Thomas McGrath Papers, 1940-2003

Thomas McGrath Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: Thomas McGrath Papers, 1940-2003

ID: OGLMC308

Primary Creator: McGrath, Thomas (1916-1990)

Extent: 7.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 08/22/1975. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Literary - Poetry, University of North Dakota - Alumni

Languages: English

Abstract

1916-1990; North Dakota Poet

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Thomas McGrath Papers have been divided up into seven series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials

Series 2: Correspondence

Series 3: Written Works

Series 4: Screenplays/Scripts

Series 5: Audio and Video Cassette Tapes

Series 6: Photographs

Series 7: Oversized Materials

Collection Historical Note

"Thomas McGrath was born in 1916, the oldest son of James and Catherine (Shea) McGrath. There were four younger brothers, Jim (killed in World War II), Joe, Martin, and the youngest, Jack. His sister Kathleen was born between Joe and Martin. His parents were farmers, the second generation of them, working the land in Ransom County, North Dakota, near the town of Sheldon, about forty miles west of the Minnesota border, between the Maple and Sheyenne Rivers.

McGrath went to grade and high school in Sheldon, and then started somewhat delayed and intermittent University studies at Moorhead State University. Eventually, he attended the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, where he earned a B.A. in 1939. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he found that he could not use it immediately, because of the outbreak of World War II. He had received offers from a number of universities to begin work on an advanced degree - as had other Rhodes Scholars that year - and accepted an offer from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. There he studied, most intensely with Cleanth Brooks, was involved in radical political activity, wrote, and met Alan Swallow, who published McGrath's first book of poems as part of the development of The Swallow Press.

In the 1940-1941 academic year McGrath taught at Colby College in Maine, but did not find teaching there entirely satisfactory and thus left at the end of the academic year to go to New York City. There he wrote, organized, did legal research for attorneys engaged in "political" cases, and worked at the Kearney Shipyards, until he entered the armed forces in 1942. Most of his time in the service was spent on Amchitka Island. He was discharged with the rank of sergeant in 1945. After a period of adjustment he was finally able to undertake the year of study provided by the Rhodes Scholarship and spent 1947-1948 at New College, Oxford, England.

Returning from the United States after some travel, McGrath engaged in various occupations and eventually found a faculty position at Los Angeles State University, where he taught from 1951 to 1954. His dismissal from this institution was directly connected with his appearance as an unfriendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, when that infamous body brought its hearings to Los Angeles in 1953.

From 1954 to 1960 McGrath worked variously as a secondary school teacher at a private institution, for a company that manufactured carved wooden animals, and at other jobs that might earn him his keep. He wrote film and television scripts from time to time, several of the former for director Mike Cimino. In 1960 he resumed his academic career, teaching at C.W. Post College (now part of Long Island University) in New York. At about this time he founded, with his wife Genia, the journal Crazy Horse.

In 1962 he returned to North Dakota, where he taught for five years at North Dakota State University at Fargo. In 1969 McGrath accepted a faculty position at Moorhead State University where he had first begun his studies as an undergraduate. At the end of the 1982-1983 academic year he retired from Moorhead State and moved to Minneapolis, where he now lives. [Note: Thomas McGrath died on 19 September 1990 in Minneapolis]

McGrath has held a variety of significant editorial positions and has been awarded a variety of distinguished prizes and fellowships for his work as a poet. Among the former, in addition to his founding editorship of Crazy Horse, he has been a contributing editor of Mainstream (later Masses and Mainstream) and has served on the editorial board of the California Quarterly. He has held an Amy Lowell Travelling Fellowship in Poetry (1965), has twice been awarded National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships (1974, 1982), was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1967, and was twice a Bush Fellow (1976, 1981). In May 1981 the University of North Dakota awarded him a Doctorate of Letters. In 1977 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Western Literature. In 1986, The Associated Writing Programs presented McGrath an award at a dinner in Chicago, at which tributes to him were presented by author "Studs" Terkel and poets Philip Levine and Michael Anania. In the same year, a "Ceili" was held by Minneapolis's "the Loft," at which many distinguished poets and writers celebrated McGrath's seventieth birthday.

McGrath has been married three times, to Marion, Alice, and Eugenia (Genia), all of whom appear in his poetry. He is the father of a son, Tomasito, to whom much poetry from McGrath's later work is addressed and dedicated."

Source:

Stern, Frederick. "A Biographical Sketch of Thomas McGrath." In The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath, edited by Frederick Stern. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1988.

Subject/Index Terms

Literary - Poetry
University of North Dakota - Alumni

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Accruals:

Numerous donations to the collection have been received:

1970s: 8 January 1976; 1 April 1976; 1978 (78-492); 22 January 1979 (79-563)

1980s: Robert Lewis, English Department, University of North Dakota, in June 1985 (85-1394) and March 31, 1989 (89-1648); Dale Jacobson on 30 March 1987 (87-1526); James McKenzie, English Department, University of North Dakota on July 11, 1988 (88-1605); Robert Lewis, on March 31, 1989 (89-1648)

1990s: Lois Vossen, The Loft, St. Paul, Minnesota via Robert Lewis, English Department, University of North Dakota, on May 8, 1991 (91-7147); Jack Beeching, Menton, France, on April 16, 1992 (92-1816) and June 25, 1992 (92-1836); Robert Lewis, English Department, University of North Dakota, on August 15, 1991 (92-1818), March 24, 1992 (92-1817), on June 28, 1993 (93-1893), February 9, 1996 (96-2056) March 20, 1996 (96-2068) and June 16, 1999 (99-2318); Robert Edwards, St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 30, 1991 (92-1819); Naomi Stern, Gary, Indiana, on November 23, 1992; Richard F. Hampsten, English Department, University of North Dakota, on June 16, 1993 (93-1885); David Martinson, English Department, North Dakota State University, on 10 September 1993 (93-1910); Alice McGrath, Ventura, California, via Robert Lewis in January 1994 and February 9, 1996 (96-2055); Enid Smeall on September 29, 1994 (94-1998); Glenn Sheldon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in October 1994 (94-1975); Lawrence Spingarn via Dale Jacobson on September 17, 1996; Richard Nickson of New York via Robert Lewis on May 13, 1996 (96-2075); James McKenzie, English Department, University of North Dakota, in May 1999 (99-2335); Richard Nickson, English Department, University of North Dakota, on July 27, 1999 (99-2358) and September 1, 1999 (99-2373)

2000s: Ellen Erickson, College of Art and Sciences, University of North Dakota, on July 5, 2000 (2000-2484); John Bye, Institute for Regional Studies at North Dakota State University on June 11, 2001 (2001-2505); Dr. Robert Lewis, English Department, University of North Dakota, on November 16, 2001 (2002-2543); Alice McGrath, Ventura, California, on May 27, 2004 (2004-2693) and August 31, 2004 (2005-2760); Mary Margaret Frank, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on August 17, 2006 (2006-2848); Glenn Sheldon, Department of Interdisciplinary and Special Programs, University of Toledo, on August 25, 2006 (2006-2849); Bjarne Male Chorus Records, on August 28, 2006 (2006-2847)

2010s: Holly Woolson, Ojai, California, on September 20, 2010 (2011-3074); Margo Robbins, Washington D.C., on January 23, 2017 (2017-3349)

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: Thomas McGrath

Acquisition Method: Donation; the original acquisition records are unavailable

Related Publications: Please search the library catalog for a complete list.

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Thomas McGrath Papers. OGLMC 308, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Re-processed by Hannah Naylor, Special Collections Intern, in Summer 2017.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical Materials],
[Series 2: Correspondence],
[Series 3: Written Works],
[Series 4: Screenplays/Scripts],
[Series 5: Audio and Video Cassette Tapes],
[Series 6: Photographs],
[Series 7: Oversized Materials],
[All]

Series 1: Biographical Materials

Series 1 contains materials related to Thomas McGrath's education, career, life, and death. The folders are organized in sections, with each section being in chronological order. The first section of folders relate to McGrath's early career and education (awards, interviews, features in literature, etc.). The second section is largely focused on McGrath's political affiliations and conflicts with the United States government. The third section contains materials related to McGrath's 70th birthday celebration (RSVP's, tributes, etc.). Next are documents that relate to McGrath's death and various memorials held in his honor, followed by miscellaneous newspaper clippings/writings about McGrath.

Box 1

Folder 1: Report for the Year 1947-48 on Rhodes Scholars from North Dakota
Folder 2: Guggenheim Fellowship (Application and Correspondence)
Folder 3: Academic Material Related to McGrath's tenure as a Professor at NDSU, October 28, 1963
Folder 4: UND Notice of Appointment, July 7, 1977
Folder 5: Poetry Reading Advertisement, March 31, 1981
Folder 6: UND "News", May 6, 1981
Folder 7: The American Book Award, 1984
Folder 8: Poetry Previews, May 14, 1955
Folder 9: Coastlines, Vol. 1, No. 3, December, 1955
Folder 10: Dakotah Territory No. 2; Richard Lyons: "An Interview with Tom McGrath, Part II" (Page 8), February, 1972
Folder 11: North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 1, Joseph F. S. Smeall: Thomas McGrath: A Review Essay" (Page 29), Winter, 1972
Folder 12: Preview, Vol. 7, No. 6, James Moore: "Dakota Is Everywhere-A Conversation with Thomas McGrath" (Page 9); Poems by Gene Frumkin and Carl Larsen, June, 1973
Folder 13: South Dakota Review, John Milton: Questions on "Place" in Literature and Responses from Thomas McGrath, 1975
Folder 14: North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4, Fall, 1982
Folder 15: Interview of Thomas McGrath by James H. Rogers, 1984
Folder 16: Interview of Thomas McGrath by Jim Mckenzie and Bob Lewis during "UND Writers Conference", 1985
Folder 17: Border Crossings, Vol. 4, No. 4, Robert W. Lewis and James Mckenzie: "A Poet with Aberrations: an interview with Tom McGrath" (Page 104), Fall, 1985
Folder 18: Foreign Literature, Vol. 11, 1987
Folder 19: Foreign Literature, Vol. 12, 1987
Folder 20: The Independent Shavian, Vol. 27, No. 1-2, Richard Nickson: "Shaw in Academe: the 1950s" (Page 17 discusses McGrath and his interaction with the HUAC), 1989
Folder 21: The American Poetry Review, Vol. 18, No. 3, Thomas McGrath: "Night Meeting & Other Poems, A Special APR Supplement" (Page 23) and Dale Jacobson: "The Journey To Celebration In McGrath's Poetry" (Page 27), May/June, 1989
Folder 22: People's Culture, Vol. 2, No. 1, John Crawford: "Other Books and Issues In Review" (Page 15 mentions McGrath and Subversive Agent), September, 1990
Folder 23: People's Culture, New Series #1, Fred Whitehead: "Tom McGrath Memorial Meetings" (Page 4) and New Series #2, Fred Whitehead: "Special Announcement: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Thomas McGrath" (Page 8), January-April, 1991
Folder 24: The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Glenn Sheldon: "Interview with Alice McGrath", 1991-92
Folder 25: The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1, Glenn Sheldon: "Interview with Alice McGrath" (Page 8), Winter 1992
Folder 26: Reports from the U.S. Department of Justice
Folder 27: Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles Area-Part 5, "Hearings Before the Committee on Un-American Activities House of Representatives", December 2, 1952-April 13, 1953
Folder 28: Alice McGrath's FBI File
Folder 29: Photocopy of "Annual Report of the Committee on Un-American Activities for the Year 1953", 1953
Folder 30: Character References Written in Support of Thomas McGrath's Case in a Trial for Manslaughter (Trial Took Place in October of 1975), September 1975
Folder 31: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Lodging Arrangements, 1986
Folder 32: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Funding, 1986
Folder 33: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Correspondence between Coordinator Lois Vassen and Members of the Panel, April 9, 1986-September 15, 1986
Folder 34: Ceili- Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Originals of Letters Sent Out by "the Loft", July 7, 1986-September, 1986
Folder 35: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Contributions to "the Loft" for a Special Section of The View, September 2, 1986
Folder 36: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Recording and Photography Release, September 26, 1986
Folder 37: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Announcements and Programs, September 26-27, 1986
Folder 38: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; RSVP Acceptances, 1986
Folder 39: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Regrets, 1986
Folder 40: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Tributes to Tom from Friends and Admirers Who Were Unable to Attend, 1986
Folder 41: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Newspaper Clippings, 1986
Folder 42: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Special Section of The View Published in Honor of McGrath, 1986
Folder 43: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Thank You Letters, 1986
Folder 44: Ceili-Thomas McGrath's 70th Birthday Party; Miscellaneous, 1986
Folder 45: Praises-Thomas McGrath's Memorial Dinner RSVP's, November 19, 1990-March 15, 1991
Folder 46: Praises-Thomas McGrath's Memorial Dinner Mailing Lists and Correspondence, December, 1990-March 15, 1991
Folder 47: Assorted Announcements for Several Different Memorials Held in Honor of Thomas McGrath, November 19, 1990-March 15, 1991
Folder 48: A View from the Loft, Vol. 13, No. 5, Lois Vossen: "Mourning and Rejoicing: In Memory of Tom McGrath" (Page 5), December, 1990
Folder 49: The Shining Times, Special Edition, Includes McGrath's Writings and Various Articles/Reviews/Essays, 1998
Folder 50: Newspaper Clippings, July 6, 1980-January 24, 1987
Folder 51: Newspaper Clippings, December 25, 1977-October 24, 1992
Folder 52: Newspaper Clippings Related to McGrath's Death, 1990
Folder 53: Assorted Articles about Thomas McGrath and His Poetry, Including Glenn Sheldon's Master Thesis: Revolution: The Significance of "The Fifth Season" in the Poems of Thomas McGrath and Corresponding Letter from Sheldon, 1954-April 25, 1990
Folder 54: Catalog of Exhibit: Thomas McGrath: An Exhibit of First Editions, Small Press Publications and Manuscripts at NDSU, May 1, 1991-June 30, 1991
Folder 55: Program Advertisement and Essay by David Pink: "Restoring Faith: Thomas McGrath's Vision of Community in Letter to an Imaginary Friend", March 3, 1996
Folder 56: Miscellaneous Reviews, Praises, and Other Writings/Documents Relating to Thomas McGrath, November, 1952-1991

Series 2: Correspondence

Series 2 contains correspondence between McGrath and various other people, including editors, family members, friends, etc. The series has two sections, both of which are in chronological order. The first section is correspondence between McGrath and numerous individuals. The second section contains correspondence between McGrath and specific individuals over prolonged periods of time.

Box 2

Folder 1: Correspondence, 1958-1984
Folder 2: Correspondence, February, 1962
Folder 3: Correspondence, March, 1962
Folder 4: Correspondence, April, 1962
Folder 5: Correspondence, May, 1962
Folder 6: Correspondence, June, 1962
Folder 7: Correspondence, July, 1962
Folder 8: Correspondence, August, 1962
Folder 9: Correspondence, September, 1962
Folder 10: Correspondence, October, 1962
Folder 11: Correspondence, November, 1962
Folder 12: Correspondence, December, 1962
Folder 13: Correspondence, January, 1963
Folder 14: Correspondence, February, 1963
Folder 15: Correspondence, March, 1963
Folder 16: Correspondence, May, 1963
Folder 17: Correspondence, June, 1963
Folder 18: Correspondence, July, 1963
Folder 19: Correspondence, August, 1963-September, 1963
Folder 20: Correspondence, October, 1963
Folder 21: Correspondence, November, 1963-December, 1963
Folder 22: Correspondence, January, 1964
Folder 23: Correspondence, February, 1964
Folder 24: Correspondence, May, 1964-July, 1964
Folder 25: Correspondence, August, 1964-September, 1964
Folder 26: Correspondence, October, 1964-November, 1964
Folder 27: Correspondence, December, 1964
Folder 28: Correspondence, January, 1965
Folder 29: Correspondence, February, 1965
Folder 30: Correspondence, March, 1965
Folder 31: Correspondence, April, 1965
Folder 32: Correspondence, May, 1965
Folder 33: Correspondence, July, 1965-December, 1965
Folder 34: Correspondence, February, 1966-March, 1966
Folder 35: Correspondence, April, 1966
Folder 36: Correspondence, May, 1966-June, 1966
Folder 37: Correspondence, July, 1966
Folder 38: Correspondence, August, 1966
Folder 39: Correspondence, September, 1966
Folder 40: Correspondence, October, 1966-November, 1966
Folder 41: Correspondence, December, 1966
Folder 42: Correspondence, January, 1967-April, 1967
Folder 43: Correspondence, May, 1967
Folder 44: Correspondence, June, 1967-July, 1967
Folder 45: Correspondence, August, 1967
Folder 46: Correspondence, 1968
Folder 47: Correspondence, January, 1968-August, 1968
Folder 48: Correspondence, January, 1969-March, 1969
Folder 49: Correspondence, April, 1969-July, 1969
Folder 50: Correspondence, January 15, 1970-July 6, 1970
Folder 51: Correspondence, July 8, 1970-August 5, 1970
Folder 52: Correspondence, August 7, 1970-September 2, 1970
Folder 53: Correspondence, September 5, 1970-October 5, 1970
Folder 54: Correspondence, October 6, 1970-November 2, 1970
Folder 55: Correspondence, November 3, 1970-November 10, 1970
Folder 56: Correspondence, November 11, 1970-November 17, 1970
Folder 57: Correspondence, November 17, 1970-December 9, 1970
Folder 58: Correspondence, December 9, 1970-January 18, 1971
Folder 59: Correspondence, January 19, 1971-February 11, 1971
Folder 60: Correspondence, February 12, 1971-March 29, 1971
Folder 61: Correspondence, March 29, 1971-April 10, 1971
Folder 62: Correspondence, January, 1971-April, 1971
Folder 63: Correspondence, May, 1971
Folder 64: Correspondence, June, 1971
Folder 65: Correspondence, July, 1971
Folder 66: Correspondence, August, 1971
Folder 67: Correspondence, September, 1971
Folder 68: Correspondence, October, 1971
Folder 69: Correspondence, November, 1971
Folder 70: Correspondence, December, 1971
Folder 71: Correspondence, January, 1972
Folder 72: Correspondence, February, 1972
Folder 73: Correspondence, March, 1972
Folder 74: Correspondence, April, 1972
Folder 75: Correspondence, May, 1972
Folder 76: Correspondence, June, 1972
Folder 77: Correspondence, July, 1972
Folder 78: Correspondence, August, 1972
Folder 79: Correspondence, September, 1972
Folder 80: Correspondence, October, 1972
Folder 81: Correspondence, November, 1972
Folder 82: Correspondence, December, 1972
Folder 83: Correspondence, January, 1973
Folder 84: Correspondence, February, 1973
Folder 85: Correspondence, March, 1973
Folder 86: Correspondence, April, 1973
Folder 87: Correspondence, May, 1973
Folder 88: Correspondence, June, 1973
Folder 89: Correspondence, July, 1973
Folder 90: Correspondence, August, 1973
Folder 91: Correspondence, September, 1973
Folder 92: Correspondence, October, 1973
Folder 93: Correspondence, November, 1973
Folder 94: Correspondence, December, 1973
Folder 95: Correspondence, January, 1974
Folder 96: Correspondence, February, 1974-April, 1974
Folder 97: Correspondence, August, 1974-September, 1974
Folder 98: Correspondence, October, 1974-December, 1974
Folder 99: Correspondence, January, 1975-March, 1975
Folder 100: Correspondence, April, 1975-June, 1975
Folder 101: Correspondence, August, 1975
Folder 102: Correspondence, September, 1975
Folder 103: Correspondence, October, 1975
Folder 104: Correspondence, 1975-1988
Folder 105: Correspondence Including Poems from David Martinson, 1975
Folder 106: Correspondence Relating to Frederick Stern's Paper, "The Delegate for Poetry: McGrath as Communist Poet", 1975-1978
Folder 107: Correspondence; Including Notes Regarding Paper to be presented by Frederick Stern at Winter MLA Meeting, 1975-1990
Folder 108: Correspondence, 1976
Folder 109: Correspondence, 1976
Folder 110: Correspondence, 1977
Folder 111: Correspondence between Frederick Stern and Thomas McGrath, 1977-1989
Folder 112: Correspondence, 1978
Folder 113: Correspondence, 1985
Folder 114: Correspondence, 1987-1995
Folder 115: Correspondence between Robert W. Lewis and Ann Diament; and between Diament and Thomas McGrath, 1989-1991

Box 3

Folder 1: Correspondence to Jack Beeching from Thomas McGrath; Also Includes Letters from Alice McGrath, 1949-1989
Folder 2: Correspondence from Thomas McGrath to Alice McGrath, (Probably from 1950)
Folder 3: Correspondence from Thomas McGrath to Alice McGrath, January, 1981-August, 1984
Folder 4: Correspondence and Proposals Regarding Proposed 1982 and 1983 Special Sessions on Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, 1982-1983
Folder 5: Correspondence between Frederick Stern and George Day Regarding an Article Submitted for Literary History of the West, 1982-1983
Folder 6: Correspondence between Frederick Stern and Contributing Authors Regarding The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath, 1983-1989
Folder 7: Correspondence to Nickson from McGrath
Folder 8: Correspondence between Alice and Tom McGrath
Folder 9: Correspondence between Alice and Tom McGrath (Typed Version)
Folder 10: Correspondence between Frederick Stern and Various University Presses Regarding The Revolutionary Poet in the United States
Folder 11: Correspondence, Including Abstracts and Copies of Thomas McGrath and The Long Poem by Frederick Stern
Folder 12: Correspondence between Frederick Stern and the University of Missouri Press, 1987
Folder 13: Correspondence Regarding Copyright Permission for Pieces Used in Frederick Stern's Book
Folder 14: Correspondence and Poems Related to Crazy Horse
Folder 15: Correspondence between Robert Lewis and Richard Nickson
Folder 16: Letter from Billy Collins Along with Biographical Sketch, 2003
Folder 17: Correspondence from Allen Planz
Folder 18: Correspondence, (Not Dated)
Folder 19: Correspondence and Photocopies of Two Notebooks, (Not Dated)
Folder 20: Miscellaneous Correspondence

Series 3: Written Works

Series 3 contains a variety of written works both by McGrath and other authors and poets. The series begins with McGrath's written works (first the longer works organized by publication date, and then assorted poetry). The next section of the series contains written works by other authors, typically in reference to McGrath or in conversation with his writings (first the longer works organized chronologically when possible, and then assorted poetry).

Box 4

Folder 1: Copy of First Manifesto by Thomas McGrath, 1940

Folder 2: Handwritten Manuscript of Letter to an Imaginary Friend Part I

Folder 3: Typed Copy of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part II

Folder 4: Typed Copy of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part II, with Corrections

Folder 5: Typed Copy of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part II, with Handwritten Corrections

Folder 6: Copy of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part II Manuscript

Folder 7: Typed Copy of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part II Manuscript

Folder 8: Drafts of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part III, and Various Poems

This folder contains the following poems which are listed by title or first line:

"Letter to an Imaginary Friend (Part III)" (typed with handwritten corrections)

"Totems MS VI" (handwritten)

"Totems VI" (typed)

"Afternoon of a McGrath" (handwritten)

"Afternoon of a McGrath" (typed)

"Late in the early dark"

"Totems V" (handwritten)

"Totems V" (typed with handwritten corrections)

"Hard Bought"

"In Search"

"Remembering Loves and Deaths"

"Body of a woman, shadows of black and white"

"A Tomasito Poem"

"Revisionist Poem--Pope"

"Why We Love Wakan Tanka"

"Revisionist Poem--Machado"

"Next Door to the Poorhouse"

"Tomasito's Conundrum"

"A Tomasito Poem"

"John Grass Says"

"Night Work"

"For Tomasito"

"You, Yannis Ritsos"

"The true darkness of the forest"

"Somewhere Ahead"

"Footnote"

"Fallen chestnut blossoms"

"Comfort"

"Remembering Issa"

"My dandelions"

"Ghost Fire"

"End of a Season"

"In the Stoa of Attalus"

"Alas!"

"In fog..."

"A Theory"

"A Sound of One Hand"

"Solon's Song"

"Conundrum"

"Advice"

"In the smallest tidepool"

"Greek Wedding"

"Children's Games"

"The Children" (handwritten)

"Totems (I)"

"The Children" (typed with handwritten corrections)

"Totems (IV)" (typed with handwritten corrections)

"Totems (IV)" (handwritten)

"Next Door to the Poorhouse"

"Revisionist Poem"

"Toward Paradise"

"The Preterition of Aquarius"

"Preterition Again"

"A Sociology of Instincts"

"Totems (I)" (typed with handwritten corrections)

"Totems (I)" (typed)

"Totems (II)" (typed)

"Totems (III)" (typed)

"Mottoes for a Sampler on Historical Subjects"

"The Last War Poem of the War"

"Blues for Cisco Houston"

"Something is Dying Here"

"Driving Toward Boston I Run Across One Of Robert Bly's Old Poems" (typed)

"Long Distance From a War"

"Praises"

"The Return"

"In the Pentagon Parking Lot October '67"

"What Wakes Us"

"Travels of an American in Search of God"

"A Homecoming for Odysseus"

"Driving Toward Boston I Run Across One Of Bob Bly's Old Poems" (handwritten)

"People coming with their arms full of books"

"Crow Cry,"

"Children's Games"

"The Lineaments of Unsatisfied Desire"

"Sound of 1 Hand"

"Alas!"

"Children's Games"

"Driving Toward Boston I Run Across One of Robert Bly's Old Poems" (typed)

"The Little Judgment"

"Pictures from the Lost Continent of Currier & Ives"

"Salute"

"Eclipse"

"For Tomasito"

"In the Sleep of Reason"

"Eclipse" (handwritten)

"Summer"

"The Cottonwood"

"A Million Puffs of Smoke!"

"Surprise"

"For Tomasito"

"The Scalping Knife"

"The Legends"

"A barbwire fence"

"The Sea Inside Us"

"The Scalping Knife"

"A barbwire fence interrupting"

"Where Janie Went In"

"Epitaph of a Man Devoured by Monsters"

"Where Janie Went In"

"Terrors and Advantages"

"Summer lightening shivers in the high pine"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"What is Named"

"Horses of the Moon--"

"The Sound of One Hand I"

"Horses of the Moon--"

"Arrivals"

"The thinning fog--"

"Arrivals"

"Summer night O Magnificent"

"Loon"

"Arrivals"

"The two--faced sea--"

"The Sound of One Hand XIII"

The two--faced sea--"

"Darkness of Winter Solstice"

"Everything vertical"

"Sultry afternoon. The old dog"

"The high hunting hawk--" (4 Copies)

"The list of one thousand false addresses" (4 Copies)

"Everything Vertical"

"The Sound of One Hand (concl.)"

"Summer night O magnificent" (3 Copies)

"West wind sleet cold november breath"

"The stick of the blind man"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"The long wind of winter"

"Darkness of winter solstice"

"Summer Night O Magnificent"

"Ear to Hear"

"The Sound of One Hand II"

"Down the small and crooked road"

"Did you bring me a present? the little boy asks"

"Black"

"The rabbit dreams of hunting"

"To speak is the vice"

"Yes"

"Among the Trophies of Death"

"Empty Canvas"

"All is not Well?"

"Empty Canvas."

"The Sound of One Hand"

"Anonymity has a name;"

"After moondown"

"Down the small and crooked road"

"The Sound of One Hand IV"

"I am travelling, travelling;"

"The Sound of One Hand VIII"

"Umber Sundown"

"For Alvaro"

"Sleepy Birdsong..."

"Pheasant Season"

"The long wound of summer--"

"Across the winter-white coulee hills"

"Some Kinds of Knowledge"

"Hunter in the field,"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"Full moon and silence"

"Powers of Darkness"

"Route Song and Epitaph"

"Summer Lightening"

"I see the moon"

"Your Knife's..."

"Man Attacked by Bear"

"The Exiles Epitaph"

"That's the Way It Goes"

"A Season"

"Presumptions"

"Peace! Land! Peyote!"

"Poem"

"At Fargo"

"After Moondown"

"In November empty fields"

"A Field of Sunflowers"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"Darkness of winter solstice;"

"The long wound of summer--"

"Pheasant Season"

"Sleepy birdsong..."

"For Alvaro"

"You out there, so secret."

"I am travelling, travelling..."

"The grand days,"

"Umber Sundown"

"Across the winter-white coulee hills"

"What we don't know kills us"

"Little old deer in the dry creek"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"Small things, soft,"

"Arrivals"

"After moondown"

"Anonymity has a name;"

"November empty fields:"

"One Farmhouse light--"

"To speak is the vice"

"The queen of Accident County"

"All is not well?"

"Empty canvas."

"Among the trophies of Death:"

"The stick of the blind man"

"Ear to hear:"

"Empty playground,"

"Down the small and crooked road"

"Did you bring me a present? the litte boy asks?"

"Black"

"The rabbit dreams of hunting."

"Surprise!"

"Summer"

"In the Sleep of Reason"

"The scarecrow shivering in November corn."

"Gloomy wood, and this highwayman"

"Moon"

"Full Moon"

"The Stars"

"Hunter in the cold field."

"Across a thousand miles of snow"

"The seas inside us"

"The Little Judgment"

"In the Sleep of Reason, Monsters are Born"

"Affirmation"

"Song"

"The Deaths of Poets"

"Sound of One Hand"

"Meanwhile like a tired magician, from his"

"Their darkness is not our darkness"

"Dawn song"

"Some Kinds of Knowledge"

"The Classics"

"The long wind of winter" (3 Copies)

"Hushed bright pond stillness" (3 Copies)

"Among the Things We Are Left to Do" (3 Copies)

"Loud November Rain." (3 Copies)

"From Old Days"

"What We Think We Know"

"The Sound of One Hand XII"

"A History of Language"

"The Sound of One Hand III"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"Half-life"

"Some Kinds of Knowledge"

"Terrors and Advantages"

"Resurrections"

"A Distant Republic Demands"

"After His Girl Cut Out"

"Proportions"

"Why I Never Married the Queen of--"

"Legislations of Darkness"

"The Sound of One Hand"

"A Sound of One Hand X"

"Faults of Darkness"

"loon"

"Cross Country Flight"

"Weights and Measures" (3 Copies)

"The Need for Dictionaries"

"Classicism"

"Why I Never Married the Queen of----"

"Loon"

"Where Janie Went In"

"Epitaph of a Man Devoured by Monsters"

"Terrors and Advantages"

"Summer lightening shivers in the high pine"

"The Need for Dictionaries II"

"Horses of Moon"

"The two--faced sea--"

"Sultry afternoon. The old dog"

"Summer night O magnificent"

"Callings"

"In the list of one thousand false addresses"

"In Other Worlds"

"The slow sulphur"

"Full moon and silence."

"The stars"

"Hunter in the cold field."

"How it Feels to be Saved"

"The scarecrow shivering in November corn."

"Gloomy woods, and this highway"

"The Need for Dictionaries III"

"Moon"

"The Unfairness of It All"

"What We Don't Know Kills Us"

"Small things, soft,"

"Arrivals"

"Somewhere Ahead"

"Fallen chestnut blossoms"

"Comfort"

"Remembering Issa"

"My Dandelions"

"Ghost fire"

"In fog..."

"A Theory"

"Morning and Evening"

"Advice"

"In the smallest tidepool"

"Peace! Land! Peyote"

"Visitors"

"The true darkness of the forest"

"Greek Wedding"

"Alas!"

"Love Song"

"The Dream Range"

"Poem for the Front Door"

"Totems"

"Outside My Window"

"The Preterition of Aquarious"

"A Sociology of Instincts"

"A Tomasito Poem"

"Why We Love Wakan Tankan"

"Revisionist Poem: Machado"

"Next Door to the Poorhouse"

"Tomasito's Conundrum"

"Lament for Pablo Neruda"

"Peace! Land! Peyote!"

"Yes"

"Westwind sleet cold November breath:" (2 Copies)

"After moondown" (2 Copies)

"The Sound of One Hand" (2 Copies)

"Summer lightening shivers the high pine." (2 Copies)

"Terrors and Advantages" (2 Copies)

"Some Kinds of Knowledge" (2 Copies)

"Loon" (2 Copies)

"Why I Never Married the Queen of--------" (2 Copies)

"Full Moon and Silence"

"Summer Night O Magnificent" (2 Copies)

"October leaf-fall" (2 Copies)

"Hunter in the field," (2 Copies)

"In November empty fields:"

"Classecism" (2 Copies)

"The Sound of One Hand" (2 Copies)

"Be Careful"

Folder 9: Manuscript Drafts of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part III

Folder 10: Final Manuscript of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part III

Folder 11: Notebook Containing Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part IV, Section III

Folder 12: Final Manuscript of Letter to an Imaginary Friend, Part IV

Folder 13: Movie at the End of the World Poems and Addressed Individuals to Receive Copies/Acknowledgements

Folder 14: Documents Relating to The Movie at the End of the World

Folder 15: Manuscript of Echoes Inside the Labyrinth

Folder 16: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles, "All but the Last" (Pages 1-150)

Folder 17: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles (Pages 1-150), Printed in the North Dakota Quarterly, Vo. 52, No. 4, 1984

Folder 18: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles (Pages 151-300)

Folder 19: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles, "All But the Last" (Pages 151-300)

Folder 20: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles (Pages 301-435)

Folder 21: Manuscript of This Coffin Has No Handles, "All But the Last" (Pages 301-435), Including Editor's Comments

Folder 22: Voices from Beyond the Wall by Thomas McGrath

Folder 23: Waiting for the Angel by Thomas McGrath

Folder 24: Copy (In Russian) of the Newspaper "The Union Administration of Authors of the U.S.S.R," Including a Poem by Thomas McGrath, August 1, 1963

Folder 25: Dakota Arts Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, Including 6 Poems by McGrath, 1977

Folder 26: Manuscript of Seven Poems by Thomas McGrath, Published in North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 1

Folder 27: Four Poems by Thomas McGrath (Proofs), Printed in North Dakota Quarterly, 1988

Folder 28: Letters to Tomasito (Proofs)

Folder 29: Drafts/Proofs

Folder 30: Handwritten Notes and Typed Drafts

Folder 31: Poem: "Lear's Murzzuschlag Song: Allegro Energico E Passionato" for Edward Dahlberg, September, 1968

Folder 32: Poems

This folder contains the following poems (listed by title or first line):

"7 Choruses on Unemployment"

"Child"

"Poem for the Front Door"

"Hard Bought"

"Definition"

"When We Say Goodbye"

"Little miracle,"

"My little son, laughing, singing..."

"Imagining Foreign Lands"

"Travelling West with Tomasito"

"Hard Bought"

"The Orphan"

"Why We Love Wakan Tanka"

"During the Fall"

"How could I have come so far?"

"Tomasito's World"

"For Genia and Tomasito"

"When I carry my little son in the cold"

"How to be so small"

"Tomasito's Mantra"

"Definition"

"Poem-Unfinished Poem"

"To Be Continued"

"The Changeling"

"You Taught Me"

"How wonderful, Tomasito!"

"The Present"

"Afternoon of a McGrath"

"Travelling West with Tomasito"

"During the Fall"

"Why We Love Wakan Tanka"

"When We Say Goodbye"

"Advice"

"Definition" (2 Copies)

"My little son, laughing, singing..." (2 Copies)

"Imagining Foreign Lands"(2 Copies)

"The Orphan" (2 Copies)

"Little miracle," (2 Copies)

"How could I have come so far?" (2 Copies)

"Tomasito's World"

"Let me show you"

"For Genia and Tomasito" (2 Copies)

"When I carry my little son in the cold" (2 Copies)

"Poem-Unfinished Poem" (2 Copies)

"How to be so small" (2 Copies)

"Tomasito's Mantra" (2 Copies)

"The Enemy"

"The empty field..."

"For Jack Beeching"

"People say after death:"

"Light flares from the tombstones..."

"Another Season"

"Barnacle-pocked abalone shell--"

"All night long I heard the owls"

"The wind groans through the trees,"

"Through the fog"

"Midnight."

"The cat bird"

"The News and the Weather"

"Where Rome was burning"

"Across the narrow road"

"Building his house"

"Moonlight"

"Callings"

"Loud November Rain"

"Moon"

"Faults of Darkness"

"Weights and Measures"

"Somewhere Ahead"

"The stick of the blind man"

"How it feels to be saved"

The queen of Accident County"

"Visitors"

"Be Careful"

"Hushed bright pond stillness."

"The Need for Dictionaries II"

"Eclipse"

"Small things, soft,"

"In the smallest tidepool"

"The grand days"

"Where Janie Went In"

"The slow sulfur"

"A Distant Republic Demands"

"Gross Country Flight"

"Horses of the moon--"

"The long wound of the summer--"

"Half-life"

"Lightcrackle"

"What We Think We Know"

Poem"

"A Season"

"Your knife's a most particular guest"

"Loon"

"The rabbit dreams of hunting"

"Empty playground"

"Ear to hear;"

"Empty Canvas"

"All is not well"

"To speak is the vice"

"Anonymity has a name;"

"I am travelling, travelling..."

"The scarecrow shivering in November corn."

"You out there, so secret."

"The stars"

"What We Don't Know Kills Us"

"The Cottonwood"

"Comfort"

"In fog..."

"Advice"

"A Theory"

Folder 33: Poetry by Thomas McGrath

This folder contains the following poems (listed according to title or first line):

"Yes"

"Be Careful"

"All month long I have heard the owls"

"Among the Things We Are Left to Do"

"The stars! The stars!"

"You, Yannis Ritsos"

"Affirmation"

"Peace! Land! Peyote!"

"Visitors"

"The true darkness of the forest"

"Greek Wedding"

"Alas!"

"Eclipse"

"ON THE OCCASION of the launching of the Red"

"In the smallest tidepool"

"Advice"

"Morning and evening"

"A Theory"

"In fog..."

"Ghost fire"

"My dandelions"

"Remembering Issa"

"Comfort"

"Fallen chestnut blossoms"

"Somewhere Ahead"

"Surprise"

"A barbwire fence"

"The Scalping Knife"

"Summer"

"The Cottonwood"

"A million puffs of smoke!"

"Arrivals"

"What We Don't Know Kills Us"

"THE UNFAIRNESS OF IT ALL"

"Moon"

"The Need for Dictionaries III"

"Gloomy woods, and this highwayman"

"The scarecrow shivering in November corn."

"The stars"

"Darkness of winter solstice"

"The long wound of summer--"

"Pheasant Season"

"Sleepy Birdsong..."

"For Alvaro"

"You out there, so secret."

"I am travelling, travelling"

"The Grand days,"

"Umber sundown."

"Across the winter-white coulee hills"

"Anonymity has a name"

"One farmhouse light--"

"To speak is the vice"

"The queen of Accident County"

"All is not well?"

"Empty canvas."

"The stick of the blind man"

"Ear to hear;"

"Empty playground,"

"Down the small and crooked road"

"Did you bring me a present? the little boy asks."

"Black"

"The rabbit dreams of hunting."

"Why I never married"

"Loon"

"Where Janie Went In"

"Epitaph of a Man Devoured by Monsters"

"Full moon and silence"

"Powers of Darkness"

"Route Song and Epitaph"

"Summer Lightening"

"I see the moon."

"Your knife's a most particular guest,"

"The man attacked"

"The Exiles Epitaph"

"That's the Way it Goes"

"A Season"

"Presumptions"

"Poem"

"At Fargo"

"The Need for Dictionaries II"

"Horses of the moon--"

"The two-faced sea--"

Sultry afternoon. The old dog"

"Callings"

"In the list of one thousand false addresses"

"In Other Worlds"

"After moondown"

"A Field of Sunflowers"

"The slow sulfur"

"The Need for Dictionaries"

"Legislators of Darkness"

"Loud November Rain"

"Faults of Darkness"

"A Distant Republic Demands"

"A History of Language"

"Hushed bright pond stillness."

"Cross Country Flight"

"Solidarity"

"Proportions"

"Resurrections"

"Terrors and Advantages"

"Some Kinds of Knowledge"

"Half-life"

"What We Think We Know"

"Lightcrackle."

"Among the trophies of Death"

"Small things, soft,"

"Nothing is lost"

"From Old Days"

"Weights and Measures"

"In a Landscape West of Eden"

"Hunter in the cold field."

"The Classics"

"How it Feels to be Saved"

Folder 34: Miscellaneous Poems (A-M), Arranged Alphabetically

The following poems may be found in this folder (listed by title or first line):

"Anniversaries: for Don and Henrie Gordon" (2 Copies)

"Another Christmas Carol" (3 Copies)

"Another Quandry"

"At Momentary Loss of Belief in the Wisdom of the Common People and, of course, the Bastards Who Own and Operate Them" (2 Copies)

"At Port Townsend: for Sam and Tree"

"Behold the Woman" (2 Copies)

"Birthday Poem"

"Birthdays"

"Both Camps"

"Blues for the Old Revolutionary Woman"

"The Bravest Boat" (3 Copies)

"Burdens"

"Butterfly or Emperor?"

"The Children of Contemporary Cities"

"The Citizens: Dreaming" (3 Copies)

"Cold Ceremony"

"The Defeat of the Novelist"

"Definition"

"The Dream Range"

"The End of the Line"

"Epitaph for a Pythagorean"

"Even Song" (2 Copies)

"A Field of Sunflowers"

"Flight"

"Flint and Steel"

"Flying Home"

"For a Book by Charles Humbolt"

"For a Dancer"

"For Alvaro"

"For Joe McGrath"

"For Lyla--Ada, Minnesota, Oct. '85" (2 Copies)

"Waiting to Die All Over (after cutting daylillies at dusk)" by David Martinson

"For Naomi Replansky, Poet and Cartographer, Recently Departed From Los Angeles: Upon the Occasion of Receiving From Her a Poem in Most Shameless Praise of San Francisco"

"The Ghost"

"Fiesta"

"Bad Cess"

"The Owl"

"Graveyard Shift"

"Tomasito Says"

"Flying Home"

"Let Us Turn Over the Page"

"Guerillas (I)" (4 Copies)

"How the Revolution was Betrayed: for Att. Benjy Muggles"

"In the Dream Time"

"In the High Country"

"In the Papal Ring" (6 Copies)

"Instructions for the Dead"

"Invitation" (2 Copies)

"Joe Hill at Harvard" (2 Copies)

"A Kind of Dedication"

"Lament for Pablo Neruda"

"Landscape With Birds" (4 Copies)

"To His Muse: Or Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave Me"

"The Language of the Dead" (2 Copies)

"Last Will and Testament" (2 Copies)

"Long Distance From a War"

"Long Goodbye"

"Look on My Works!" (2 Copies)

"Loon" (2 Copies)

"The Fatigue of Objects"

"At Lost Lake"

"Newtonian Law"

"Illumination"

"Mediterranean" (2 Copies)

"Mediation"

"The Migration of Cities" (4 Copies)

"Mystery"

Folder 35: Miscellaneous Poems (N-Z), Arranged Alphabetically

The following poems may be found in this folder (arranged by title or first line):

"Near Pah-Gotzin-Kay" (2 Copies)

"NOTES ON THE REVOLUTION"

"Wayfaring Stranger"

"Nuclear Winter" (2 Copies)

"Offering"

"Old Times"

"On Moving Into a New House"

"Ontology"

"Why He Can't Tell You Where Nicaragua Is--Not Even the Continent"

"Poem"

"Pieces of String"

"Poem at the Winter Solistice" (2 Copies)

"Poems by Tomasito"

"Power"

"Praises IV" (4 Copies)

"Presumptions"

"Rediscovery" (3 Copies)

"Rune"

"Four Poems Thomas McGrath Salute #2" (2 Copies)

"Senior Citizens"

"A Sixth Heresy of Parson Chance"

"Song"

"Spiritual Exercises"

"Suspicion of Some Kinds of Solitude"

"Than Never" (2 Copies)

"To His Muse: or Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave Me"

"Too Bad"

"Towards the End" (3 Copies)

"Trail Blazers" (2 Copies)

"Transformations of Old Silver Crossing the Continent" (2 Copies)

"The Underground" (6 Copies)

"The Unfairness of it All"

"The Useless Passions"

"At Sunrise"

"Watchman! What of the Night?"

"Welcome"

Box 5

Folder 1: Untitled Manuscript of Selected Poems by Thomas McGrath, 1942-1962

The following poems may be found in this folder:

Part One Wartime

"The Odor of Blood"

"Homecoming"

"Remembering that Island"

"Sailing North on a Troop Ship"

"Night in Wartime"

"War in the Aleutians"

"Here is a Skeleton"

"Encounter"

"The Spectators"

"Crash Report"

"How it All Looked After the War"

"The Repeated Journey"

Part Two Memories of the Depression

"Cal the Last of the Real Wobs"

"Fords Leaving"

"Gate to the Dream"

"The Depression"

"Strike Days"

"Going to College"

"Depression in Baton Rouge"

"Studying the Metaphysicals in Baton Rouge"

"Stealing from the President of the University of North Dakota"

Part Three Something Permanently Good

"Love in a Bug"

"Hot, Great-Hearted Women"

"Such a Simple Love"

"Chaos"

"Legend"

"Fanfare for a Procession of Heroes"

"Pueblo! Pueblo!"

"Ode for the American Dead in Korea"

"The Tourists"

"Like the Watchman in Agamemnon"

"One Who Has Looked at the Dark"

"In Los Angeles"

"Epitaph"

Folder 2: Drafts and Proof Sheets of "What is there to Celebrate?" by Thomas McGrath

Folder 3: Poems by McGrath (Numbered and Organized by Jack Beeching)

Folder 4: Crazy Horse (Edited by Tom and Eugenia McGrath)

Folder 5: The Subversive Agent

Folder 6: Title Pages of McGrath's Books

Folder 7: Book Cover to Staves: A Book of Songs

Folder 8: Essay by Jack Beeching and corresponding letter written to McGrath

Folder 9: Ms. "NYC" (Probably by Gene Frunkin)

Folder 10: Photocopy of Disenchantment or Default? A Lay Sermon by E.P. Thompson

Folder 11: The Grass Eats the Horse by Eric Blau

Folder 12: McGrath at a Biblical Age by Fred Whitehead

Folder 13: Revolution: The Significance of The Fifth Season in the Poems of Thomas McGrath by Glenn Sheldon

Folder 14: Book Review of The Disinherited

Folder 15: Manuscript and Correspondence from Mel Weisburg, January, 1963

Folder 16: Sun Dance by Vahan Gregory, Including a letter to Thomas McGrath, 1965

Folder 17: The Incidence of War and Other Poems by R.P. Kingston, 1971

Folder 18: Manuscripts for Tomasito Songs by Tomasito McGrath, 1975

This folder contains the following poems (listed by title or first line):

"Lakes"

"A swan of wool and buffalo hides"

"Near the Rum River"

"A Journey"

"Poem"

"Someone has lost"

"Counting Song"

"Big Snow I"

"Tongue Twister"

"Big Snow II"

"Manifesto"

"Tomasito's Poem For His Father"

"Waking"

"December 24, 1974"

"Lakes"

"Tomasito's Conundrum"

"Counting Song"

"December 24, 1974"

"Manifesto"

"Tomasito's Poem for His Father"

"Tomasito's Poem for His Mother"

"The Runaway Hamburger (A Delicious Story)"

"Someone has lost"

"The Crocuses my"

"Tomasito's Conundrum"

"Big Snow I"

"Big Snow II"

"Tomasito's Conundrums"

"Waking"

"Someone has lost"

"Lakes"

"Near the Rum River"

"Poem"

"A Journey"

"A swan of wool and buffalo hides"

Folder 19: Dummies of Tomasito Songs by Tomasito McGrath, 1975

Folder 20: Review of Thomas McGrath's Passages Toward the Dark, Submitted to Western American Literature by Frederick Stern, 1983

Folder 21: Manuscript of Letters and Leaves: McGrath's Indian Culture Versus Whitman's Poetic Tradition by Thomas Matchie, Published in North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 1, 1985

Folder 22: Manuscript of Thomas McGrath and the Long Poem by Frederick Stern, 1986

Folder 23: Proofs for North Dakota Quarterly "Conversations with Thomas McGrath" by James Mckenzie, 1988

Folder 24: Revised Copy of North Dakota Quarterly "Conversations with Thomas McGrath" by James Mckenzie, 1988

Folder 25: Manuscript for The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath, Edited by Frederick Stern, 1988

Folder 26: Manuscript Continued, The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath, Edited by Frederick Stern, 1988

Folder 27: Manuscript Submitted for Copy-Editing; The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath, by Frederick Stern, 1988

Folder 28: Copy-Edited Page Proofs of The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, 1988

Folder 29: Continuation of Copy-Edited Proofs of The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, 1988

Folder 30: Edited Printout of The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, June 22, 1988

Folder 31: Proofs for The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, September 8, 1988

Folder 32: Advertisements and Book Reviews of The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath by Frederick Stern, 1989

Box 6

Folder 1: Frederick Stern Miscellaneous; Related to His Book The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: The Poetry of Thomas McGrath
Folder 2: Assorted Manuscript Versions of "The Delegate for Poetry": McGrath as Communist Poet by Frederick Stern, 1988
Folder 3: Final Page Proofs of Thomas McGrath: A People's Poet by Frederick Stern, 1991
Folder 4: Review of Thomas McGrath's Death Song Submitted to Western American Literature, 1991
Folder 5: Thomas McGrath: A Memoir by Jack Beeching for the Chester Fritz Library Department of Special Collections, 1992
Folder 6: Teaching Tom McGrath: Imaginary Friends and Real Students by Rane Arroyo, 1994
Folder 7: Poem; "Elegy on Fortification's Illusions" for Truman Nelson by David Cumberland
Folder 8: Poetry Submitted to Thomas McGrath by Mel Weisburg and Others
Folder 9: Poems from Sid Gershgorem
Folder 10: Poem; "Late Report from Agent of the Worker's Revolution Temporarily Detained Behind Class Enemy Lines: Longshot Says Carry On," In Memory Of Thomas McGrath
Folder 11: Poems from Arnold Rattenburg, 1964?
Folder 12: Poems by Robert Hazel, 1966?
Folder 13: "It #9" by Robert Bly (Featured Poet in Small Magazine of Poetry), 1967
Folder 14: Poems from Henry Wolff, 1969
Folder 15: Poetry Submitted to Crazy Horse, 1970

Series 4: Screenplays/Scripts

Series 4 contains scripts and screenplays written by McGrath and others. The series is organized first by those screenplays authored or co-authored by McGrath, and then those written by other authors.

Box 6

Folder 16: Limit High Script for Union Oil Center
Folder 17: Manuscript for "Everlasting Morning" and Newspaper Clipping
Folder 18: Proposal for an Educational TV Show Based on the Life of Rand McNally Pictorial Atlas of the World
Folder 19: Various Manuscript Drafts (For Film) of Untitled Work Written by McGrath
Folder 20: Paradise, A Screenplay by Thomas McGrath and Michael Cimino (2 Copies)
Folder 21: Conquering Horse, A Screenplay by Thomas McGrath and Michael Cimino (2 Copies)
Folder 22: KEF, A Screenplay by Thomas McGrath and Michael Cimino (2 Copies)
Folder 23: The Ages of Time by Thomas McGrath and Lloyd Ritter (2nd Revision); Script for a Film for the Hamilton Watch Company, January, 1959
Folder 24: The House of Man, A Screenplay
Folder 25: Various Screenplay Drafts (Handwritten and Typed); 1 by Francis Thompson, Remainder in Thomas McGrath's Handwriting
Folder 26: Silent Running, A Screenplay by Dennis Lynton Clark and Robert Dillon with Notes by Thomas McGrath
Folder 27: Screenplay, Revised to Include Suggestions by Dr. Bacon and Rand McNally Staff
Folder 28: The Bravest Boat, A Screenplay, September 11, 1961
Folder 29: Screenplay
Folder 30: The Johnson Country War, A Screenplay by Michael Cimino

Series 5: Audio and Video Cassette Tapes

Series 5 contains 4 audio-cassette tapes of a poetry reading Thomas McGrath did in Grand Forks, North Dakota. There are also two tapes of McGrath's poetry read to jazz instrumentals, as well as a "Celebration of Tom McGrath" from March 1991.

Box 6

Folder 31: Four Cassette Tapes of "A Poetry Reading at Grand Forks, ND", November, 1973
Folder 32: 30 Minute Tape with Four Thomas McGrath Poems Read to Blue-Jazz Instrumentals
Folder 33: 60 Minute Tape; "The Poetry and Jazz Players to Their Favorite Poet, Tom McGrath"
Folder 34: "Celebration of Tom McGrath" Videotape, March 15, 1991

Series 6: Photographs

Box 6

Folder 35: Photographs 308-1 through 308-20

OGLMC 308-1: Unknown

OGLMC 308-2: Thomas McGrath and Alice Greenfield McGrath

OGLMC 308-3: Unknown

OGLMC 308-4: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-5: Unknown

OGLMC 308-6: Unknown

OGLMC 308-7: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-8: Thomas and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-9: Thomas McGrath with his parents, James and Catherine McGrath

OGLMC 308-10: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-11: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-12: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-13: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-14: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-15: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-16: Unknown

OGLMC 308-17: Unknown

OGLMC 308-18: Thomas McGrath and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-19: Thomas McGrath and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-20: Thomas McGrath and Alice McGrath

This folder also contains assorted negatives.

Folder 36: Photographs 308-21 through 308-39

OGLMC 308-21: Thomas and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-22: Unknown, January 1952

OGLMC 308-23: Thomas and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-24: Unknown

OGLMC 308-25: Unknown

OGLMC 308-26: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-27: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-28: Thomas McGrath, 1521 Sargent Place, Los Angeles 1958

OGLMC 308-29: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-30: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-31: Thomas McGrath, California, ca. later 50's

OGLMC 308-32: McGrath as a student at LSU

OGLMC 308-33: Thomas McGrath ca. 1955

OGLMC 308-34: McGrath's older brother Martin

OGLMC 308-35: (From left to right, top to bottom) Alice McGrath, Laura (niece of Tom), Dan, ca. Summer of 1953

OGLMC 308-36: Tom with Laura, 1955

OGLMC 308-37: Tom with Laura, 1955

OGLMC 308-38: Tom with Laura, 1955

OGLMC 308-39: Tom (left), Mason Roberson (right), ca. 1950s

Folder 37: Photographs 308-40 through 308-59

OGLMC 308-40: Tom, Alice, and Kay McTerman

OGLMC 308-41: Richard Nickson, Tom, and Alice; November 1984

OGLMC 308-42: Robert Lewis, Tom McGrath, Fred Whitehead; Fargo, ND, August 9, 1983

OGLMC 308-43: Alice and Tom McGrath at Publication of North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4 for McGrath; Hunan Restaurant, August 9, 1983

OGLMC 308-44: Thomas and Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-45: Unknown

OGLMC 308-46: Thomas and Alice McGrath, March 1985

OGLMC 308-47: Thomas McGrath, March, 1985

OGLMC 308-48: Harry Merer (friend of Tom); "Amchitka, Aleutian Islands" passed by U.S. Army (WWII)

OGLMC 308-49: Dr. Edwin G. Olmstead and Tom McGrath; UND, March 1974

OGLMC 308-50: Thomas McGrath; UND, March 1974

OGLMC 308-51: Unknown

OGLMC 308-52: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-53: Thomas McGrath; UND, March 1974

OGLMC 308-54: Unknown

OGLMC 308-55: Thomas McGrath photo taken at Alice McGrath's home in Venteira, California

OGLMC 308-56: Meridel le Sueuer and Tom McGrath; Fargo, Summer 1983

OGLMC 308-57: Thomas McGrath and Richard Nixon, "Little Tom," and Eugenia; 1968

OGLMC 308-58: Thomas McGrath with Richard Nixon and "Little Tom"; 1968

OGLMC 308-59: Thomas McGrath with Richard Nixon and "Little Tom"; 1968

Folder 38: Photographs 308-60 through 308-81

OGLMC 308-60: Thomas McGrath with Alice and Richard Nixon

OGLMC 308-61: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-62: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-63: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-64: Thomas McGrath; 2714 Marsh Street

OGLMC 308-65: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-66: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-67: Thomas and Alice McGrath shortly before divorce

OGLMC 308-68: Unknown

OGLMC 308-69: Thomas McGrath and Alice Greenfield McGrath

OGLMC 308-70: Thomas McGrath with Alice in Seattle before Columbus Awards

OGLMC 308-71: McGrath with Laura

OGLMC 308-72: McGrath with Dan

OGLMC 308-73: Unknown

OGLMC 308-74: Unknown

OGLMC 308-75: Unknown

OGLMC 308-76: Unknown

OGLMC 308-77: Unknown

OGLMC 308-78: Unknown

OGLMC 308-79: Unknown

OGLMC 308-80: Alice Greenfield McGrath with guitar

OGLMC 308-81: Alice Greenfield McGrath with guitar

Folder 39: Photographs 308-82 through 308-93

This folder contains assorted photographs, including correspondence that further describes several of the photographs.

OGLMC 308-82: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-83: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-84: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-85: Thomas McGrath

OGLMC 308-86: Tomasito and Ann L. Diament; Fargo, 1975

OGLMC 308-87: Thomas McGrath, Tomasito, and Ann L. Diament; Fargo, 1975

OGLMC 308-88: Tomasito and Ann L. Diament; Fargo, 1975

OGLMC 308-89: Tomasito and Thomas McGrath; Fargo, 1975

OGLMC 308-90: Thomas McGrath and Tomasito; February, 1970

OGLMC 308-91: Unknown photograph of Alice McGrath

OGLMC 308-92: Tomasito's age-three portrait in April, 1972

OGLMC 308-93: Dean Bernard O'Kelly, Tom McGrath, and Edward Olmstead, M.D.; McGrath being honored by UND with a Doctorate of Letters; May 1981

Series 7: Oversized Materials

Oversize Folder 1

Item 1: "McGrath at 70 Years" (Newsprint Page), November-December, 1986
Item 2: Los Angeles Times Book Review (5 Newspaper Pages and Photocopy), December 7, 2003
Item 3: "A Ceili for Tom McGrath" (Poster), September 27, 1986
Item 4: "Restoring Faith: Thomas McGrath's Vision of Community in Letter to an Imaginary Friend" (2 Posters), March 3, 1996
Item 5: "Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry at The Folger" (Poster), September 29, 1988-April 12, 1989
Item 6: "North Dakota's Thomas McGrath Poetry Reading" (2 Posters), April 6, 1981

Department of Special Collections
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