Kenneth (Kenny) E. Johnson (1913-1991) was born in Portland, Oregon on the Johnson family farm adjacent to Johnson Creek, which was named after Kenny's ancestor William Johnson, who first settled on the land in 1846. Kenny Johnson earned a B.A. in History at Reed College and an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Nebraska. He joined the faculty of Lewis & Clark College as an instructor of English in 1946; he had previously served as an instructor of Philosophy and Literature at St. Helen’s Hall Junior college. Johnson was quickly marked as an excellent instructor by his students and by his departments. In 1947 Johnson and his wife Jean met the newly hired William Stafford and his wife Dorothy, and the two couples quickly became close friends. Stafford left Lewis & Clark in 1950 to study for a Ph.D at the University of Iowa. He eventually returned to Lewis & Clark to teach English, but throughout the time he was away Stafford and Johnson maintained a regular correspondence. After Stafford's return, the two continued to correspond until the end of Johnson's life in 1991. In addition to being a close friend, Johnson was a trusted critic. This collection includes correspondence from Stafford to the Johnsons during the years 1947-1993, as well as a number of Stafford's publications.
From the guide to the Kenneth (Kenny) E. Johnson Collection, 1948-1993, (Lewis & Clark College Special Collections and Archives)
