Kenward Elmslie’s Enduring Impact on Poetry

The Library has received a $500,000 endowment from the estate of poet, performer and librettist Kenward Elmslie to support the Archive for New Poetry (ANP) in Special Collections & Archives. This generous gift will advance the ANP’s mission to collect, preserve and make poetry from the post-1945 experimental, New American traditions available to the public.

Born on April 27, 1929, and raised in Colorado Springs and Washington, D.C., Elmslie was a grandson of Joseph Pulitzer, founder of the Pulitzer Prize. After earning a degree in English from Harvard University, he embarked on a vibrant career in art, poetry, music and performance. Known for his love of collaboration, experimentation and humor, Elmslie worked across many genres, including prose, poetry and musical theater. Of his diverse creative pursuits, he once said, “Creatively, I’m a floozie who plays the field.”

Elmslie’s early career focused on the performing arts. In the 1950s, he collaborated with lyricist John Latouche, who worked with Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington and others and had numerous Broadway credits.

Elmslie wrote librettos for the Jack Beeson operas “The Sweet Bye and Bye” (1957) and “Lizzie Borden” (1966), as well as musical adaptations of “Miss Julie” (1965) and “The Seagull” (1974). He also wrote the book and lyrics for the musical “The Grass Harp” (1971), based on the novel by Truman Capote. In 1993, Elmslie premiered “Postcards on Parade: A Musical Play,” a one-man conceptual musical play that blended performance art, collage and his love of postcards. Many of his readings and performances have recently been digitized and are available in the Library’s Digital Collections.

While involved in theater, Elmslie developed a passion for poetry. He became a key figure in the New York School, a group of poets and artists that included Frank O’Hara, James Schuyler, John Ashberry, Barbara Guest and Ron Padgett. Elmslie began publishing his poetry and prose in the 1960s, releasing his first book “Pavilions” through Tibor de Nagy Editions in 1961. His “Power Plant Poems” followed in 1967 on C Press. Over the years, he published with several avant-garde and small presses, including Kulchur, Angel Hair, Black Sparrow, Burning Deck and Coffee House Press. His collection “Motor Disturbance” received the Frank O’Hara Award for Poetry in 1971. Additional honors include a grant from the Ford Foundation, the Project for Innovative Poetry’s Gertrude Stein Award for Innovative Poetry, and an award from the National Council of the Arts.

Elmslie’s commitment to the literary community extended beyond his writing. He named his Vermont residence “Poet’s Corner” and spent summers there with his longtime partner and collaborator, artist and writer Joe Brainard, hosting literary events and readings. In the 1970s, he founded Z Press and the accompanying Z Magazine (which published six issues: Z, ZZ, ZZZ, ZZZZ, ZZZZZ and ZZZZZZ) to support and promote the works of artists and poets whose work he admired. The press provided both professional and financial support to writers and literary organizations. Elmslie recognized that commercial publishers often found it “unfeasible and unprofitable [to publish poetry] at a time when American poets are writing works of great vitality and diversity, works that deserve to find an audience.”

He was also the anonymous benefactor responsible for the Fund for Poetry, a program that offered nostrings-attached financial support to poets. Poets would receive a letter and a check in the mail, simply stating the gift was “in support and appreciation of your contribution to contemporary poetry.” The thank-you letters housed in the Kenward Elmslie Papers in Special Collections & Archives reveal the deep gratitude of poets for their financial support in times of great need and for the recognition that their creative work was important and meaningful.

“The endowment from the Elmslie estate offers invaluable support to the Archive for New Poetry, enabling us to amplify diverse voices and enrich our collection with a wider array of stories,” said Nina Mamikunian, Subject Specialist for Literature, Theatre and Dance, and Curator for the Archive for New Poetry. “We are deeply honored to receive this gift and look forward to shining a brighter spotlight on the poetry and art that Kenward Elmslie championed and cherished.”

Elmslie passed away on June 29, 2022, at the age of 93. Throughout his life as an artist, publisher and performer, Elmslie created space for others to create, dream and take risks with their art. His endowment to the Archive for New Poetry ensures that the works and histories of poets he cherished will be preserved for future generations to explore and enjoy.

Visit lib.ucsd.edu/elmslie-papers to view select sound recordings and videos housed in the Kenward Elmslie Papers archive.