Skip to main content

Collection of Henry Miller's Reflections on the Death of Mishima documents

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0099-F0757

Scope and Content Note

The Collection of Henry Miller's Reflections on the Death of Mishima documents, spanning the dates 1971-1973, contains items related to Miller’s work Reflections on the Death of Mishima (1972). Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), a Japanese author acclaimed for his postwar literature, publicly committed ritual suicide on November 25, 1970. The collection includes a carbon typescript of Part I of Miller’s Reflections on the Death of Mishima as well as four letters to Miller from New Directions editor Robert MacGregor in which he discusses Mishima’s writings and suicide, and principles of Zen Buddhism. Also included is a letter to Miller from Noel Young, editor of Capra Press, two short articles on Mishima’s death, a picture of Henry Miller, and an envelope addressed to Miller from Japan.

Dates

  • Creation: 1971-1973
  • Creation: Majority of material found in 1971

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Henry Miller (1891-1980)

American author Henry Miller (1891-1980) was raised by German-American parents in Brooklyn. Before becoming a writer, Miller traveled throughout the western United States working at odd jobs and then returned to New York to work at his father’s tailor shop. After working for Western Telegraph Company for four years, Miller left for France in 1930 and lived there for nine years. During this period, he published Tropic of Cancer (1934), Tropic of Capricorn (1939), and Black Spring (1936). In 1940, Miller returned to the United States, traveled extensively, continued to write, and eventually settled in Big Sur, California. Miller’s early works were unavailable in America until the 1960s because they contained explicit sexual passages that were deemed obscene.

Perkins, George and Barbara Perkins and Phillip Leininger. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia of American Literature. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.

Extent

11 item

Abstract

Typescript manuscript and other items related to Henry Miller's Reflections of the Death of Mishima.

Source

Purchase, August 2005.

Shelving Summary

Box 49, F0757: Shelved in SPEC MSS 0099 manuscript boxes.

OCLC Number

Processing

Processed by Karalee Kopreski, October 2005. Encoded by Anita Wellner, December 2007. Further encoded by George Apodaca, October 2015.

Title
Finding aid for Collection of Henry Miller's Reflections on the Death of Mishima documents
Status
Completed
Author
University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
Date
2007 December 7
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2021 September 27: Collection title was corrected from "Reflections on the Life of Mishima."

Repository Details

Part of the University of Delaware Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
181 South College Avenue
Newark DE 19717-5267 USA
302-831-2229