Clarence Brown Papers, 1907-2005

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Brown, Clarence (1929-2015)

Title:

Clarence Brown Papers

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/fx719q53d

Dates:

1907-2005

Size:

5 boxes and 2.0 linear feet

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-001076 to B-001080

Language:

English Russian

Abstract: Consists primarily of correspondence, travel diaries, and photographs of former Princeton University comparative literature professor Clarence Brown (1929-2015) relating primarily to his scholarship on Russian writers Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (1891-1938) and Nadezhda Mandelstam (1899-1980). Correspondence with writer and illustrator Guy Davenport as well as with poet W. S. Merwin, Princeton Class of 1948, is also included.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection consists primarily of correspondence along with some travel diaries, photographs, and teaching materials of comparative literature professor Clarence Brown (1929-2015). Much of the content, with the exception of correspondence with Guy Davenport, relates to the principal subject of Brown's scholarship, Russian poet Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (1891-1938), as well as Mandelstam's wife, Nadezhda Mandelstam (1899-1980). This includes documentation about Brown's collaborative publication, Osip Mandelstam: Selected Poems (1974); Nadezhda Mandelstam's memoir Hope Against Hope (1970); and Osip Mandelstam's personal papers, which Nadezhda donated to Princeton University Library in 1976; among other topics. Correspondents who are well represented include writer and illustrator, Guy Davenport (1927-2005); poet W. S. Merwin (1927-), Princeton Class of 1948, with whom Brown collaborated on Osip Mandelstam: Selected Poems; and Nadezhda Mandelstam.

Collection Creator Biography:

Brown

A scholar of modern Russian literature and translation, Clarence Brown (1929-2015) was a professor of comparative literature at Princeton University. He started at Princeton as an instructor in 1959 and became a professor in 1969, retiring in 1999. Brown first taught courses on Russian language and literature in the Department of Romance Languages and then in the Program in Slavic Languages and Literatures, which became a formal department in 1967. In 1971, he joined the Department of Comparative Literature.

Brown was most known for his scholarship on the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam (Mandelʹshtam) (1891-1938), which was facilitated by the relationship he formed with Mandelstam's widow and fellow writer, Nadezhda Mandelstam (Mandelʹshtam) (1899-1980), who was invested in preserving her husband's work. The Prose of Osip Mandelstam (1965) was nominated for a National Book Award. Brown's 1973 book Mandelstam earned him the Christian Gauss Award in Literary Criticism. Mandelstam's papers, entrusted by Nadezhda to Brown in 1976, were donated to the Princeton University Library.

Brown earned his bachelor's degree in classics at Duke University in 1950. After graduation, he was drafted and served four years in the Army Security Agency, including a year of intensive training in Russian at the Army Language School in Monterey, California, after which he was sent to Berlin as a German translator. He earned a master's degree in linguistics in 1955 from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and his Ph.D. in Russian Literature from Harvard University in 1962.

A lifelong cartoonist, Brown's work appeared in several publications, including Saturday Review, where he was cartoon editor from 1977 to 1984.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Jacqueline Brown, 2017 . (AM 2018-3)

Appraisal

No materials were separated during 2017 processing.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Faith Charlton in September 2017 with assistance from Julia English '19. Finding aid written by Faith Charlton in September 2017.

Some photographic negatives were treated during 2017 processing.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. Student coursework is restricted until 2044 or 75 years from the date of creation (1969) (housed in box B-001080).

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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