James Hayford Papers
Scope and Content Note
The James Hayford Papers are contains personal, professional, and literary material organized into 15 series by relatedness to Hayford and general chronology. Photocopies of his journals comprise the Journals series. Note that the years 1939 - 1945 are not covered.
The biographical series contains correspondence, clippings, and autobiographical sketches that demonstrate Hayford’s thinking about his life, work, and family. The subsequent subseries, Memorial, contains comments on his life by those who knew him through letters, speeches, events, and clippings. The next subseries, Personal, holds materials he collected based on his varied interests.
Series three, Correspondence, is the largest. Received correspondence is presented first and organized into topical categories then variously by sender or date. Notable correspondents include Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Howard Frank Mosher. See the Poetry series for more material related to Hayford’s fellow writer friends. Correspondence sent by Hayford, mainly to his parents, follows and is organized chronologically. Other notable correspondents Robert Francis and Robert Frost each are represented by their own small series. In both cases, the formats present include correspondence with Hayford and clippings.
The sixth series, Education, is presented chronologically by institution then alphabetically by topic. Series seven, Teaching, is organized strictly alphabetically. Writings on matters of educational philosophy, instructive matters, or school life are present within the teaching series, organized by title.
Series eight, Politics, holds Hayford’s papers related to the Progressive Party. His thinking on world issues is explored in two works present in this series. Clippings from the leftist newspaper PM Daily are present here due to the orientation of the publication and subject of the majority of clippings, though some clippings focus on literary concerns such as book reviews.
Series nine contains Addresses or speeches written by Hayford about political or educational topics including music or literature. Clippings and programs regarding speaking engagements related to Hayford’s writings are present in this series as the publication in question is not always clear. Material is present in the form of clippings, speeches or notes, and one video cassette.
Series ten, Poetry, consists of loose poems, not necessarily in their final form. Many are undated. Note that correspondence related to submissions to editors and the work of Hayford’s friends is present in this series
Series eleven is highly structured and contains all creative works created by James Hayford alongside notes and lists that provide further explanation. A small number of artistic drawings are present here as the Art subseries. His roles related to music were varied and included accompanist, performer, choir director, composer, lyricist (as his poems were set to music), and poet (as his poems were included in the programs for religious services and live performances). These many roles are well represented in the Music subseries. Collections of poems written by Hayford are present in the Poems subseries whether published or unpublished. Poems published in larger works are presented at the end of the poetry series and denoted by the titling convention “[title of poem(s) in [title of larger work].” Note that material produced from a composer using Hayford’s poems as lyrics is presented in the Poems subseries. The Prose subseries is organized by genre, with one main exception: Hayford's writings on Shakespeare crossed many genres via successive edits. Thus it is presented as general prose in an effort to keep all the variations together. Helen Hayford's work on his writings, especially after James died, is included in the Works series. Papers that relate solely to Helen is placed in the series named for her, series fifteen.
Articles (from journals, magazines, and newspapers) about Hayford himself are collected in series twelve, Clippings. Articles reviewing his works are filed after the relevant title in the Works series and noted as clippings.
Series thirteen contains published material not created by Hayford but rather by friends and acquaintances. Series fourteen contains non-paper material including his award from the Vermont Council on the Arts, his glasses, and items from Hayford family members. Published versions of Hayford's books are collected in series fourteen. Material related to Mrs. Helen Hayford is collected in series fifteen.
Dates
- 1915 - 1999
Creator
- Hayford, James (Creator, Person)
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Manuscripts.
Biographical note
Poet, musician, and educator James Hayford was born in Montpelier, VT in 1913. The only child of Floyd “Barney” W. and Bessie Hight Hayford, he attended Montpelier High School where he achieved many honors, including being named valedictorian. He was the permanent president of senior class, captain of the debating team that won the state championship, editor-in-chief of Montpelier High School Record that won a state prize, and the accompanist for the school orchestra. Hayford was one of two Rhodes Scholars candidates from Vermont. He attended Amherst College and earned a B.A. in English with high honors in 1935. He minored in Philosophy and German, studied multiple languages, was assistant organist of the college and member of the college chorus and glee club, won the Armstrong prize for poetry and other prizes for prose, was a Member of Bond Fifteen (scholarship), won the Bond Prize for commencement oration, was a Senior Phi Beta Kappa member, and was selected by his class as the Ivy Poet. This is a tradition at Amherst in which a student chosen by his or her classmates delivers a speech during graduation exercises. Significantly, Hayford was awarded the first and only Robert Frost Fellowship at commencement (Frost called it the Desert Fellowship or the Bo-Tree Fellowship). Hayford spent the summer of 1935 at the University of Heidelberg which he later credited with initiating his interest in politics. He attended Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, earning his M.A. in 1942. He studied at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School in the summer of 1939. Hayford received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from UVM in 1993.
Hayford’s profession was teaching. He taught Music, English, and History at various points in his career, to all levels, at places such as Goddard Junior College (Barre, VT), Goddard College (Plainfield), Summit Junior High School (Summit, NJ), Burr and Burton Seminary (Manchester, VT), Orleans Central School District (Orleans, Barton, Irasburg, Glover, and Westmore, VT), and Winooski High School (Winooski, VT). He retired in 1971. He also worked as an organist and choirmaster for churches in Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, Lyndonville, West Burke, and Orleans.
James Hayford married Helen J. Emerson, also a teacher, of Lyndonville in 1936. Their son James Hight Hayford, Jr. was born on January 21, 1937. Fellow poet Howard Frank Mosher was a close friend. Writer X. J. Kennedy called Hayford the “unofficial New England Poet Laureate.” The Vermont Council on the Arts selected Hayford for the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
His poems appeared in Harper’s Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, The New Yorker, Ladies Home Journal, Massachusetts Review, Vermonter, Counter/Measures, New Poems by American poets #2, Best Poems of 1961, and Poetry Amherst. His privately published collections of poetry include The Equivocal Sky, Our Several Houses, A Personal Terrain, At Large on the Land, Four Women, The Furniture of Earth, Processional with Wheelbarrow, Uphill Home, Star in the Shed Window. His musical compositions were performed around the state of Vermont and his poems were used as lyrics by other composers. Hayford’s academic articles on teaching were also published in professional journals. His children’s novel, Gridley Firing, was his first commercially published work. Two books of poems and his autobiography were published posthumously, thanks to the efforts of his wife and friends.
In the late 1940s, Hayford was active in the Progressive Party, which he saw as a means for peace. Others viewed the Progressives as weak against the Soviet threat, labeling them Communists, which significantly and negatively impacted Hayford’s teaching career. He also believed in progressive education and helped found Goddard College.
James Hayford died of complications from cancer on June 21, 1993, leaving his wife, son, four grandchildren (Cynthia, Ellen, Emily, and Evan), and 2 great grandchildren. Helen died in 2011
[adapted from autobiographical sketch within the collection]
Extent
13.5 Linear Feet (13 cartons, 1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Collection contains correspondence, photocopied journals, diplomas, reviews, programs, clippings, school papers, teaching papers, a few political papers, writings (typescripts, manuscript revisions, proofs, and printed/published versions), and music (manuscript and printed/published-mostly for organ), that document Hayford's activities as a poet and educator in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Location
Library Research Annex; contact uvmsc@uvm.edu for access.
Source
- Hayford, James (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the James Hayford Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 2014-09-10
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections Repository
Silver Special Collections Library
48 University Place, Room B201
Burlington Vermont 05405 U.S.A. US
(802) 656-2138
(802) 656-4038 (Fax)
uvmsc@uvm.edu
