An Inventory of Her
Sound Recordings at the University of
Manitoba Archives & Special
Collections
Collection Summary
Repository:
University of
Manitoba Archives & Special
Collections
Winnipeg,
Manitoba
Creator:
Dorothy
Livesay
Title:
Dorothy Livesay
Tape Collection
Dates:
[196-?]-1983
Quantity:
19 tape reels and
other material.
Note: Also contains
24 audio cassettes, 1 dictophone tape,
and 1 audio
disc.
Identification:
TC 31
Language
English.
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Biography of Dorothy
Livesay
Dorothy Livesay was born in Winnipeg in October 1909. In 1920, she moved with her family to Toronto, where she went to school and later to the University of Toronto. Her first collection of poetry,Green
Pitcher, was published in 1929 when she was only nineteen. It is a remarkable book the first fully modernist collection of poetry published in Canada, yet it was only the first of a series of remarkable accomplishments by one of the most accomplished and committed writers in our history. Dorothy Livesay has remained at the leading edge of intellectual discovery and literary innovation in Canada.
During the 1930's, after a brief stay in France, Livesay became a social worker and a member of the Young Communist Party. Her experience of working with the poor and her discovery of such left wing writers as C. Day Lewis, Stephen Spender, W.H. Auden and Lewis MacNeice led her to abandon the imagist poetry of her early work and to write such committed social poetry as "Day and Night," and "The Outrider." She also wrote agit-prop drama, contributed to and edited work forNew
Frontier andMassesmagazines and took an active part in the work of the Progressive Arts Club. She married Duncan Macnair, moved to Vancouver and continued to write out of her social conscience.
During the 1940's and 50's Livesay devoted much of her time to raising her children, and her poetry lost some of its fervour, becoming more private and domestic. Nevertheless, she published the startlingly innovative poem for voices "Call My People Home," a long documentary poem about the removal of the Japanese from the West Coast.
After the death of her husband, Livesay spent some time in Zambia, then returned to Canada in the early 1960's to take part in a small Canadian literary renaissance. Her booksThe
Unquiet BedandPlainsongslooked at human relationships, love, and the problems of aging. In the late 1960's and 70's, Livesay's poetry became important to the women's movement, and Livesay herself became an important part of that movement. At the same time, she started the influential poetry journalCVIIand returned to the social commitment of the 1930's, this time focussing on the peace and anti-nuclear movements in such works asThe Raw
Edges.
The Livesay papers are among the most important records in Canadian literature. They document a remarkable career, but they also tell the story of Canadian literature itself. Dorothy Livesay was always at the centre of Canadian literary life, and her papers are the record of a fine and sensitive artist in touch with her own art and her times.
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Scope and Contents of the
Papers
The collection consists sound recordings mainly of interviews, poetry readings, memoirs, music, and recordings of CBC and BBC radio programs.
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Organization of the
Papers
This collection is organized into 4 series.
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Restrictions on
Access
Use of photographs is subject to copyright restrictions on specific items.
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Other Finding
Aids
MSS
37,TC
31
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Detailed Description of the
Collection
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Reel-to-Reel Tapes
[ca.
1960s-1979] 19 audio reels |
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 1 Dorothy
Livesay,
[196-?] |
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7 inches
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Side 1: About her N.Rhodesia assignment; Poetry reading
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IPS: 7 1/2 ends 3 3/4
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Side 2: Interviews teachers in N. Rhodesia about system of education
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 2 Fred
Douglas (or Hogg?),
1964 |
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5 inches
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Poetry reading, Vancouver
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 3,
1964-1965 |
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7 inches
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Side 1: Conversations with Jean and Alan Crawley, Michael Crawley,and Dorothy Livesay. Followed by Dorothy Livesay reading fromCall
My People Home, 1964
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Alan Crawley and Dorothy Livesay: About recent Canadian literature, 1965
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 4,
1966-1986 |
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7 inches
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Side 1: Excerpt of conversation between Dorothy Livesay and Alan Crawley, 1966
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Alan Crawley on poetry in music and conversation with Dorothy Livesay, 1967
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CBC, "Anthology" - Alan Crawley, editor of the magazine, Contemporary Verse, Nov. 30, 1968
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Side 2: Blank
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 5: W. B.
Yeats
1965 |
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4 inches
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Side 1: (Taken from CBC tape), July 1965
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Side 2: Blank
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IPS 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 6
n.d.;1967 |
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7 inches
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Side 1: Bob McNutt - Interview with Dorothy Livesay, Dec. 18, 1967
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Side 2: New Brunswick Teachers College, UNB, Poetry reading with John Gill, John Newlove, George Bowering, Alden Nowlan
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 7 Music
by Tosca,
1967? |
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4 inches
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 8 E. J.
Pratt,
[ca.
1968] |
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5 inches
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Side 1: Reading from "The Roosevelt and the Antinoe," University of New Brunswick
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Side 2: Blank
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 9
[1968?] |
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Side 1: Blank
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Side 2: Donald Cameron - Interview with Dorothy Livesay
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 10
1970 |
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3 inches
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Sides
1&2:
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John Cage
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- John Cage as himself
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- Music by John Cage
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- Harry Sommers talks about his impressions of John Cage
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 11
n.d.;
[1970?] |
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7 inches
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Side 1: CBC(?)/ Radio Program,"Anthology" - Earle Birney reading, n.d.
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Side 2: Dorothy Livesay, in Edmonton - Personal musings about her father John Frederick Bligh Livesay and her childhood relationships with him (The last half of this side is unintelligible.), [1970?]
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 12
1978 |
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7 inches
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Sides 1 &
2: Recital of songs and piano music by Violet Archer at Knox Metropolitan United Church, Edmonton, Alberta, Feb.28 1978
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- June Hunt, mezzo-contralto
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- Albert Krywolt, pianist
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- Some texts by Dorothy Livesay: "My Hands" 1972; "Plainsongs" 1977
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 13
Dorothy Livesay Reading
n.d. |
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5 inches
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Side 1: Readings of "The Wind Our Enemy" by Anne Marriott and;Call
My People Home(Selections)
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Side 2: Continuation of reading -Call
My People Home
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IPS: 7 1/2
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 14
n.
d. |
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5 inches
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Side 1: Music by musicians from Rhodesia
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Side 2: Music, poetry, and discussion on English grammar
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 15
n.d. |
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7 inches
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Side 1: "Sunday Supplement" - Bob Russel
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- Discussion on "games"
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(Last part is blank)
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Side 2: Henri Chopin - Experimenting with resources of the voice (i.e., through the use of multiple recordings)
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(Last part is blank)
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 16 Music
n.d. |
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Side 1: Mozart Quintet
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Brandenburg Concerto
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Renaissance Conzos
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Side 2: Rhapsody by Bela Bartok
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Two Quartets by Haydn
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Two Mazurkas by Chopin
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 17 Opera
n.d. |
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5 inches
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Sides 1 &
2: Opera
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 18
n.d. |
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4 inches
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Side 1: Possibly traditional folk songs
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Side 2: Possibly traditional folk songs
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Nursery Rhymes
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IPS: 3 3/4
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Box
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1 |
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Reel # 19
n.d. |
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3 inches
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Sides 1 & 2: Bob(?) Hogg, student
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- Poetry reading
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IPS 3 3/4
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Cassette Tapes
[1968?]-1982 23 audio cassettes |
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 20
1968? |
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Side 1: Donald Cameron - Visit with Dorothy Livesay Jan. 19, 1968?
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Concludes with instrumental music
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Side 2: Instrumental music
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Last part is blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 21
1971 |
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Side 1: "Canadian Poets on Tape," produced by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
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- Dorothy Livesay poetry reading
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Side 2: Gwendolyn MacEwen poetry reading
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 22
1972 |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay - Lectures on the Thirties at the University of Victoria (for Rob McDougall's class?)
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Side 2: Lecture continues
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Interview. (Interviewer not identified)
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Box
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2
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Tape # 23
1973 |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay - Poetry reading for Mrs. Jenkins' class
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Side 2: Poetry reading continued
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Phyllis Webb - Review of Dorothy Livesay's work for March 24 "Critics on Air," Radio broadcast, Vancouver
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 24
[ca.
1973] |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay - Conversation with Alan Crawley, May 12, [ca. 1973]
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Side 2: Recollections of her mother, Florence Randal Livesay
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 25
1978 |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay - Reading for PEMC
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 26
1979 |
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Side 1: Blank
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Side 2: Dorothy Livesay - Rambling remarks about creativity, teaching poetry, etc., March 1979
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 27
1979 |
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Side 1: "Modern Canadian Poets," 2 Recorded Archives Taping Series, selected and produced as a project of the League of Canadian Poetsin St.Jacobs, Ont.
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- Interview with Dorothy Livesay by Andrew Marshall
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- Readings by Dorothy Livesay
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Side 2: Readings by Dorothy Livesay continued
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Box
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2 |
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Tapes # 28
n.d. |
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Side 1: (The same as #27?)
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Recorded Archives Taping Series, League of Canadian Poets in St. Jacobs, Ont.
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- Interview with Dorothy Livesay
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- Readings by Dorothy Livesay
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Side 2: Readings by Dorothy Livesay continued
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 29
1981 |
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Side 1: "Womanvision" (Co-op Radio?) - Interview with Dorothy Livesay, Jan. 26 1981
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Vocal music Last part is blank
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Side 2: First part is blank
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Female reading
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 30
1981 |
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Side 1: "Womanvision" (Co-op Radio?) (Begins near the end of Side 1), July 1981- Dorothy Kidd interviews Dorothy Livesay on women in the Soviet Union
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Side 2: Interview continued
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Last part is blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 31
1981 |
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Side
1:Poetry Series, Medicine Hat, Alta., March 5, 1981
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- Lengthy introduction of Dorothy Livesay by Helen Hoy
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- Poetry reading by Dorothy Livesay
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Side 2: Poetry reading continued
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 32
1982 |
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Side 1: CBC/TV,"Spectrum' March 17, 1982
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- Dorothy Livesay,"The Woman I Am"
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Last part is blank
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 33
n.d.;
1982 |
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Side 1: CBC,"Audience" Aug. 27,1982
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- Ethel Wilson
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Side 2: Operation Dismantled
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 34
1982 |
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Side 1: CBC,"Hornby Collection," "Voices of Women," Dorothy Livesay's suite, Dec. 4, 1982
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- Betty Phyllips reading fromNew
Poems, by Dorothy Livesay
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Side 2: BBC docu-drama on birth and pre-birth. From the program, "The Spring of Memory" Dec. 8, 1982
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 35
1983 |
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Side 1: CBC,"Disasters'.
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Radio Broadcast "2 New Hours"with host Warren Davis. Presented at Bloor Street United Church, Toronto, Ont., April 1983
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- Program on Renga, traditional Japanese chain music with the collaboration of more than 100 poets and musicians
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Side 2: Dorothy Livesay (At Massey College, Toronto) Jan. 9, 1983
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- Recording of memoirs
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 36
1983 |
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Side 1: CBC Radio,"Morningside"
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- Peter Gzowski in conversation with Dorothy Livesay, Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, March 16, 1983
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Regina Radio Studio, April 19, 1983
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-Lorna Crozier reviews Dorothy Livesay's Phases of Love and Margaret Atwood's Murder in the Dark
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Finale of Beethoven's7th Symphony
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Last part is blank
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 37
1980 or
1981 |
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Side 1: Scattered and unconnected
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Mostly blank
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Side 2: Begins with brief comments on Vancouver as a choral city by John Washburne(?), Conductor of the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra, Season 1980/81
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Dorothy Livesay and her sister Sophie Livesay Stewart talk about their shared Winnipeg childhood, n.d.
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 38
n.d. |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay interviews Mildred Osterhout Fahrini
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Side 2: CBC Radio,"Morningside"
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- Program on George Falady, Hungarian Poet
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Dorothy Livesay answers questions forRoom
of One's Own
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 39
n.d. |
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Side 1: Dorothy Livesay
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- Interviews Christopher Grieve (Hugh MacDiarmid, pseudonym)
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 40
n.d. |
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Sides 1 &
2: On A. M. Klein
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 41
n.d. |
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Side 1: Ernest Manera--Music
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- "Bartok and the Geranium"
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Last part is blank
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Side 2: Blank
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 42
n.d. |
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Sides 1 &
2: Spanish music
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Tape title: Provence par L'escolo Mistralenco(?)
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 43
n.d. |
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Sides 1 &
2: Conclusion of a two-day seminar on Manitoba literature (with a focus on ethnic literature). Participants include Dorothy Livesay, David Arnason, Al Reimer, Mrs. Peters, and Dr. Pauls. The discussion is chaired by Dr. Saunders.
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Dictaphone Tape
1974 1 item |
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 44
1974 |
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Sides 1 &
2: Dorothy Livesay - Memoirs about the Thirties Dec. 1974
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Record
n.d. 1 |
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Box
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2 |
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Tape # 44
Bulgarian
n.d. |
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