Anderson, Lee, 1896-1972

American author and poet who was a pioneer in audiotaping contemporary poets reading their work.

From the description of Papers, 1933-1976 (inclusive), 1948-1972 (bulk). (Washington University in St. Louis). WorldCat record id: 122648055

American poet; owner of Leander Associates, Inc., involved with audiotaping American poetry; b. in Saxton, Pa.; spent many years as printer and farmer in Western Pennsylvania before becoming a poet; taught at Yale and other universities; much of his work held by Washington University at St. Louis; died in Florida.

From the description of Papers, 1934-1998 (bulk 1934-1962). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70970242

Lee Anderson was born in Saxton, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh in 1896. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I and spent several years as a self-employed printer and farmer in western Pennsylvania. In 1942, he published his collection of poetry, Prevailing Winds . Anderson became interested in poetry readings and the oral aspects of poetry and began to record contemporary poets reading their work onto audiotape. At first, Anderson kept the recordings for his personal collection but soon he was asked by the Library of Congress to record and submit recorded poetry readings to the library. He submitted approximately 100 tapes to the library.

In 1955, Yale University acquired Anderson's complete collection of more than 500 tapes of contemporary British and American poets reading from their work, including duplicates of recordings donated to the Library of Congress. In addition, Yale hired Anderson as a Research Associate. While at Yale, he helped produce the Yale Series of Recorded Poets, a collection of LP records of poets reading their work which was derived largely from Anderson's tape collection. Anderson made additional recordings of poets reading while he was at Yale. In addition to producing recordings, Anderson edited several books in his lifetime.

After leaving Yale, Anderson taught at several institutions and continued to write and lecture. He continued recording but primarily recorded his work. In the late 1960's Anderson became ill. He died in Florida in 1972.

From the guide to the Lee Anderson papers and Yale Series of Recorded Poets sound recordings, 1951-1968, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)