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Paul J. Zimmer papers

 Collection
Identifier: D.321

Biographical / Historical note

Paul J. Zimmer was born September 18, 1934, in Canton, Ohio. He served in the US Army as a journalist from 1954-1955. After he was discharged, he attended Kent State as an English major on the GI Bill. In 1967, he was hired as Associate Director of the Pittsburgh University Press, where he helped found the Pitt Poetry Series. He also served as the director of the University of George Press and the University of Iowa Press, which he ran until his retirement in 1994. Over the course of his career, Zimmer received many honors and grants, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1974, 1981), an Open Book Award from the American Society of Journalists and Author, and six Pushcart Prizes. Family Reunion: Selected and New Poems won an Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and The Great Bird of Love was selected for the National Poetry Series. Zimmer presented readings and workshops at over 300 different academic institutions, including Ohio University, University of Southern California, University of Vermont, the Folger Shakespeare Institute, and the United States Naval Academy. He has taught poetry at Carnegie-Mellon and was poet-in-residence at Hollins University and the University of Montana. He now lives in Wisconsin.

Zimmer's major works include The Ribs of Death (1967), The Republic of Many Voices (1969), The Zimmer Poems (1976), With Wanda: Town and Country Poems (1980), Family Reunion: Selected and New Poems (1983), The Great Bird of Love (1989), Big Blue Train (1993), Crossing Into Sunlight (1996), After the Fire (2002), Trains in the Distance (2004), and The Mysteries of Soldiers Grove (2015).

Scope and Contents

The Paul J. Zimmer papers includes his extensive correspondence, published and unpublished poems, essays and articles, as well as audio and video tapes of his interviews and readings.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1967-2004

Language of Materials

English

Extent

42 box(es)

Access

The Paul J. Zimmer Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books, Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Paul J. Zimmer Papers, D.321, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Title
Paul J. Zimmer papers
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Date
undated
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library

Contact:
Rochester NY 14627-0055 USA