Special Collections Department

Rudi Holzapfel
Poetry Manuscripts

1961-1990

Manuscript Collection Number: 244
Accessioned: Purchased June 1991.
Extent: 32 items. 1 box.
Content: Poetry worksheets.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: Fall 1991 by Neva J. Specht.

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Biographical Note
Scope and Contents Note
Series Outline
Contents List

Biographical Note

The Irish poet Rudolph Patrick Holzapfel was born in Paris, France, on December 11, 1938. Holzapfel lived in California from 1946 to 1956 and was graduated from Santa Barbara Catholic High School. From 1956 to 1970 he worked various jobs in England and Ireland, and studied at Trinity College in Dublin. It was during these years that Holzapfel began to identify with Ireland and the cause of Irish nationalism; he has said he would like to be considered "a true inheritor of the spiritual legacy of the Gaelic Bards." From 1970 to the late 1980s, Holzapfel lived in Germany, teaching English and literature. Holzapfel has published with the Irish authors Brendan Kennelly, Oliver Snoddy, and John Farrell, and his work has been anthologized in the Penguin Book of Irish Verse and Modern Irish Poets.

Scope and Content Note

The Rudi Holzapfel Poetry Manuscripts, spanning 1961 to 1990, consist of 32 worksheets containing approximately 37 poems. These poetry manuscripts are arranged into two series. Series I, Titled Poetry Worksheets, is arranged in alphabetical order by title. Series II, Untitled Poetry Worksheets, is arranged in alphabetical order by first line. The worksheets have many alterations and cancellations. A number are written on the back of a variety of documents including school attendance lists or mimeograph worksheets. These give the impression of having been drafted while he taught English and literature in Germany. Most drafts seem to date from the 1980s, but some are dated 1961 and 1963.

Related collections:

MS 245 Rudi Holzapfel Papers

Series Outline

         
I. Titled Poetry Worksheets, 1961-1990.

II. Untitled Poetry Worksheets, 1961-1990.

Contents List

Folder -- Contents

           Series I.  Titled Poetry Worksheets, 1961-1990.

               18 items.  

               Includes autographed and typescript worksheets of titled poems.
               The worksheets contain numerous autograph corrections and additions.
               Some contain descriptive notes from the author such as "scrapped,"
               "out," or an estimated date when he wrote the poem.
               In one case there are 3 drafts of the same poem.  Many sheets
               contain title or untitled drafts of additional poems on verso.
               The poems are arranged alphabetically by title; dates are provided
               when available.

F1        Amazon [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf).

          And Thats Enough. 1961-1962. Ts, 1p (1 leaf).

          Asylum. 1990: February. AMs, 1p (1 leaf). Dawn is a Gale.  AMs,
          same side. Draft of poem "The TV" on verso.

          Brahms [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Untitled draft of poem on  verso.

          The Face that Faces All [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Untitled  draft
          of poem on verso.

          The Hitch-hiker [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Untitled draft of poem
          on verso.

F2        How Many Frustrated Fortnights (Dad's Poem) [n.d.] AMs, 1 p
          (1 leaf).

          Inner Damage [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Untitled draft of poem 
          on verso.

          The New Pharisee's Prayer [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf). Prose  notes,
          perhaps for an essay, on verso.

          On an Irish Politician. 1963. Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Unfinished  typed
          letter to Professor White on verso.

          School's Out [n.d] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          Song of the Foreign Employer. 1961. Ts, 1p (1 leaf).  Untitled
          typed draft of poem on verso.

          Squinting [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf).

F3        Stockbroking [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf). Twenty-one aphorisms
          on verso.

          The Vision of Judgement or the British Bookshelf [n.d.] AMs 
          and Ts, 4p (4 leaves). 3 drafts. Notes on verso of Ts  drafts.


           Series II.  Untitled Poetry Worksheets.  1961-1990. 

               14 items.

               Consisting of autographed and typed worksheets of untitled poems.
               The worksheets contain numerous autograph corrections and additions.
               Some worksheets contain retrospective notes from the author such
               as "scrapped," "used," etc.  The poems are
               listed alphabetically by first lines; dates are provided when
               available.

F4        The Heart elated or. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          His row of silence. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          I believe in the burning of books. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1  leaf).
          Untitled draft of poem on verso.

          I know that banker. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          Lie down at dawn, relax. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).  Untitled
          draft of poem on verso.

          Marianna. . .1961. Ts, 1p (1 leaf). Partial first line of "A
          Minor Deity to His Worldly Love" on verso.

F5        My dark beloved played the virgin mare. . . [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1
          leaf).

          My man dies white my man dies young. . . [n.d.] Ts and AMs, 
          1p (1 leaf).

          Of limited number. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          Putting prices on Chinese pots. . . [n.d.] Ts, 1p (1 leaf).

          Strong Winds. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          We should--all of us--shy away from making final state-
          ments. . .  [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

          Well I agree and who's inside who. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1  leaf).
          Untitled draft of poem on verso.

          With poems all drivel. . . [n.d.] AMs, 1p (1 leaf).

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