Joseph Cornell: In Celebration of National Poetry Day

Joseph Cornell, circa 1940. Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Joseph Cornell, artist, filmmaker, collector, and appreciator of nostalgic remnants of the past, was an avid lover of poetry. His love for words is evidenced in the Joseph Cornell Study Center collection, where his personal library is made up of at least 246 titles devoted to poetry.

Emily Dickinson was a particular favorite, and Cornell owned 15 titles by and about her.

Selection of books by and about Emily Dickinson from Joseph Cornell's personal library.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

In 1951, Cornell's mother, Helen Storms Cornell, sent him a postcard featuring Emily Dickinson's home in Amherst, Massachusetts. 

Postcard of Emily Dickinson's House sent to Joseph Cornell by his mother, Helen Storms Cornell, October 16, 1951 (front).
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum 

Postcard of Emily Dickinson's House sent to Joseph Cornell by his mother, Helen Storms Cornell, October 16, 1951 (back).
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

On the postcard, she writes:

"October 16th
Dear Joe, We drove by here today also by home where Eugene Field lived and all around University of Mass - and Amherst. Such beautiful places. Oak meeting today. Tomorrow we go to Grace's to lunch - 60 mile drive each way - what weather! Love Mother"

While Cornell held a deep appreciation for poets long passed, he was also friends with a number of

living poets. 

Among them, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Marianne Moore, with whom he corresponded for a number of years. Moore often included animal imagery in her poetry, and Cornell sent little animal-featured gifts, for which Moore is clearly grateful in the letters that follow.

Letter from Marianne Moore to Joseph Cornell, March 26, 1943.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Letter from Marianne Moore to Joseph Cornell, March 13, 1962.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Another poet with whom Cornell often corresponded, was Nobel Prize winning poet, Octavio Paz and his wife Marie-José.

Postcard from Marie-José Paz, October 8, 1972 (front)
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Postcard from Marie José Paz, October 8, 1972 (back)
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Marie-José writes:

"Mexico le 8 Octobre 1972
 Cher Joseph CornellVoici les substances de vous les Alchimistes. We miss you! Will you come to MexicoAffectueuses pensées, Love Marie Jo Paz"

A poetry booklet by Octavio Paz was inscribed to Cornell:

Poetry booklet by Octavio Paz, Return, sent to Joseph Cornell, with interior inscription, undated.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The inscription to reads:

"A Joseph Cornell, mastro del agua, el fuego - la mar, Con amistad, Ocatvio Paz"

Though few letters sent by Cornell remain within the collection, the below small Rorschach ink drawings and note were sent by Cornell to Octavio Paz.

Rorschach and note sent to Octavio Paz by Joseph Cornell, undated.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Cornell was also friends with American poet, author, and filmmaker, Parker Tyler. 

Letter from Parker Tyler to Joseph Cornell, March 22, c. 1939.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

In the above letter, Tyler discusses one of Cornell's unrealized film scenarios, Monsieur Phot (1933), and likens it to "an elaborate lyrical poem in cinema." 

From Joseph Cornell's personal library, the below book of poetry by Parker Tyler, The Metaphor in the Jungle, was inscribed by Tyler:

The Metaphor in the Jungle, book by Parker Tyler, from Joseph Cornell's personal library.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Inscription to Joseph Cornell from Parker Tyler, in book: The Metaphor in the Jungle by Parker Tyler.
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum 

The inscription reads:

"For Joseph Cornell: the Benvenuto Cellini of Flotsam and Jetsam: from: Parker Tyler, Jan. 18, 1941."

In addition to assembling works of art from found and collected items, Cornell amassed a studio full of collected source materials to select from. The below photograph from the Study Center is just a glimpse of the "Flotsam" Cornell acquired over the course of his life. 

Joseph Cornell's source material box, "Flotsam #1".
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Joseph Cornell Study Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum is currently in the midst of a multi-year processing project to preserve, process, and provide access to the artist's studio and source materials, as well as a selection of his personal and family papers, personal library, and record album collection. To learn more, visit the Joseph Cornell Study Center website at https://americanart.si.edu/research/cornell for updates and contact details. 

Anna Rimel

Archivist, Joseph Cornell Study Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum