George Dillon Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Dillon, George, 1906-1968.
Title:	George Dillon Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1862-1982
Quantity:	13 linear ft.
Abstract:	The papers of the American poet include correspondence (1862-1973), family as well as that related to his editorship of Poetry magazine; minutes of the Modern Poetry Association (1950-1962); family diaries, financial papers, photographs, scrapbooks, and manuscripts that include material on a translation of "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Baudelaire, produced in collaboration with Edna St. Vincent Millay, and other translations of French authors, including Giraudoux, Prévert, and Ronsard. Correspondents include Helen S. Arthur, Robert Ballou, Morris Bishop, Eugen Boissevain, Amy Bonner, Inez Boulton, Augustine Bowe, Jean Burden, Witter Bynner, Gladys Campbell, Margaret Carpenter, Hayden Carruth, John Ciardi, Jean Cocteau, Malcolm Cowley, James Daly, Peter DeVries, Benjamin Huebsch, Nicholas Joost, Hugh Kenner, James Laughlin, Vachel Lindsay, Katinka Loeser, Je ssica MacDonald, Archibald MacLeish, Marcia Lee Masters, Harry Meacham, Arthur Meeker, Paul Mellon, William Meredith, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Bonner Mitchell, Adrienne Monnier, Harriet Monroe, Marianne Moore, Gilbert Neiman, John Nerber, Louise Townsend Nicholl, John F. Nims, Sterling North, Gil Orlovitz, Henry Rago, Jean Rivier, Karl Jay Shapiro, William Jay Smith, Florence Stearns, Marion Strobel, Allen Tate, Jean Starr Untermeyer, Monroe Wheeler, and Morton Zabel.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 http://scrc.syr.edu

Biographical History

George Dillon (November 12, 1906-May 9, 1968), the American poet and editor, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His parents moved around frequently when he was a child and he lived in Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri, before moving to Chicago after high school. As a student at the University of Chicago, Dillon began to write and edit poetry.

Dillon's first poetry collection, Boy in the Wind, appeared when he was barely twenty-one, yet the critic for the Dial stated: "There is no timidity of evasion, no suggestion of frailty or wavering. His lines have always the assurance of authority, the finality of complete mastery." Louis Untermeyer, in the Saturday Review of Literature, wrote: "His pages...tempt one to cast aside criticism for scarcely reserved enthusiasm." Untermeyer decided that Dillon had not fulfilled his earlier promise, however he was omitted from subsequent editions.

Of his second volume, The Flowering Stone – which won the Pulitzer Prize – Babette Deutsch, the critic for the New York Herald Tribune Books, wrote that though Dillon had been attentive to the lessons of more established poets, "no poet save himself can have brought him to the source of his poetry, or unsealed that bright fountain to our refreshment and joy. Only a searching mind and an alert, sensitive body could have combined to produce poetry of this calibre." Dillon translated poems by Ronsard, Aragon, Eluard, and Michaux, all of which were published in Poetry. Indeed, he is now chiefly remembered for these, since he failed to develop the promise shown in his first volumes. Now chiefly remembered for his Baudelaire and Racine translations, Dillon failed to add to his reputation after his second volume of poetry. [From World Authors 1900-1950 (1996)]

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The George Dillon Papers comprise Correspondence-subject files, Writings and Memorabilia. Spanning the years 1862 to 1982, the collection illuminates both the family relationships and the creative work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (The Flowering Stone, 1931) and translator of the works of such luminaries of French belles-lettres as Baudelaire, Giraudoux, Racine and Ronsard.

Among the Correspondence-subject files are both personal and business letters, the latter chiefly in connection with Dillon's tenure with Poetry, first as associate editor (1925-27) during his undergraduate years at the University of Chicago, and later as successor to its founder and editor, Harriet Monroe. The correspondence which is of greatest depth and duration includes letters from Amy Bonner, Eugen Boissevain, Inez Boulton, Jeanne Daladier, Alix Du Poy Daniel, Carl Hillerns, Ben Huebsch, Nicholas Joost, Marcia Lee Masters (Schmid), Arthur Meeker, Lila Michaelides, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Nerber, Henry Rago, Karl Shapiro, Florence Dickinson Stearns, Marion Strobel, Geraldine Udell and Jean Starr Untermeyer. Also in the collection is an extensive assortment of family correspondence including letters of Adah Hill and William S. Dillon (parents) to George, other family members, and friends. Among the other family correspondents are Alice Sinclair Hill and Alice Baur Hodges, and various members of the Dillon and Hill families.

The Writings (Boxes 12-14) encompass articles, books, and poetry in printed and/or manuscript form. Book manuscripts include typescript drafts and revisions of Dillon's translations of Baudelaire (Flowers of Evil) and Racine (Three Plays of Racine), together with two unpublished translations: Giraudoux's Le Guerre de Trois n'aura pas Lieu ("No War in Troy") and Ronsard's sonnets and lyrics, "Four Seasons of Love." Also among Dillon's poetry translations is the work of Jean Cocteau, Jacques Prévert, and Jules Supervielle.

Boxes 15-16 of the Memorabilia have been categorized as either family material or George Dillon's personal mementos. Among the family memorabilia is genealogical material relating to the Dillon, Hill, and Sinclair families as well as financial, legal and miscellaneous documents and clippings. George Dillon's personal memorabilia has been arranged chronologically, from childhood through his academic career, his military assignment, and his activities from 1945 until his death in 1968. Also categorized under personal memorabilia is financial, legal and printed material, the latter including a number of theater programs and musical scores. Boxes 17-19 are comprised of photographs and scrapbooks relating to George Dillon and other family members. Eleven oversized packages contain diaries of Alice Sinclair Hill, drawings by George Dillon as well as scrapbooks of clippings and theatrical memorabilia.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Restricted in part.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Associated Titles

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

George Dillon Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library

Acquisition Information

Gift of George Dillon and Alice Hodges.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: ASD
Date: 1977
Revision history: Aug 1989 - rev. - AE; 20 Mar 2007 - converted to EAD (AMCon)

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Inventory

	Correspondence-subject files
Box 1		Biographical material
Box 1		A (one folder)
Box 1		Alsberg, Henry G. 1938
Box 1		Armour, Alexander W. 1940-1954, undated
Box 1		Arthur, Helen S. 1938, 1939
Box 1		Avrett, Robert 1960
Box 1		B (one folder)
Box 1		Baker, Aaron W. 1862, 1863
Box 1		Ballou, Robert Oleson 1961, 1966-1968
Box 1		Bauer, Robert 1957-1961
Box 1		Baur, Emil 1906-1910, 1932
Box 1		Baur, George A. 1946-1948, undated
Box 1		Baur, Nannie Hill 1906-1912, 1923-1966, undated (11 folders)
		Beach, Sylvia
			See Princeton University Library
Box 2		Bell, Charles Greenleaf 1957-1962
Box 2		Bertele, Rene 1960
Box 2		Bird, Dorothy Maywood 1967
Box 2		Bishop, Morris 1961, 1962, 1971
Box 2		Boissevain, Eugen 1928, 1930, 1937-1939, undated
Box 2		Bonner, Amy 1937-1940, 1949, 1953-1957, undated
Box 2		Boulton, Inez 1941, 1942, 1949-1952, 1957, undated
Box 2		Boulton, Rudyerd (and Louise Rehm) 1959-1963
Box 2		Bowe, Augustine Joseph (and Julia) 1945, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1968
Box 2		Boynton, Percy H. 1938
Box 2		Bridges, Betsy Eden 1939, 1962-1966, 1972, 1973
Box 2		Brittin, Norman A. 1964, 1973-1980
Box 2		Brown, John L. 1945, 1946
Box 2		Burden, Jean 1951-1968, undated (2 folders)
Box 2		Bynner, Witter 1947, 1949, 1961, 1962
Box 2		C (one folder)
Box 2		Cairns, Huntington 1946
Box 2		Campbell, Gladys 1938, 1949-1968, undated (6 folders)
Box 2		Campbell, Kathleen Winifred 1950, 1957, 1958, 1961
Box 2		Cannon, Isabelle C. 1940, 1944, 1951, undated
Box 2		Carpenter, Margaret Haley 1958-1961 (2 folders)
Box 3		Carpenter, Margaret Haley 1962-1972, undated (2 folders)
Box 3		Carruth, Hayden 1949, undated
Box 3		Castle, Marian 1946, 1956
Box 3		Catel, Jean 1945?, 1946
Box 3		Chapin, Katherine Garrison 1961
Box 3		Ciardi, John 1946
Box 3		Clark, Alexander Frederick Bruce 1961
Box 3		Clemens, Cyril 1968
Box 3		Cocteau, Jean 1960
Box 3		Coignard, James 1945, 1974
Box 3		Coleman, Elliott 1962
Box 3		Colony, Horatio 1961, 1966
Box 3		Covington, Annette 1935
Box 3		Cowley, Malcolm 1946
Box 3		Daladier, Jeanne 1935-1941, undated (2 folders)
Box 3		Daly, James Joseph 1937, 1938, 1941
Box 3		Daura, Louise de 1930, 1937-1938, undated
Box 3		Davidson, Gustav 1957, 1959, 1960
Box 3		De Vries, Peter 1941-1945, 1950, 1959, 1961
Box 3		Dietz, Frieda Meredith 1939
Box 3		Dillon, B. F. 1906, 1910, undated
Box 3		Dillon, B. F. Jr. (Frank) 1910, 1942-1944
Box 3		Dillon, Diane 1965, 1968
Box 3		Dillon, James Thomas 1949, 1951
Box 3		Dillon, Walter B. 1945-1954, 1964
Box 3		Dillon, William S. and Adah Hill 1905-1913, 1930-1935, 1883, 1897, 1927 (7 folders)
Box 4		Dillon, William S. and Adah Hill 1936-July 1944 (16 folders)
Box 5		Dillon, William S. and Adah Hill Aug. 1944-1962, undated (13 folders)
Box 6		Ditmars, Ann 1906, 1937-1941, 1949, 1953, 1955, undated
Box 6		Drew, Fraser Bragg 1950, 1961
Box 6		Du Poy Daniel, Alix 1935-1938, 1949-1967 (4 folders)
Box 6		E (one folder)
Box 6		Elinor Wylie Poetry Fellowship 1938
Box 6		Elton, George 1969
Box 6		Elton, William R. 1949
Box 6		Emery, Ola Bland 1963, 1964, 1966
Box 6		English, Maurice 1966-1975, undated
Box 6		F (one folder)
Box 6		Flaccus, Kimball 1955
Box 6		Flint, Edith Foster 1927, 1931, 1934, 1944, 1949
Box 6		Friar, Kimon 1937, 1962
Box 6		Frost, Elizabeth Hollister 1929
Box 6		Frost, Robert 1937
Box 6		G (one folder)
Box 6		Galland, Georgette 1962-1964, undated
Box 6		Giroux, Robert 1947
Box 6		Gordon, Alvin J. 1946
Box 6		Greene, Luther 1948, 1949
Box 6		Gresham, Hattie Belle 1937, 1952, undated
Box 6		H (one folder)
Box 6		Hall, Gordon Langley 1966, undated
Box 6		Hanna, Alfred Jackson 1942
Box 6		Harcourt, Brace, and Company 1946
Box 6		Harper & Row, Publishers 1962, 1963, 1967
		Hayakawa, Margedant Peters
			See Peters, Margedant
Box 6		Hill, Alice Sinclair 1906-1914, 1927, 1931, undated
Box 6		Hill, George W. 1875, 1885, 1907-1911, 1941, undated
Box 6		Hill, Marshall A. 1906, 1907, 1931-1937
Box 6		Hill, Tom E. 1941-1963, 1967, 1968, undated
Box 6		Hillerns, Carl 1937-1941, 1947, 1951-1961, undated (2 folders)
Box 6		Hodges, Alice Baur 1910, 1926, 1939-1941, 1949-1960, 1927 (2 folders)
Box 7		Hodges, Alice Baur 1961-1977, 1982, undated (7 folders)
Box 7		Hodges, Alice Baur - "Lila" - with editorial comment by George Dillon (1 folder)
Box 7		Hoffman, Minna Bonner 1956, 1958
Box 7		Huebsch, Ben 1952-1964, undated
Box 7		Indiana University Press 1959, 1961, 1973
Box 7		J (one folder)
Box 7		Jacoby, Grover 1967, 1968
Box 7		James, Bertha Ten Eyck 1937, 1945, 1961
Box 7		Joost, Nicholas 1953-1962
Box 7		K (one folder)
Box 7		Kenner, Hugh 1961
Box 7		L (one folder)
Box 7		Lacoste, Maurice 1947
Box 7		Laughlin, James 1946, 1948, undated
Box 7		Lea, Thomas C. 1949-1955, 1961
Box 7		Le Breton, Maurice 1946, 1961
Box 7		Lee, Lawrence 1938, 1961
Box 7		Lengyel, Cornel Adam 1968
Box 7		Lesemann, Maurice 1961, 1962
Box 7		Lieberman, Elias 1937, 1938
Box 7		Lindsay, Vachel 1914
Box 7		Little, Virginia Skilling 1941, 1948, undated
Box 7		Loeser, Katinka 1945, 1947, undated
Box 7		Lovett, Robert Morss 1934, 1937
Box 7		Lowe, Robert Liddell 1959
Box 7		M (one folder)
Box 7		MacDonald, Jessica Nelson (North) 1937, 1950, 1953, 1958, 1961, 1968
Box 7		Macdougall, Allan Ross 1951
Box 7		MacLeish, Archibald 1937, 1942, 1944-1945
Box 7		Malone, Ted 1939
Box 7		Manderfeld, Viola 1957-1961, undated
Box 7		Masters, Marcia Lee 1942, 1946, 1955, 1961, 1967-1968, undated
Box 8		Meacham, Harry M. 1954-1962, 1967-1968
Box 8		Meeker, Arthur 1934-1939, 1950-1961, 1965-1968
Box 8		Mellon, Paul 1949, 1961
Box 8		Meredith, William 1969
Box 8		Michaelides, Lila 1934-1940
Box 8		Michaux, Henri 1943?
Box 8		Milford, Nancy 1973-1979
Box 8		Millay, Edna St. Vincent 1928-1940, 1952, 1957-1962, undated (2 folders)
Box 8		Millay, Norma 1962, 1968
Box 8		Miller, Cecilia Parsons 1960
Box 8		Mitchell, Joan 1935, 1966, 1967, undated
Box 8		Mitgang, Herbert 1965-1966
Box 8		Modern Poetry Association 1950-1962, undated
Box 8		Molloy, Paul 1965
Box 8		Monnier, Adrienne 1946, 1965, 1973
Box 8		Monroe, Harriet 1927-1938, undated
Box 8		Monroe, William Stanton 1946
Box 8		Moore, Marianne 1961, 1966
Box 8		Morot-Sir, Edouard 1961
Box 8		N (one folder)
Box 8		Neiman, Gilbert 1959-1962
Box 8		Nerber, John 1945-1962, 1967, undated (2 folders)
Box 8		Nicholl, Louise Townsend 1959-1960
Box 8		Nims, John Frederick 1942, 1946, 1950, 1960
Box 8		North, Sterling 1955
Box 8		O (one folder)
Box 8		O'Connor, William Van 1961
Box 8		Orlovitz, Gil 1955
Box 8		P (one folder)
Box 8		Parker, Elinor Milnor 1962
Box 8		Pearson, Norman Holmes 1962
Box 8		Peters, Margedant 1946, 1950, 1961
Box 8		Pocket Books, Inc. 1962-1963
Box 8		Poetry, a Magazine of Verse 1940, 1941, 1949, 1950, 1954-1969, undated (3 folders)
Box 8		Pratt, Edwin John 1962
Box 8		Princeton University Library 1973, 1976
Box 8		Princeton University Press 1975
Box 9		R (one folder)
		Rago, Henry
			See Poetry, a Magazine of Verse
Box 9		Rivier, Jean 1947, 1961, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1975
Box 9		Roberts, Ruby Altizer 1953-1956
Box 9		Ross, David 1939, 1961
Box 9		S (one folder)
Box 9		Schultz, Hanns Stefan 1961
Box 9		Seiffert, Marjorie Allen 1961
Box 9		Seward, William Ward 1968
Box 9		Shapiro, Karl Jay 1946-1954 (2 folders)
Box 9		Siebel, Julia 1957-1961
Box 9		Simms, Mary 1936-1939
Box 9		Smith, William Jay 1946
Box 9		Solomont, Susan 1967
Box 9		Stearns, Florence (Dickinson) 1938, 1939, 1943, 1952-1961, undated (2 folders)
Box 9		Stephan, Ruth 1944, 1960
Box 9		Stevenson, Ellen (Mrs. Adlai) 1955
Box 9		Strobel, Marion 1936, 1937, 1949-1965, undated (3 folders)
Box 9		Strull, Harold 1945-1947, 1961
Box 9		Sullivan, A. M. 1961
Box 9		Supervielle, Jules 1960, 1961
Box 9		T (one folder)
Box 9		Takacs, Stefan 1933
Box 9		Tate, Allen 1946
		Temple University Press
			See English, Maurice
Box 9		Trigg, Emma Gray (White) 1937, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1968, undated
Box 9		Tunstall, Virginia Hunter Lyne 1950, 1955, 1961
Box 9		Turbyfill, Mark 1950, 1965
Box 9		U (one folder)
Box 9		Udell, Geraldine 1939-1967, undated (2 folders)
Box 10		University of Chicago Press 1946, 1949, 1957-1967
Box 10		Untermeyer, Jean Starr 1965-1968
Box 10		V (one folder)
Box 10		Valsa, M. 1938, 1957
Box 10		W (one folder)
Box 10		Wescott, G. L. undated
Box 10		Wheeler, Monroe 1960
Box 10		Whiteley, Mary N. S. undated
Box 10		Wilder, Isabel 1936
Box 10		Wood, Audrey 1939
Box 10		Y (one folder)
Box 10		Zabel, Morton Dauwen 1936-1937
Box 10		Telegrams 1906, 1910, 1912, undated
Box 10		Unidentified (3 folders)

	Writings
		Articles
Box 11			"Modern Poetry" - Proceedings of Conference on Contemporary Culture, Purdue University undated
Box 11			"A Note on the Obvious" - A Casebook on Ezra Pound 1959
Box 11			"Style and the Many-headed Beast" June 1955 - typescript ms. with corrections
		Books
			Translations
Box 11				Baudelaire, Charles. Flowers of Evil - typescript ms.
Box 11				Baudelaire, Charles. Flowers of Evil 1962, undated - revisions
Box 11				Three Plays of Racine - "Notes on Racine and French Classicism" undated
Box 11				Three Plays of Racine - introductory notes - typescript drafts with holograph corrections (3 folders)
Box 11				Three Plays of Racine - Introduction - typescript drafts with holograph corrections (2 folders)
Box 11				Racine, Jean Baptiste. Andromaque
Box 11				"Andromache" - holograph draft
Box 11				"Andromache" - typescript draft with holograph corrections (2 folders)
Box 11				Racine, Jean Baptiste. Britannicus
Box 11				"Britannicus" - holograph draft
Box 11				"Britannicus" - typescript draft with holograph corrections (2 folders)
Box 12				"Britannicus" - typescript draft with holograph corrections (2 folders)
Box 12				Racine, Jean Baptiste. Phedre
Box 12				"Phaedra" - typescript draft with holograph corrections (3 folders)
			Translations (unpublished)
Box 12				Giraudoux, Jean. La Guerre de Trois n'aura pas Lieu
Box 12				Giraudoux, Jean. "No War in Troy" - typescript draft with holograph corrections (2 folders)
Box 12				Ronsard, Pierre de. "Four Seasons of Love" - typescript draft (5 folders)
Box 13				Ronsard, Pierre de. "Four Seasons of Love" - typescript draft (1 folder)
		Poetry
Box 13			Miscellaneous poems - typescript and holograph mss.
		Poetry
			Translations
Box 13				Cocteau, Jean. "L'Adieu aux Fusiliers Marins"
Box 13				Prevert, Jacques. "Barbara"
Box 13				Prevert, Jacques. "Je Suis Comme Je Suis"
Box 13				Prevert, Jacques. "This Love"
Box 13				Supervielle, Jules. "Homage to Life"
Box 13				Miscellaneous authors
Box 13				Unidentified
Box 13				Miscellaneous notes on translation
		Miscellany
Box 13			"George Dillon Presents the Library" May 1938 - transcript of address delivered at the dedication of the Harriet Monroe Library of Modern Poetry - Courier
Box 13			Reader's reports May 27, 1967
Box 13			Miscellaneous fragments
Box 13			Notes (miscellaneous)
		Galleys
Box 14			Baudelaire, Charles. Flowers of Evil (4 folders)
Box 14			Three Plays of Racine

	Memorabilia
		Family
Oversize 2			Certificate of membership in the Florida Society of the Sons of the American Revolution - B.F. Dillon July 8, 1908
Oversize 1			Diaries - Alice Sinclair Hill 1906
			Genealogical material
Box 15				Dillon family
Box 15				Hill family
Box 15				Sinclair family
Box 15				Miscellaneous
			Financial material
Box 15				William S. and Adah Hill Dillon (4 folders)
			Legal material
Box 15				Dillon, Adah Hill - Estate
Box 15				Dillon, William S. - Estate
Box 15				Hill, Alice S. - Estate
Box 15				Hill, George W. - Estate
Box 15				Patent information
			Miscellany
Box 15				Cemetery and monuments
Box 15				Dillon, Adah Hill (3 folders)
Box 15				Dillon, William S.
Box 15				Dillon, William S. and Adah Hill (2 folders)
Box 15				House plans
Box 15				Unspecified (4 folders)
			Printed material
Box 15				Clippings ca. 1890s-1960 undated
		George Dillon
			Childhood-academia
Box 16				Notebooks
Box 16				Miscellaneous
Oversize 3			Chinese robes (2) - George Dillon from Harriet Monroe
Oversize 4			The Echo 1923 - original drawings by George Dillon - Webster High School
			Military
Box 16				Radio engineering section - "com. zone radio circuits"
Box 16				Radio engineering section - notebook
Box 16				Signal School notebooks 1942
Box 16				Documents and medals
			1945-1968
Box 16				Job applications
Box 16				Advertising and mail order information
Box 16				International Correspondence Schools - business course 1954-1956
Box 16				Correspondents and address lists
Box 16				Personal documents
Box 16			Financial material (2 folders)
			Legal material
Box 16				Estate
Box 16				Miscellaneous
			Printed material
				Clippings
Box 16					1932-ca., 1968
Box 16					Miscellaneous
Box 16				Poetry
Box 16				Theater programs (3 folders)
Box 16				German menus
Box 16				Music scores
Box 16				Miscellaneous
Oversize 5		Magic show poster
Box 17		Photographs
Oversize 3		Scarf
Box 18		Scrapbooks - photographs
Box 19		Scrapbooks
Oversize 6		Scrapbook - "A Christmas Letter to G.D. from R.B. and I.B. Washington D.C., December 1950"
Oversize 7		Scrapbook (clippings) ca. 1945-1968 - including 1946 book reviews by George Dillon
Oversize 8		Scrapbook (clippings) - press reviews of Flowers of Evil
Oversize 9		Scrapbook (theater) - clippings of actors and actresses
Oversize 10		Scrapbook (theater) - "The Play and the Players" - clippings of actors and actresses
Oversize 11		Scrapbook (theater) 1917-1923 - programs and clippings

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