My name is Adam Francis Cornford. I’m a poet with four published full-length collections and a lot more work in chapbooks and magazines. For 22 years I was a professor at the late-lamented New College of California in San Francisco, running the graduate Poetics Program. Partly as a result, I have a large collection of mostly modern poetry volumes, many now rare, which I need to take care of, a sizeable collection of novels including early British editions of classic science fiction, a lot of large-format art books… plus a collection of my own publications in anthologies and magazines over half a century.
Most important for these purposes, I have family publications and writings: books and memorabilia handed down from my grandparents, the classical scholar F.M. Cornford and the poet Frances Cornford; my uncle the poet and antifascist John Cornford; and almost all the writings, published and unpublished, of my father Christopher Cornford, art and design educator, graphic artist, and painter. Also, I have a trove of pre-web postal correspondence with my parents, friends living and dead, and various poets.
I need help to take proper care of these archives. That’s why I’m asking you for money.
After New College folded in 2008 I found economic survival increasingly difficult. I was trying to build a writing and editing business but couldn't seem to earn quite enough. The upshot was that I kept having to move every few years to stay ahead of skyrocketing rents. Only a small percentage of my books ever got unpacked, though I did my best to keep family treasures safe. I wasn’t entirely successful. While the great bulk of my library has survived spending years in boxes—I often haven’t had space to put up bookcases—I’ve lost some precious books to damp and mold. I don’t want to lose more.
Having moved across the country from California to Pennsylvania, I have found what I hope will be my permanent home in a quiet semi-rural neighborhood. The house is not large and I may need to move some of my books into a storage unit, but the most vital books and material can be properly protected here. For the moment most are in the basement, which is still unfinished.
What I need right now:
– 4 new sturdy, finished 6’ bookcases because the 7’ ones I brought across the country are too tall to be moved up from the basement and in any case are battered after 40-odd years of use
–12-15 high-end medium-size sealable plastic bins for storing the books I don’t have room to shelve
– new sealable plastic file boxes for the correspondence
—plumbing repair and replacement to stop plumbing leaks in the basement ceiling
Thanks for anything you can contribute!
