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David Cope is a poet in the Objectivist tradition and the founder of Nada Press, a small press which publishes the literary magazine and other poetry. Cope, a University of Michigan graduate and lifelong Michigan resident, taught literature and writing at Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University. The collection documents Cope's writing, editing, and to some extent teaching and other spheres of Cope's life, through correspondence, manuscripts, notes, printed material, photographs, and videotapes.

David Cope made his first donation of papers to the Special Collections Research Center in 1987. Since then he has continued to make frequent contributions. The David Cope Papers cover Cope's writing and correspondence from the 1970s to the present, as well as his editing and teaching activities. In addition to offering insight into Cope's work, the collection details some of the activities and thoughts of friends and fellow writers and poets; in particular, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Cohn, Antler, and Jeff Poniewaz. Not currently well-documented are the more personal aspects of Cope's life--especially his family life--except for those details made available through his writings and correspondence.

The David Cope Papers are divided into eight series: Correspondence and Name Files, Writings, Editing Materials, Teaching and Education Materials, Publicity Materials, Personal, Photographs, and Audio/Visual. A small selection of books from Cope's library have been removed from the collection and have been cataloged individually. They are shelved by call number in Special Collections and can be requested through the Library's catalog.

The Eric Torgersen Papers consists of literary journals, personal and professional correspondences, publicity, poetry and translation drafts, and works from Torgersen's academic career at Central Michigan University and creative career as a poet/writer from the years 1963 to 2019. Also included are multiple drafts of his "Waves" poetry journals, and drafts of other poet's poems.

The Correspondence series consists of materials spanning the years 1963-2016. The Correspondence subseries includes communications with Trogersen's contemporaries, other poets submitting poems to his poetry journal, Trogersen's book proposals, communications with publishers, and correspondences related to 'Poem of the People' and 'Waves' publications. Among the more notable correspondents are Louise Glück, Jim Harrison, Faye Kicknosway, Peter Klappert and more.

The Publicity series (1967-2013) contains various reviews on Eric Torgersen's works, programs and poster art, and (U.S.) domestic newspaper clippings. This series notably includes a review on Faye Kicknosway's work.

The Publications series (1963-2017) contains multiple editions and manuscripts of the poetry journal "Waves" volumes, mailing address lists, Eric Trogersen's published books, and many other published poetry journals. Also included in this series are a collection of Italian publishing of Torgersen's poems, Cornell's poetry journals, and a University of Tampa Poetry Review issue.

The Creative Works series (1961-2019) includes drafts of various poems written by Torgersen, drafts for book proposals, scene breakdowns, essay drafts and their correspondence, a couple of Torgersen's own translations and more. This subseries also contains multiple untitled drafts, both handwritten and typed. Some of the works that appear in this series are multiple drafts and versions of Torgersens novel "Ethiopia", book proposal drafts, and Torgersen's own translations of Nicolas Born's poems.

Novelist, University of Michigan graduate; includes correspondence, typescripts, notes, screenplays, interviews, and print material, such as reviews, interviews, and announcements, mostly relating to her works Ordinary People and title Second Heaven.

The Judith Guest collection consists of correspondence, typescripts, notes, screenplays, interviews, and print material, such as reviews, interviews, and announcements. The papers are divided into five series: Correspondence; Promotional material, reviews, interviews; Serials; Speeches; and Works, which contains the Ordinary People and Second Heaven subseries. Guest's initial correspondence with Viking regarding the manuscript for Ordinary People, which may be found in the Correspondence series, is particularly evocative of the excitement surrounding its publication.

The Promotional material, review, interviews; Serials; and Speeches series consist of ephemera relating to Guest's career as a writer including numerous clippings of biographical profiles and book reviews. These series also document some of the author's professional and promotional activities, such as publication tour interviews and speeches.

The emphasis of the collection is on Guest's creative process in writing Ordinary People and Second Heaven, which comprises the Works series. Many drafts of both novels are included, with editorial and authorial marginalia and corrections. The metamorphosis of the bestselling Ordinary People into a screenplay is well documented in Guest's attempt, followed by screenwriter Alvin Sargent's final shooting script.