Title: Frederick John Hoffman Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1942-1955

Creator:

• Hoffman, Frederick John

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 141

Quantity: .6 cubic ft. (2 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

This collection of over 300 documents consists primarily of correspondence between Professor Frederick J. Hoffman (1909-1967) and various literary figures of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The collection dates from 1942 through 1955 and includes letters from luminaries such as Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, Lionel Trilling and Thomas Mann. The collection also contains Hoffman's notes on interviews that he conducted with several noted writers and literary critics, including Sinclair Lewis, Edmund Wilson and H.L. Mencken.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0141

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Frederick J. Hoffman was born September 21, 1909 in Port Washington, Wisconsin. His education consisted of a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University (1934, Phi Beta Kappa), a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota (1936), and a Doctor of Philosophy in English from Ohio State University (1942). In 1945 Hoffman received the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship. His teaching positions included Ohio State University where he served as assistant professor from 1942 to 1947; associate professor at the University of Oklahoma (1947-1948); associate professor and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1948-1960); and professor at the University of California, Riverside (1960-1965) where he served as chairman of the English department (1961-1963). Hoffman served the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as Distinguished Professor of English from 1965 until his death on December 24, 1967, which occurred shortly after his August 1967 marriage to Mary C. Holm. During his teaching career Hoffman also held visiting professorships at Duke, Harvard and Stanford Universities, and was a Fulbright professor in France and Italy (1953-1954).

During his career Hoffman was the author of twenty-one books and approximately 250 essays published in books and magazines. His books include Freudianism and the Literary Mind (1945), The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography (1946, with Charles Allen and Carolyn F. Ulrich), and The Twenties: American Writing in the Postwar Decade (1949). Hoffman also lectured widely on his primary field of interest, American literature, especially that of the modern era. He was particularly interested in psychoanalysis and modern literature, and in the literary and cultural history of the 1920s.

Most of the items donated to the Archives are from Hoffman's years at Ohio State University (1942-1947). A majority of the correspondence and interviews are related to the research and publication work that Hoffman conducted for his books Freudianism and the Literary Mind (1945), The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography (1946), and The Twenties: American Writing in the Postwar Decade (1949). They include letters from collaborators, responses to research inquiries, and letters relating the publication of his works.

Scope and content notes of each series are included in the contents list.

The collection is arranged into the following series and subseries:

1. Correspondence, 1942-1955, undated
   1. Freudianism and the Literary Mind, 1942-1955
   2. General Correspondence, 1942-1947
   3. The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography, 1943-1955
   4. The Twenties: American Writing in the Post-War Decade, 1943-1954
2. Interviews, 1945
3. Literary Magazine Correspondence and Brochures, 1943-1948, undated
4. Miscellaneous, undated

The files within each series are organized alphabetically by personal name, then chronologically when there is more than one letter or interview by a particular person. The one exception is the general correspondence subseries where for the sake of clarity and to preserve original order copies of Hoffman's letters of inquiry, rather than being filed under "H," are filed with the respondent's letters. In this series, letters are to Hoffman unless otherwise noted on the finding aid.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• Little Review Records. UWM Manuscript Collection 1.

• Margaret C. Anderson Papers. UWM Manuscript Collection 12.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

The Archives owns but does not hold the copyright to any of the materials in the Hoffman Collection. The Archives does not have specific information on who holds the copyright to any of the materials. The Archives will provide researchers with fair-use copies of materials from the collection, but it cannot and will not authorize, license, or control any specific uses of the materials. Copyright information may be available from:

Copyright Office
Room LM401
James Madison Memorial Building
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20540

Acquisition Information

Mary John, Hoffman's widow and the former Mary C. Holm, donated the collection to Archives in 1998.

Processing Information

Processed by Maria Schoeberl from November 1998 to February 1999.

	Series: 1. Correspondence, 1943-1955
	Subseries: A. Freudianism and the Literary Mind, 1942-1955 Scope and Content Note: This subseries relates to the publication of Hoffman's 1945 monograph, and consists of correspondence relating to the book's publication by Louisiana State University Press, responses to research inquiries (Conrad Aiken), and post-publication correspondence (A.A. Brill, Anaïs Nin).
Box   1 Folder   1	Aiken, Conrad, 1944
Box   1 Folder   1	Bentley, Eric Russell, 1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Brill, A.A., 1943
Box   1 Folder   1	De Vane, William C., 1942-1943
Box   1 Folder   1	Flores, Angel, 1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Freedman, Burill, 1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Heilman, Robert B., 1943
Box   1 Folder   1	Hoffman, Frederick J., to Frederick A. Pottle, 1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Hubert, Ruth B., to Frederick J. Hoffman, 1953
Box   1 Folder   1	Hubert, Ruth B., to Ruth M. Mathewson, 1953
Box   1 Folder   1	Levin, Harry, 1946
Box   1 Folder   1	Lindsay, Jack, 1948
Box   1 Folder   1	Loeb, Robert H., 1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Lyskin, Herman, 1945
Box   1 Folder   2	Mason, Ellsworth G., 1948
Box   1 Folder   2	Mathewson, Ruth M., 1953
Box   1 Folder   2	Megata, Morikimi, 1955, 19??
Box   1 Folder   2	Mordell, Albert, 1946
Box   1 Folder   2	Nin, Anaïs, undated
Box   1 Folder   2	Pottle, Frederick A., 1945
Box   1 Folder   2	Simenauer, E., 1950
Box   1 Folder   2	Smith, A.O., 1947
Box   1 Folder   2	Wilkerson, M.M., 1943-1946
Box   1 Folder   2	Wilson, Edmund, 1943
	Subseries: B. General Correspondence, 1942-1947 Scope and Content Note: General correspondence is perhaps the most interesting and important part of this collection. These materials consist primarily of responses to Hoffman's research inquiries by various literary figures including Henry Miller, Frieda Lawrence (widow of D.H. Lawrence), Floyd Dell, Thomas Mann, and Ezra Pound. In some cases, Hoffman's letters of inquiry are available as well. The correspondence deals with a variety of topics and lines of research, especially Freudianism and its influence on the responding authors, literature in the 1920s, and sales figures of various books and publishers.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   3	Aiken, Conrad, 1945
Box   1 Folder   3	Boynton, Henry Percy, 1942
Box   1 Folder   3	Braymer, Lawrence, 1945
Box   1 Folder   3	Brill, A.A., 1942
Box   1 Folder   3	Burke, Kenneth, 1945
Box   1 Folder   3	Burrow, Trigant, 1942
Box   1 Folder   3	Chambers, D.L., 1945
Box   1 Folder   4	Cowley, Malcolm, 1944-1945
Box   1 Folder   4	Daiches, David, 1942
Box   1 Folder   4	Darrow, Whitney, 1945
Box   1 Folder   4	Davis, Robert Gorham, 1945
Box   1 Folder   4	Dell, Floyd, 1942-1945
Box   1 Folder   5	Eastman, Max, 1944
Box   1 Folder   5	Edwards, Robert, undated
Box   1 Folder   6	Frank, Waldo, 1942-1946
Box   1 Folder   6	Freeman, Joseph, 1944-1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Freshman, Shirley, 1945
Box   1 Folder   7	Geismar, Maxwell, 1947
Box   1 Folder   7	Gould, Joe, 1945-1946
	Hoffman, Frederick J. (Outgoing)
Box   1 Folder   3	Brill, A.A., 1942
Box   1 Folder   4	Cowley, Malcolm, 1944
Box   1 Folder   5	Eastman, Max East, 1944
Box   1 Folder   5	Edwards, Robert, 1943
Box   1 Folder   6	Frank, Waldo, 1942
Box   1 Folder   6	Frank, Waldo, 1945
Box   1 Folder   6	Freeman, Joseph, 1944
Box   1 Folder   8	Lawrence, Frieda, 1942
Box   1 Folder   8	Luhan, Mabel Dodge, 1942
Box   1 Folder   9	Mann, Thomas, 1944
Box   1 Folder   9	Miller, Henry, 1944
Box   1 Folder   9	Nin, Anaïs,1944
Box   1 Folder   11	Wilson, Edmund, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	Mencken, H.L., undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Hull, Harry F., 1945
Box   1 Folder   7	Jolas, Eugene, 1943
Box   1 Folder   7	Josephson, Matthew, 1945
Box   1 Folder   8	Koshland, William A., 1945
Box   1 Folder   8	Kris, Ernst, 1944
Box   1 Folder   8	Lawrence, Frieda, 1942
Box   1 Folder   8	Levin, Harry, 1942
Box   1 Folder   8	Lewis, Sinclair, 1945
Box   1 Folder   8	Lippmann, Walter, 1942
Box   1 Folder   8	Luhan, Mabel Dodge, 1942
Box   1 Folder   9	Mann, Thomas, 1944
Box   1 Folder   9	Mason, Harold, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	McCarthy, Catherine, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	Mencken, H.L., 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	Miller, Henry, 1944
Box   1 Folder   9	Mumford, Lewis, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	Nin, Anaïs, 1944
Box   1 Folder   10	Pound, Dorothy, 1947
Box   1 Folder   10	Pound, Ezra, 1946-1947
Box   1 Folder   10	Sauer, Caroline, 1945
Box   1 Folder   10	Smith, Priscilla C., 1945
Box   1 Folder   10	Smollen, A., 1945
Box   1 Folder   10	Soupault, Phillippe, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	Stimson, Lucy Grey, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	Stimson, Lucy Grey (with McKnight Black poems), undated
Box   1 Folder   11	Taylor, Helen K., 1945
Box   1 Folder   11	Trilling, Lionel, Malcolm Cowley, and R.P. Blackmur, 1946
Box   1 Folder   11	Wylie, Philip, 1945
	Subseries: C. The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography, 1943-1955 Scope and Content Note: This subseries contains materials relating to the publication of The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography. It consists of correspondence with collaborators Carolyn Ulrich and Charles Allen, and various letters that cover publishing details. This series also contains letters from,and responses to James Laughlin, a publisher who was considerably dissatisfied with the portrayal of his magazine, New Directions, in the first edition of Hoffman's book.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   12	Allen, Charles, 1944-1946
	Hoffman, Frederick J. (Outgoing)
Box   1 Folder   12	Allen, Charles, 1944
Box   1 Folder   12	Laughlin, James, 1946-1947
Box   1 Folder   12	MacLachlan, Jean, 1946
Box   1 Folder   12	Smith, Datus C., 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   12	Ulrich, Carolyn F., 1943
Box   1 Folder   12	Knopf, Alfred A., to Carolyn F. Ulrich, 1943
	Laughlin, James
Box   1 Folder   13	General, 1946-1947
Box   1 Folder   13	Smith, Datus C., 1946
Box   1 Folder   13	MacLachlan, Jean, 1946
Box   1 Folder   13	Smith, Datus C.,1943-1946
Box   1 Folder   13	Stewart, Paul R., 1955
Box   1 Folder   14	Ulrich, Carolyn F., 1943-1947
	Subseries: D. The Twenties: American Writing in the Post-War Decade, 1943-1954 Scope and Content Note: This subseries relates to the publication of The Twenties: American Writing in the Postwar Decade. This series consists primarily of correspondence with publishers, as well as a few research-related letters. Also in this series are letters relating to the fellowship that the Rockefeller Foundation awarded to Hoffman in 1945.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   15	Davis, Lambert, 1954
Box   1 Folder   15	Dulles, F. Rhea, undated
Box   1 Folder   15	Fran, 1945
Box   1 Folder   15	Hanford, James, 1944
	Hoffman, Frederick J. (Outgoing)
Box   1 Folder   15	Editor of Henry Holt and Company, 1946
Box   1 Folder   15	Makinsky, Alexander, 1944
Box   1 Folder   15	Stewart, Helen, 1947-1948
Box   1 Folder   15	Jennison, Keith, 1946
Box   1 Folder   15	Lottinville, Savoie, 1947
Box   1 Folder   15	Marshall, John, 1944
Box   1 Folder   15	Maxwell, Kay, 1945
Box   1 Folder   15	Parker, William R., 1944
Box   1 Folder   15	Pistole, Walter H. Jr., 1945
Box   1 Folder   15	Rutter, William, 1949
Box   1 Folder   16	Sloane, William, 1946
Box   1 Folder   16	Stevens, David H., 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   16	Stewart, Helen, 1948-1950
Box   1 Folder   16	Sutveau, James, May 18, 1945
Box   1 Folder   17	Taylor, Helen K.,1945-1950
Box   1 Folder   17	Thompson, Norma S.
Box   1 Folder   17	Trilling, Lionel
	Series: 2. Interviews, 1945 Scope and Content Note: This series consists of notes from Hoffman's interviews with H.L. Mencken, Sinclair Lewis, Malcolm Cowley, and others. A small but noteworthy number of materials relate to the poet McKnight Black, including an interview and collection of poems.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   18	Barry, Iris, 1945
Box   1 Folder   19	Cowley, Malcolm, 1945
Box   1 Folder   19	Dell, Floyd, 1945
Box   1 Folder   20	Eastman, Max, 1945
Box   1 Folder   21	Fadiman, Clifton, 1945
Box   1 Folder   21	Flannery, Vaughan, 1945
Box   1 Folder   21	Freeman, Joseph, 1945
Box   1 Folder   22	Goodrich, Marcus, 1945
Box   1 Folder   22	Gorer, Geoffrey,1945
Box   1 Folder   22	Josephson, Matthew and Phillipe Soupault, 1945
Box   1 Folder   23	Lewis, Sinclair, 1945
Box   1 Folder   24	Mencken, H.L., 1945
Box   1 Folder   24	Munson, Gorham B., 1945
Box   1 Folder   25	Soupault, Phillippe, 1945
Box   1 Folder   26	Toogood, Granville, 1945
Box   1 Folder   26	Wilson, Edumund, 1945
	Series: 3. Literary Magazine Correspondence and Brochures, 1943-1948 Scope and Content Note: This series consists primarily of letters and magazine brochures that Hoffman collected following the publication of The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography. The correspondence consists of research responses from various literary magazine publishers and editors as well as the brochures and flyers from their publications. These brochures have been filed with their accompanying letter. The series also contains some post-publication correspondence concerning The Little Magazine: A History and a Bibliography. This series also contains flyers or brochures that have no accompanying letter.	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Atkins, John, 1946
Box   2 Folder   1	Bate, John, 1946
Box   2 Folder   1	Boyars, Arthur, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Braybooke, Neville, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Browne, W.R., 1946
Box   2 Folder   1	Burke, Kenneth, 1943
Box   2 Folder   1	Christensen, Clement, 1946
Box   2 Folder   1	Cranston, Maurice, 1948
Box   2 Folder   1	Curry, Helen, 1948
Box   2 Folder   1	Derricourt, Stanley, 1948
Box   2 Folder   1	Edmunds, Pierre, 1948
Box   2 Folder   1	Fisher, Mahlon Leonard, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Foley, Martha, 1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Gardiner, C. Wrey, 1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Green, Charles R., 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Green, H. M., 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Grigson, Geoffrey, 1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Grindea, Miron, 1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Hellman, George S., 1943
Box   2 Folder   2	Herschkowitz, Harry, 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Howes, Barbara, 1947
Box   2 Folder   2	Jenner, G., 1947
Box   2 Folder   2	Jones, Glyn,1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Kilgore, Ray N., 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Kreymborg, Alfred, 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Landesman, Jay Irving, 1948
Box   2 Folder   2	Lane, Edward, 1947
Box   2 Folder   2	Levine, Myra E., 1946
Box   2 Folder   2	Loshak, David, 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	MacLeod, Norman, 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Marcus, David, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Mayer, Stanley D., 1947
Box   2 Folder   3	McCarthy, Albert J., 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Moore, Henry, 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Moore, Reginald, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	O'Donnell, Peader, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Pearlman, Paul, 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Pick, J. B., 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Poggioli, Renato, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Quennell, Peter, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Rajan, B., 1946-1947
Box   2 Folder   3	Rattazi, Peter, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Reis, Bernard, 1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Rhys, Keidrych, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Roll, Barbara, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Rosen, Aaron, 1948
Box   2 Folder   3	Sergeant, Howard, 1948
Box   2 Folder   4	Siberell, Lloyd Emerson, 1943
Box   2 Folder   4	Simon, Jean, 1948
Box   2 Folder   4	Slater, Humphrey, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Storm, Nigel, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Sutherland, John, undated
Box   2 Folder   4	Swiggett, Glen Levin, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Taggard, Genevieve, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Trilling, Lionel, 1945
Box   2 Folder   4	Villa, Jose Garcia, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Wain, John, 1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Williams, William Carlos, 1943
Box   2 Folder   4	Wittenborn, George, 1948
Box   2 Folder   4	Woodcock, George, 1948
Box   2 Folder   4	Zatinsky, Milton, 1947
Box   2 Folder   5	Literary Magazine Brochures, 1946-1948
	Series: 4. Miscellaneous, undated Scope and Content Note: This series contains various undated non-correspondence that is not associated with any of the letters in the collection. Their sources are unidentified but most appear to have been written by Hoffman.	⇧
Box   2 Folder   6	Miscellaneous, undated