By Lee Must
Title: Stuart Friebert Papers Collection, 1960-2020
ID: RG 30/464
Primary Creator: Stuart Friebert (1931-2020)
Extent: 0.21 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Biographical Materials, 1987-2014, undated
Series 1 contains biographical materials relating to Stuart Friebert, such as a list of noteworthy personal accomplishments, an annotated list of his compiled works in poetry and prose, a letter related to his retirement from Oberlin College, and a printed biography. It also contains published articles written about or by Stuart in addition to several profiles in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine.
Series 2. Creative Writing Program, 1997
Series 2 contains a typed document from May 1997 that describes the founding of the Creative Writing Program at Oberlin College. There is information on the process of developing the major, its requirements and courses, its staff, numbers of students, and student outcomes. It also contains information about FIELD magazine, which Stuart founded in 1969.
Series 3. Writings, 1996, undated
Series 3 contains the bulk of the collection’s materials in the form of printed copies and photocopies of Stuart Friebert’s poetry and prose. Stuart wrote notes to his daughter, Sarah, on many of the copies. There are two folders of poetry, one containing poems that were published in collections or anthologies, and the other containing individual published poems. The first folder also contains German and Czech translations. The third folder contains printed poems that are unfinished. The fourth folder contains a copy of Funeral Pie (1996) with a hand-written dedication to Dzvinia Orlowsky in the inner cover. The fifth folder contains several poems written by authors other than Stuart. One is by Diane Vreuls, the others are unidentified. Folder six contains three printed scripts for talks given by Stuart.
Series 4. Correspondence, 2011-2015, undated
Series 4 contains three letters written to Stuart Friebert, one of which is written on a photocopy of a book’s title page.
Date Acquired: 05/21/2021
Subjects: creative writing, FIELD Magazine, poetry
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This collection is primarily comprised of copies of poems written by Stuart Friebert, as well as articles and publications related to Stuart Friebert’s work and life. The bulk of the biographical materials relate to Stuart’s time teaching at Oberlin College. The collection also includes unfinished poems from Stuart’s computer files and several talk transcripts.
The collection is arranged into four records series: 1. Biographical Materials, 2. Creative Writing Program, 3. Writings, and 4. Correspondence. Series 3 is further subdivided into Subseries 1. Poetry and Subseries 2. Talks.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Stuart Alyn Friebert (1931-2020) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Edward (1905-1998) and Gertrude Garber Friebert (1912-1992) on July 12, 1931. He was the oldest of the couple’s three children.
Stuart began studying German at Shorewood High School in 1944, and in 1949, traveled to Germany for a year-long undergraduate exchange program. Later, he wrote several pieces influenced by his experience as a Jewish student in post-war Germany, including The Language of the Enemy. Stuart returned to the United States in 1950 and graduated from Wisconsin State College/Milwaukee in 1952. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in German Language and Literature at the University of Wisconsin/Madison in 1957. Stuart taught German at Mt. Holyoke College from 1957-1959, at Harvard University from 1959-1961, and at Oberlin College from 1961-1997.
Stuart founded the creative writing program at Oberlin College in 1975 and directed the program until his retirement in 1997. Over his life, Stuart published 15 books of poems, 16 books of translations, and four books of prose. He wrote in both English and German and translated poems in German, Czech, Romanian, and Italian. In 1969, Stuart founded FIELD magazine, a poetry magazine edited by Oberlin College staff and students that collected international submissions. The magazine ended its run in 2019 after 100 issues. Stuart won many awards for his poems and translations, including an NEA Fellowship in Poetry.
Stuart married Diane Vreuls (1931-2023) on August 6, 1960. They had two children, Sarah Friebert (1963-) and Stephen Friebert (1965- ). Stuart died in June of 2020 and Diane passed away in April of 2023.
SOURCES CONSULTED
Broszkowski, Roman. “Nationally- Acclaimed FIELD Magazine Ends after 50 Years, 100 Issues.” The Oberlin Review. April 19, 2019. https://oberlinreview.org/18559/arts/nationally-acclaimed-field-magazine-ends-after-50-years-100-issues/.
“Diane Friebert Obituary (1931 - 2023) - Oberlin, OH - Cleveland.com.” Legacy.com. 2023. https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/diane-friebert-obituary?id=51621503.
Faculty file, Stuart Friebert, RG28
“Obituary: Stuart Friebert MA’53, PhD’58 | Wisconsin Alumni Association.” n.d. https://uwalumni.com/alumni-notes/stuart-friebert/.
Repository: Oberlin College Archives
Access Restrictions: No restrictions
Acquisition Source: Diane Vreuls
Related Materials:
Department of English, 1922-1996, RG 9/009, Oberlin College Archives.
Dzvinia Orlowsky Papers, RG 30/476, Oberlin College Archives.
Faculty file, Stuart Friebert, RG 28, Oberlin College Archives.
FIELD Magazine, RG 0, Series 29, Oberlin College Archives.
Friebert, Stuart, Box: 5, Folder: 21. Diane Wakoski papers, MSS 304 large. Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, Michigan State University Libraries.
Friebert, Stuart, undated, Box: 2, Folder: 5. Dan Jaffe Collection, MS-0188. University of Missouri-Kansas City Special Collections and Archives.
