This donation from Louise Kertesz comprises materials related to the composition and publication of The Poetic Vision of Muriel Rukeyser . It includes correspondence, research notes, photocopies of reviews and critical studies of Rukeyser’s works, programs, photographs, and recordings of conversations between Rukeyser and Kertesz.

This collection of documents sheds new light on Rukeyser’s life and work. In her correspondence and wide-ranging conversations with Kertesz, Rukeyser offers detailed responses to questions about specific works and references and addresses struggles with depression and professional disappointments.

The collection includes letters from influential authors like Kenneth Rexroth and Denise Levertov responding to Kertesz’s inquiries and her book on Rukeyser. The testimonials from former students detail Rukeyser’s idiosyncratic pedagogy.

The collection also chronicles Kertesz’s protracted struggle to find reviewers for her book on Rukeyser, a sign of the continued indifference, even hostility to Rukeyser in the 1980s.

Lastly, it documents the difficulty of a scholar, writer, and teacher to secure permanent employment in the academy at a time when women authors were rarely, if ever, included in the literary canon and considered worthy subjects for scholarly study

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Submissions from 2025

Letter from Rukeyser to Kertesz, October 9 1977, Muriel Rukeyser

Letter from Rukeyser to Kertesz, September 11 1976, Muriel Rukeyser

Letter from Rukeyser to Kertesz, September 11 1976, Muriel Rukeyser

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Letter from Rukeyser to Kertesz, September 8 1978, Muriel Rukeyser

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Letter from Rukeyser to Kertesz with responses to Kertesz's questions, Muriel Rukeyser

Letter from Sandra M. Gilbert to Kertesz, July 20 1977, Sandra M. Gilbert

Letter from William Phillips to Kertesz, June 23 1976, William Phillips

Letter with editorial notes from Rukeyser to Kertesz, December 20 1977, Muriel Rukeyser

List of friends in San Francisco 1944-1949 handwritten by Rukeyser, Muriel Rukeyser

List of photographs that Rukeyser, Muriel Rukeyser

Louise Kertesz in conversation, Author Unknown

Louise Kertesz, Richard Eberhart and two others, Author Unknown

Marge Piercy Speaking to Small Group, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser at Sarah Lawrence College, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser at Sarah Lawrence College, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser at Sarah Lawrence College, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser at Sarah Lawrence College, Author Unknown

Muriel Rukeyser at Sarah Lawrence College, Author Unknown

Photocopy of letter from Kertesz to Rukeyser, June 24 1979, Louise Kertesz

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Preface to The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser. Attached to a letter from Kertesz to Rukeyser, Feb. 17 1978, Muriel Rukeyser

Question sheet, never answered, Louise Kertesz

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Question sheet with answers, August 25 1977, Louise Kertesz

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Question sheet with notes by Kertesz, July 5 1977, Louise Kertesz

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Question sheet with notes by Kertesz, June 10 1977, Louise Kertesz