University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections

Jonathan Williams
(1929 -    )

Southern Appalachian Writers Collection

M2005.05.01-08

 
Title Jonathan Williams  (1929 -    )
Creator Southern Highlands Research Center
Alt. Creator D. H. Ramsey Library
Identifier http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/
Subject Keyword Jonathan Williams ; Southern Appalachian Writers ; music ;
Subject LCSH Williams, Jonathan, 1929
American literature -- Appalachian Region, Southern -- History and criticism
American literature -- Appalachian Mountains -- History and criticism
Appalachians (People) in literature
Appalachian Region, Southern -- Description and travel
Description Collection contains letters of correspondence, ephemera, photographs, book covers, and anecdotal information on the writer. In some instances, tapes of the author reading from their work is included.

The collection was gathered as part of an exhibition of Southern Appalachian Writers held at UNCA in the early 1980's and sponsored by D.H. Ramsey Library and the Southern Highlands Research Center.

Publisher D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Contributor Annette Hatley
Date 2005-08-23
Type Collection ; text ; photographs ; audio
Format 1 folder ; audio ; text ; image   
Source M2005.05.1-8
Language English
Relation  Charlotte Young Collection, Women in Western North Carolina, Southern Appalachian Writers in "A Sense of Place, "The Heritage of Western North Caorlina, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 
Coverage 1900's - present   ; Asheville, NC ; Atlanta, GA
Rights Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.  Some materials in collections are electronic rights only. Please ask for assistance from Special Collections staff.
Donor Donor number 
Acquisition  2004-03-
Citation Jonathan Williams  in Southern Appalachian Writers Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Processed by Special Collections staff,  2005
Last update 2007-12-28
Context  
Biography Born in 1929, Jonathan Williams founded the Jargon Society which is well known for its experimental fiction, poetry and photographic work.  He had an early association with the Black Mountain poets and Black Mountain College and his work reflects this avant-gard style as well as some elements of the vernacular folk style often found in Appalachian mountain literary forms. In fact, many of his poems, he describes are "found poems" and are comprised of "snippits" of conversation, signage, ballads, and other sources found in his environment. He is a contributing editor to Aperture, a well-known photography journal.  He lives in Scaly Mountain, North Carolina.
Bibliography BOOKS BY
  1959 The Empire Finals at Verona. Highlands, N.C.: Jargon, 1959.
  1962 Elegies and Celebrations. Highlands, N.C.: Jargon, 1962.
  1962 In England's Green & (A Garland and a Clyster). San Francisco: Auerhalm Press, 1962.
  1964 Lines about Hills above Lakes. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Roman Books, 1964.
  1968 Descant on Rawthey's Madrigal: Conversations with Basil Bunting. Lexington, Ky.: Gnomon Press, 1968.
  1968 The Lucidities: Sixteen in Visionary Company. London: 1968.
  1969 An Ear in Bartram's Tree: Selected Poems, 1957-1967. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1969.
  1969 Mahler. London: Cape Goliard Press; New York: Grossman Publishers, 1969.
  1969 Untinears & Antennae for Maurice Ravel. St. Paul, Minn.: Truck Press, 1977.
  1970 Strung out with Elgar on a Hill. Urbana, Ill.: Finial Press, 1970
  1971 Blues & Roots, Rue and Bluets: A Garland from the Appalachians. New York: Grossman, 1971.
  1971 The Loco Logodaedalist in Situ: Selected Poems, 1968-1970. New York: Cape Goliard Press, 1971.
  1977 Super-Duper Zuppa Inglese: (and Other Trifles from the Land of Stodge). Belper, Engl.: Aggie Weston's Editions, 1977.
  1979 Elite/Elate Poems: Selected Poems, 1971-75. Highlands, N.C.: Jargon Society; Frankfort, Ky.: Gnomon Distribution, 1979.
  1979 Portrait Photographs. Frankfort, Ky.: Gnomon Press, 1979.
  1979 Shankum Naggum. Rocky Mount: Friends of the Library, North Carolina Wesleyan College Press, 1979.
  1982 Get Hot or Get Out: A Selection of Poems, 1957-1981. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1982.
  1982 The Magpie's Bagpipe: Selected Essays. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1982.
  1988 Dementations on Shank's Mare: Being "Meta-Fours in Plus-Fours" and a Few "Foundlings" Collected from Frambles (and Drives) in Herefordshire, Gwent, Powys, Avon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Cumbria, and North Yorkshire. New Haven, Conn.: Truck Press, 1988.
  1988 Le Garage Ravi de Rocky Mount: An Essay on Vernon Burwell. Rocky Mount: North Carolina Wesleyan College Press, 1988.
  1989 Quote, Unquote. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1989.
  1990 Eight Days in Eire, or, Nothing So Urgent as Manana. Rocky Mount: North Carolina Wesleyan College Press, 1990.
  1990 Metafours for Mysophobes. Twickenham, Middlesex, Engl.: North and South, 1990.
  BOOKS ABOUT
    Now, outdated, but still an extensive accounting of Williams' work: Jaffe, James S., comp. Jonathan Williams: A Bibliographical Checklist of His Writings, 1950-1988. Haverford, Pa.: James S. Jaffe Rare Books, 1989.
  LINKS
Links
Documents  
Oral History  
Photographs