Richard Lyons Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 259

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Richard Lyons Papers supplement those donated to the Institute in 1972 & 1976, (processed as Mss 10) and 1985 (processed as Mss 151). See separate finding aid to those collections. The focus of this latest collection is his poetry. This collection represents the last of Mr. Lyons’ work. Where possible the original arrangement of the papers has been maintained. In addition to his poetry, this collection contains drama, fiction, papers written as a student, nonfiction, slide shows, and a small collection of letters. A few letters from poet John Crowe Ransom also are included. This collection also contains essays written in 1947 and 1948 by veterans of World War II who were taking an English class from Mr. Lyons while he taught at Miami University. These essays document the men’s experiences during the war. There are also the letters of C.E. Dunkel written during his military service in World War I. A small collection of his wife Marjorie Dunkel’s poetry is also included. The papers have been organized into fourteen series: Poetry publications, Poetry collections, Individual poems, Collected poems, Poetry notebooks, Dramatic writing, Fiction, Big Sea, Nonfiction, School papers, Slide shows, World War II themes, Subject files, and Cassettes and tapes. The Poetry Publications Series contains a substantial number of poetry chapbooks that Mr. Lyons produced on his Merrykit Press. There is a small number of Mr. Lyons’ poems that were published in periodicals. This series also contains Mr. Lyons’ book Paintings in Taxicabs and a collection of slides associated with that book. The slides are, for the most part, photographs of art pieces owned by North Dakota residents. Many of these slides were used to illustrate Paintings in Taxicabs. The publications in this series are arranged alphabetically by title. The Poetry Collections Series contains typescripts of Lyons’ poetry collections. These were not originally organized in any way, and they are filed here alphabetically by title. The Individual Poems Series contains a large number of individual typescripts of poems that were found unorganized among Mr. Lyons’ papers. These also have been arranged alphabetically. Untitled individual poems and untitled collections of poems can be found at the end of this series. The Collected Poems Series contains typescripts of poems that Mr. Lyons had organized in boxes by date. The poems were placed in files in order to maintain Mr. Lyons’ organizational scheme. This series contains two different collections that cover roughly the same chronological period. One collection was labeled “Printed Poems” followed by the dates of the poems that are included. The other collection was labeled “Poems” followed by the inclusive dates and “Published and Unpublished.” Both collections cover the years from 1939 through 1981. The Poetry Notebooks Series contains the poems as found in twenty-one notebooks compiled by Mr. Lyons. The contents of the individual notebooks were filed as Mr. Lyons left them, but the notebooks themselves are arranged chronologically. The Dramatic Writing Series contains plays that Mr. Lyons wrote. These plays are filed alphabetically. The Fiction Series contains typescripts of various short fiction that Mr. Lyons wrote. These were found unorganized and have been filed alphabetically. The Big Sea Series contains material associated with Mr. Lyons novel The Big Sea. Two complete versions that do not appear in earlier Lyons collections are included here. These versions are respectively labeled “Original Effort” and “Primary Copy.” This series also contains a large amount of research material that Mr. Lyons found and created as he prepared to write this novel. The research material includes index cards, handwritten notes, a project description created to secure funding, maps, photographs, and advertisements circa 1910. The Nonfiction Series contains prose written by Mr. Lyons. These papers have been filed alphabetically, and most are undated. The School Papers Series contains papers written by Mr. Lyons when he was a student. This series includes a typescript of Mr. Lyons master’s thesis, Fable from a North Window. The rest of this series consists largely of criticism and critiques of other writers’ work. The series begins with his thesis but otherwise is organized alphabetically.

The Slide Show Series contain the slides, note cards, and poetry collections of four slide shows that Mr. Lyons created. The slide shows are based on four of Mr. Lyons poetry collections: Scanning the Land, The Quest and the Questions, Insights and Double Visions, and The Facts and the Fantasies. The Correspondence Series contains both incoming and outgoing letters from 1965 to 1997. The correspondence with poet John Crowe Ransom and The Kenyon Review have been collected in one of the files of this series. The World War II Themes Series contains essays written by World War II veterans. These themes were written in 1947 and 1948 by veterans who were taking an English class taught by Mr. Lyons. The essays offer researchers firsthand accounts of American soldiers’ experiences during the war. They were the basis for later works by Mr. Lyons. The Subject File Series includes material on a variety of topics. There are articles about Mr. Lyons, reviews and criticisms of Mr. Lyons’ writing, contracts and copyright paperwork, papers connected to Mr. Lyons’ poem about the assassination of Martin Luther King The Man on the Balcony, Mr. Lyons’ drawings, and poetry by Mr. Lyons’ wife Marjorie Dunkel. This series also contains other publication of the Merrykit Press including, Back in ’18: The Letters of C.E. Dunkel from World War I; Faulkner on Love: A Letter; The Adventures of Dr. Dork, by Cameron Lyons; and On the Occasion of the Launching of the Red Earth Satellite Sputnik by Tom McGrath. The Tape and Cassette Series contains fourteen cassette tapes and one reel to reel tape. The cassette collection contains Mr. Lyons poetry collection A Cast of Nameless Characters, which was published only on cassette tape, tapes that correspond with Mr. Lyons’ slide shows, (see slide show series) various poetry readings by Mr. Lyons, and recordings of Mr. Lyons appearance on various radio shows. The single reel to reel tape in this collection contains Mr. Lyons reading several of his poems and a recording of news reports about a tornado that hit Fargo. These tapes can be found in the Institute’s cassette tape and reel to reel tape collection.

Dates

1920-2000.

Creator

Lyons, Richard. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute does not own the copyrights.

Biography

Richard Eugene Lyons was born June 19, 1920 at Detroit, Michigan, the son of Frank C. and Daisy (Sweeny) Lyons. After graduating from high school he attended the University of Dayton for two years. He then went to Miami University at Oxford, Ohio where he earned a B.A. degree in 1942. After several years working in Dayton and recovering from tuberculosis, he returned in 1946 to Miami University to work on a master’s degree that he received in 1947. Mr. Lyons then became an English instructor there for a year. In 1948 he went to Indiana University to begin work on a Ph.D. degree. In 1950 after two years, Mr. Lyons came to North Dakota Agricultural College where he held a duel position as order librarian and instructor in English. His early work connected with the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies where he researched a proposed anthology of North Dakota writers. In 1959 Mr. Lyons returned full time to the English Department, and that same year he took a sabbatical leave to attend the University of Minnesota where he completed his course work towards a degree in American Studies. Mr. Lyons returned to North Dakota State University to teach English until his retirement in 1981. Lyons was a published poet and a graphic artist. Though he concentrated on poetry, he exhibited his prints nationally and some of his writing concerns the visual arts. At Miami University, he was a member of the Poet’s Circle. Numerous poems by Mr. Lyons have been published in periodicals including The New Yorker, The Virginia Quarterly Review and The Kenyon Review. His first major work was Men and Tin Kettles (1956). Other publications include One Squeaking Straw (1958), Paintings in Taxicabs (a study of art consumers in North Dakota, 1965), Above Time (1968), editor of Poetry North: Five Poets of North Dakota (1970), Racer and Lame (1975) and Scanning the Land (1980). In addition to these publications, Mr. Lyons also operated a small printing press in his home on which he produced the publications of Merrykit Press. His first Merrykit publication was Eclogues in Blue (1947). Richard Lyons was a member of the College English Association, the American Studies Association, the Rourke Art Gallery and Phi Kappa Phi. He was married in 1942 to Marjorie Dunkel. They had two children, Christopher and Cressida. Lyons retired from NDSU in 1982 and moved to Newark, Delaware. Marjorie Lyons died in 1983. In 1994 he moved to Gardiner, Maine, where he continued to write and publish poetry. Richard Lyons died January 29, 2000.

Extent

10 Linear Feet (10 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

NDSU English professor, retired to Maine. These papers, the final installment of his papers and his career, focus on his poetry, both historical collections and more recent works done prior to his death in 2000.