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Patrick Boland collection, 1937-1983

 

Summary

Creator:
Boland, Patrick, 1921-1984
Abstract:
The Patrick Boland collection, 1937-1983, represents the writings and personal papers Patrick Boland collected throughout his life as a poet in Detroit, Michigan. It primarily features research and drafts of an unpublished manuscript Boland was writing about the British-American poet W.H. Auden. The collection also includes Boland's poetry drafts, including some of their inspirations in the form of newspaper clippings. Boland's personal papers in this collection consist of his saved assignments from school, postcards, letters, and some diary entries. Boland's personal notes and musings can be found throughout all of his documents in doodles, notes, financial calculations, and signatures. Native to Detroit, Patrick Boland was born on August 30, 1921. His father, Bernie, was once a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. In 1949, Boland graduated from the University of Michigan, where he also won the Avery Hopwood award. He received $1,500 (equivalent to approx. $20,000 today) in the major poetry contest for his manuscript, "Twenty Poems." Boland was one of the first friends the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas made while visiting America in 1950. That same year, Boland's poem "Mandala" was published in Flair and later included in the 1952 anthology A Little Treasury of American Poetry. In 1953, Boland's poem "Trials of a Poet" was published in the anthology New World Writing, alongside work from acclaimed writers like Edith and Sacheverell Sitwell. In correspondence, Boland wrote of his debilitating and consuming struggle with asthma. In the few years leading up to his death on October 29, 1984, Boland was hospitalized numerous times due to cardiac arrest. He was 63 years old.
Extent:
.8 Linear Feet 2 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Patrick Boland collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Background

Scope and content:

The Patrick Boland collection, 1937-1983, represents the writings and personal papers Patrick Boland collected throughout his life as a poet in Detroit, Michigan. It primarily features research and drafts of an unpublished manuscript Boland was writing about the British-American poet W.H. Auden. The collection also includes Boland's poetry drafts, including some of their inspirations in the form of newspaper clippings. Boland's personal papers in this collection consist of his saved assignments from school, postcards, letters, and some diary entries. Boland's personal notes and musings can be found throughout his materials in doodles, notes, financial calculations, and signatures.

This collection provides insight into the personality and artistic endeavors of Patrick Boland as he fostered a career as a poet. The drafts of his works offer a glimpse of his unpublished talents and interests, such as W.H. Auden. Additionally, personal musings and notes reflect certain physical and mental struggles that illuminate his writing.

Biographical / historical:

Patrick Boland was a poet. Native to Detroit, Patrick Boland was born in 1921 to Bernard and Grace Belle Russelo Boland. He was the oldest of his three siblings, Mary Anne, John Joseph, and Rita. His father, referred to as Bernie, was once a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

In 1949, Boland graduated from the University of Michigan, where he also won the Avery Hopwood award. He received $1,500 (equivalent to approx. $20,000 today) in the major poetry contest for his manuscript, "Twenty Poems." At the time, it was the largest prize in ten years.

Boland was one of the first friends the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas made while visiting America in 1950. In his book, Dylan Thomas in America, author John Malcom Brinnin would describe Boland's work as "remarkable." On the spoken word album, Return Journey to Swansea, Thomas can be heard reciting Boland's poem "I Climb the Stairs After a Tedious Masquerade." During their short but sincere friendship, Boland escorted Dylan Thomas to Ann Arbor, where they would stay at the home of Boland's family friends and fellow poets Dorothy and Walter Donnelly.

In 1950, Boland's poem "Mandala" was published in Flair and later included in the 1952 anthology A Little Treasury of American Poetry. In 1953, Boland's poem "Trials of a Poet" was published in the anthology New World Writing, alongside work from acclaimed writers like Edith and Sacheverell Sitwell.

Patrick Boland wrote for the rest of his life. Notably, as found in this collection, he wrote research and analysis on the British-American poet W.H. Auden. In correspondence, Boland also wrote of his debilitating and consuming struggle with asthma. In the few years leading up to his death in 1984, Boland was hospitalized numerous times due to cardiac arrest. He was 63 years old. Sometime before, in 1982, he left a note on a Kleenex box: "Love without saying goes so long; Then just as now, it goes longer."

Acquisition information:
Gift of Jerome Donnelly in 2021 (Accession no. CFM2021_21).
Processing information:

Processed by and finding aid prepared by Amelia Cuttle in 2023.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The entire collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Patrick Boland collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Location of this collection:
John C. Hitt Library
12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2
Orlando
FL
32816-8030
USA