Robert Knoll, English Papers
Title: Robert Knoll,
English Papers
Creator: Knoll, Robert E., 1922-
Dates: 1955-1999
Quantity: 4 boxes (2 linear
feet)
Collection Number: RG 12-10-24
Language: English
Restrictions: None
Access and Use: For information on access or copyright, please see our guidelines
or email archives@unl.edu.
Historical Records Statement: Please see our statement on historical records and materials.
Preferred Citation: Robert Knoll, English Papers (RG 12-10-24). Archives & Special Collections,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
Biography:
Born in Liberty, Nebraska, on 3 February 1922, Robert E. Knoll graduated from Omaha
North High School in 1940. He attended the University of Nebraska, graduating with a
bachelor of arts degree in 1943. Knoll served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946,
earning the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Minnesota, graduating in 1950 with a doctorate in Shakespearean
studies. Knoll joined the English department faculty at the University of Nebraska
in 1950. He taught at UNL for 40 years and held several distinguished titles
including the George Holmes Professor of English and the Paula and D.B. Varner
Professor of English. Robert Knoll married Virginia Koehler in 1953 and they had
three children. He died on 8 January 2009.
Knoll received numerous honors and awards throughout his career, including being
honored as a Fulbright lecturer, fellow of the National Humanities Institute, and
Rotary's "Nebraskan of the Year." In 1988 the
Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named Knoll "Nebraska Professor of the Year." After retiring in
1990, he wrote Prairie University: A History of the University
of Nebraska. He has authored more than 30 essays, books, and reviews and
has contributed to several television features. Knoll served as president of the
Central Renaissance Conference and was one of the founding trustees of the
Shakespeare Association of America. Knoll was also chairman of the Wright Morris
Festival and served on the board of governors for the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial
and Educational Foundation.
Scope and Content:
The Knoll Papers mainly relate to his career as an author. They consist of
correspondence and subject files compiled by Knoll, manuscripts and publications
authored by Knoll, biographical materials, and a few photographs and miscellaneous
items. The correspondence and subject files contain letters between Knoll and
various noted authors including Ezra Pound, Wright Morris, and William Carlos
Williams. Most of the materials in the correspondence and subject files relate to
Knoll's research and publications on Robert McAlmon and Weldon Kees and to the
publication of his own books.
Subjects:
Bird, William Augustus, 1888-1963
Boyle, Kay, 1902-
Cunard, Nancy, 1896-1965
Kees, Weldon, b. 1914
Knoll, Robert E., 1922-
McAlmon, Robert, 1896-1956
Morris, Wright, 1910-1998
Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972
Williams, William Carlos, 1883-1963
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Correspondence
Series Description:
Series 1: Correspondence and Subject Files, Boxes 1-3This series consists of files compiled by Knoll on various 20th Century
authors, including Kay Boyle, Weldon Kees, Robert McAlmon, and Wright
Morris. The files have been placed in alphabetical order based on the
author's last name. Some files contain correspondence between Knoll and the
individual authors as well as newspaper clippings and published articles
about the authors. The majority of the materials relate to the production of
Knoll's books on Robert McAlmon and Weldon Kees. There are photographs of
McAlmon and his contemporaries used to illustrate Knoll's book McAlmon and the Lost Generation.
The correspondence relating to Kees includes transcripts of Kees' letters
from the 1940s (Box 1, Folder 8). The Weldon Kees permissions consist of
copyright permission requests from Knoll to various publishers and authors
for use of their materials in his book, Weldon Kees
and the Midcentury Generation. Of particular interest is the
correspondence between Knoll and Ezra Pound while Pound was in St.
Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington D.C.
Additional materials relate to Knoll's participation on projects related to
Weldon Kees, such as the festival celebrating the life of Kees in Iowa City.
Series 2: Manuscripts and Publications, Box 3This series contains manuscripts of Knoll's writings, including an article on
the founders of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska and a
memoir Knoll wrote in 1997. The publications in this series include articles
and reprints of works authored or edited by Knoll. Among the publications in
this series are Robert McAlmon: Expatriate Publisher
and Writer, Storm Over the Waste
Land, and Experiment at Nebraska: The First
Two Years of a Cluster College. The publications in this series
are arranged chronologically.
Series 3: Biographical Materials, Box 4The biographical materials in Series 4 include a transcript of an oral
history interview conducted with Knoll by George Round as well as curriculum
vitae and faculty record sheets detailing Knoll's career. Various press
releases and newspaper clippings relating to Knoll and his career are also
included in this series. The majority of these items date from 1970 to 1990.
Additional items in this series are items that Knoll collected or are
associated with his work, such as a program for the 1973 Willa Cather
Centennial Festival, a memorial service program for Bernice Slote, and the
1984 Fall-Winter edition of "The Shakespeare
Newsletter." Knoll served as a member of the Willa Cather
Centennial Festival committee and was guest editor of the April 1964 "Shakespeare Anniversary Issue" of Nebraska English Counselor. This series contains
several group photos of the UNL English department faculty and staff, slides
of Robert Knoll, and a few photographs of Wright Morris.
Container List:
Series 1: Correspondence and Subject FilesBox 1. Folder 1. Correspondence, William Bird, 1956-1962 1994
Box 1. Folder 2. Correspondence, Kay Boyle, 1959-1984
Box 1. Folder 3. Correspondence, Nancy Cunard, 1963 1965
Box 1. Folder 4. Letters and publication permissions, "World of Weldon Kees," 1981-1985
Box 1. Folder 5. Letters and publication permissions, "World of Weldon Kees," 1985-1991
Box 1. Folder 6. Correspondence, program information, Weldon Kees in
Iowa, 1985-1999
Box 1. Folder 7. Correspondence, program information, Weldon Kees in
Iowa, 1962, 1992-1994
Box 1. Folder 8. Correspondence, program information, Weldon Kees in
Iowa, 1992-1995
Box 1. Folder 9. Reviews and comments, "World of Weldon
Kees," 1987-1995
Box 2. Folder 1. Correspondence, photos, "Robert McAlmon
and the Lost Generation," 1956-1962, 1974, undated
Box 2. Folder 2. Correspondence, "Robert McAlmon and the
Lost Generation," 1956-1963
Box 2. Folder 3. Correspondence, "Robert McAlmon and the
Lost Generation," 1964-1997, undated
Box 2. Folder 4. Robert McAlmon, reviews, 1959-1990, undated
Box 2. Folder 5. Correspondence, Victoria McAlmon, 1956-1967, undated
Box 2. Folder 6. Wright and Josephine Morris, 1972-1977, 1998
Box 2. Folder 7. Wright Morris (see also photographs, box 4)
Box 2. Folder 8. Wright Morris, profile, Poets and Writers
Magazine, 1997
Box 3. Folder 1. Thesis, Peter Jovanovich, Three Writers of
the Great Plains (photocopy), 1972
Box 3. Folder 2. Ezra Pound, 1956-1957, 1973, 1996
Box 3. Folder 3. William Carlos Williams, 1959
Box 3. Folder 4. Correspondence, 1963, 1988-1989
Series 2: ManuscriptsBox 3. Folder 5. Manuscripts, "Price of Teaching in the
University," 1988, Oct. 13
Box 3. Folder 6. Manuscripts, Rotary Club speech, 1989, Jan. 24
Box 3. Folder 7. Manuscripts, "Times of My Life:
1850-1950" chapters 1-3, 1997, Summer
Box 3. Folder 8. Manuscripts, "Times of My Life:
1850-1950" chapters 4-8, 1997, Summer
Box 3. Folder 9. Manuscripts, "Persona in Four
Centuries," undated
Box 3. Folder 10. Manuscripts, "Founders of the Graduate
College," undated
Box 3. Folder 11. Publications, 1955, 1957
Box 3. Folder 12. Publications, 1964
Box 3. Folder 13. Publications, 1972, 1975, undated
Series 3: Biographical MaterialsBox 4. Folder 1. Oral history, with George Round, 1975
Box 4. Folder 2. Vitae, faculty record sheets, obituary, 1970-1989, 2009
Box 4. Folder 3. Press releases, newspaper clippings, 1977-1991, undated
Box 4. Folder 4. Program, Willa Cather Centennial Festival, 1973
Box 4. Folder 5. Program, Bernice Slote memorial, 1983
Box 4. Folder 6. The Shakespeare
Newsletter, 1989, Fall-Winter
Box 4. Folder 7. Photographs, Robert E. Knoll
Box 4. Folder 8. Photographs, faculty, staff, UNL English Department
Box 4. Folder 9. Photographs, Wright Morris, Morris grave site
Related Material and Resources: Additional Robert Knoll materials appear in several collections in the UNL Archives
& Special Collections. A list of these collections is available in the
repository. Books by Robert Knoll can be located through the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries on-line catalog. |