Barnes Lattimore. He received his A.B. in 1926 from Dartmouth College, where he often contributed his early poetry to the various college publications. He obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in 1928 and 1935 from the University of Illinois. He was a Rhodes Scholar (1929-1932) and a Fulbright Lecturer at Oxford, from which institution he received an A.B. in 1932 and an M.A. in 1964. Lattimore was also a fellow at the American Academy at Rome and it was there that he met and married Alice Bockstahler, with whom he had two sons, Steven and Alexander. In 1935 he was appointed to teach Greek at Bryn Mawr College, where he later held the Paul Shorey Chair in Greek until his retirement in 1971. While at Bryn Mawr, Lattimore frequently celebrated the college in verse at faculty dinners, inaugurations, convocations, or in his personal poems. During World War II he became a lieutenant in the Navy and worked as a cryptanalyst.
His published volumes of original and translated poetry include Hanover Poems (with Alexander Laing), Poems, Sestina for a Far-Off Summer, The Stride of Time, Poems from Three Decades, and Continuing Conclusions. Critical works include Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs, The Poetry of Greek Tragedy and Story Patterns in Greek Tragedy. Translations from the Greek include The Iliad of Homer; The Odyssey of Homer, The Odes of Pindar, Greek Lyrics, The Works and Days, Theogony, and Shield of Herakles; The Oresteia, Iphigeneia at Tauris, The Four Gospels and the Revelation, and Acts and Letters of the Apostles. In addition, Lattimore authored many essays, lectures, and articles and collaborated with other scholars on books such as The Complete Greek Tragedies. Lattimore's translations of Homer and his original poetry also inspired the artworks of Leonard Baskin and Fritz Janschka.
As a translator and a scholar of Greek, as well as an original poet himself, Lattimore held memberships in the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Philological Society, and the Archaeological Institute of America. His honors and awards include the Rhodes Scholarship, Rockefeller Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship, American Council of Learned Societies Award, and Bollingen Translation Award. Richmond Lattimore was awarded the Academy of American Poets Fellowship shortly before his death on February 26th, 1984.
Extent
6.1 linear ft. (10 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Richmond Lattimore (1906-1984) taught Greek at Bryn Mawr College from 1935-1971. While at Bryn Mawr, Lattimore frequently celebrated the college in verse, whether at faculty dinners, inaugurations, convocations, or in his personal poems. He published several volumes of original and translated poetry, critical works,translations, essays and collaborated with other scholars on works such as the "Hanover Poems" and "The Complete Greek Tragedies." The collection is divided into the following five sections: (1) Poetry; (2) Biblical and Classical Translations; (3) Articles, Essays, Lectures, and Reviews; (4) Correspondence and Works of Others; and (5) Miscellaneous Personal and Bryn Mawr Materials. They date from 1924-1984 but the bulk of materials are from 1950-1980.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Richmond Lattimore and Alice Lattimore. Individual gifts of outgoing correspondence are noted.
- Title
- Richmond Lattimore papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jessica Sisk, Melissa Torquato
- Date
- 2013 November 13
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Bryn Mawr College Library
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