[Libs-Or] Portland State Library acquires Arno Schmidt Collection

[Kimberly Willson-St. Clair]

The Portland State Library is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 
unique collection of some of the works and career mementos of German 
avant-garde author, Arno Schmidt (1914-1979).  Comprised largely of 
first editions of his own writings and translations as well as a wide 
array of newspaper clippings, radio-program guides, publisher blurbs, 
magazine articles and other materials, Schmidt sent these items over a 
period of 30 years to his older sister, Lucy Kiesler, who lived in the 
United States.  Arno Schmidt is widely regarded as one of the most 
prolific and important German avant-garde writers of the latter half of 
the 20^th century. His oeuvre is the object of extensive research in 
contemporary literary criticism.

 Schmidt's gift of his published writing and career memorabilia to his 
sister Lucy is the tangible evidence of his life-long, heartfelt 
gratitude. Lucy and her Jewish husband emigrated from Hitler's Germany 
to the United States in the late 1930s.  After WWII, Lucy's frequent 
care packages assured her brother's survival in famine-stricken and 
devastated post-war Germany.  It was through his sister's aid and his 
own efforts translating English works into German that Schmidt and his 
wife garnered the means to survive these difficult times---the extremity 
of which is starkly illustrated by the recycled materials he used to 
craft the simple packaging used to send books and mementos to his sister. 

 Generously donated to the Portland State Library by Lucy Kiesler's 
daughter-in-law, Dr. Eve Winer, the Lucy Kiesler Collection, with its 
personal history of Arno Schmidt, is the only one of its kind in the 
world.  The collection's value for Schmidt scholarship and research lies 
in the potential for philological investigation into the nature of his 
work. The family history of the collection also may provide resource 
material for a future, comprehensive biography of Arno Schmidt.  The 
Portland State Library extends its appreciation to Timm Menke, professor 
of German at Portland State University, for facilitating the acquisition 
of this important gift.

For more information about Special Collections at Portland State 
Library, contact Cris N. Paschild, Head of Special Collections and 
University Archivist, at paschild at pdx.edu. <mailto:paschild at pdx.edu>


-- 
Portland State University logo

Kimberly Willson-St. Clair, MA, MS
Public Relations Coordinator & Reference Technician
Portland State University Library

(503)725-4552
willsons at pdx.edu

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