Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Pataphysics collection
Date(s)
- 1957-1978 (Creation)
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Stanley Chapman was one of the founders and president of the London Institute of Pataphysics. Architect and well-known designer, translator, writer and theatrical critic, he was one of the creators of the National Theatre of London, a member of OULIPO, a subcommittee of the College, who devoted himself to experimental literature and was influenced by the great surrealist Raymond Queneau. Chapman translated the famous book of Queneau "Hundred thousand billion poems" to English and also translated various books of Boris Vian, also a member of the College. Stanley Chapman was a permanent collaborator in the publication of the College de Pataphysique.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
An archive of letters sent by Stanley Chapman (London) to Juan Esteban Fassio (Buenos Aires-Argentina). The collection contains 254 manuscript and typewritten letters, all signed by Stanley Chapman, addressed to Juan Esteban Fassio between March 5, 1957 and May 24, 1978. Three letters mention the visit of Jorge Luis Borges to London in 1971. The papers also include 95 photographs, many with handwritten commentaries by Chapman on the reverse.
The letter archive reflects a writing relationship of over twenty years between two persons who had in common a Pataphysical vision of the world around them, to the point that Chapman employed pataphysical language in the majority of his letters.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
The collection is open for research.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Pataphysics Collection Finding Aid© 2010 University of Miami. All rights reserved. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Head of Special Collections.
Languages of the material
- French
- Spanish
- English