Carol Bergé Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-MS-ms011

Staff Only

The Carol Bergé Papers consist almost entirely of her professional and literary papers from 1970 to 2006. They include an extensive collection of correspondence with contemporary literary figures which includes carbons of many of Berge's letters to her correspondents. The Bergé Papers also contain correspondence, manuscripts, drafts, proofs, and promotional material toward nearly all of her post-1970 books, notably Acts of Love, An American Romance, A Couple Called Moebius, and From A Soft Angle. The collection also house the archives of Center magazine, as well as material towards the issue of Mississippi Review that Bergé edited. Of particular interest in the personal miscellany of Carol Bergé's Papers are the flyers, brochures, and announcements concerning "happenings" and readings with which Berge was involved in New York City through the 1970's.

Group 2 and Group 3 of Carol Bergé Papers are housed offsite. Please allow up to 7 business days for any of these materials to be delivered to the Olin Library Special Collections Reading Room for your research.

Dates

Creation: 1970-2006

Creator

Bergé, Carol, 1928-2006 (Creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

80.00 boxes

Additional Description

Biographical Information

Carol Bergé, a native of New York City, studied writing, editing, and magazine production at New York University and the New School for Social Research. Her early work was featured in the classic anthology, Four Young Lady Poets, ed. Leroi Jones (1962), and she has written numerous books of poetry and prose, including Poems Made of Skin (1968), An American Romance (1969), From a Soft Angle: Poems About Women (1972) and Acts of Love: An American Novel (1973). She began writing poetry in college in the late 1940's and worked in the 1950's for several New York publishers and advertising companies. In 1959, Berge traveled to Europe and began writing full-time.

In the early 1960's, Berge became involved with the group of avant-garde New York poets who presented readings at Le Deux Magots, Le Metro Cafe, and St. Marks Church. She worked closely with the poet Paul Blackburn, among others, coordinating readings and workshops in New York City. She also attended the now famous Vancouver poetry seminar at the University of British Columbia in 1962, and wrote The Vancouver Report (1964), a comprehensive response to and report of that event. In 1970 Berge founded Center magazine and was its sole editor during its ten year run. In addition to her long career as an author and editor, Berge has taught literature and creative writing at a number of universities including Goddard College, the University of Southern Mississippi (where she edited the Mississippi Review), the University of New Mexico, and Wright State University.