Series III. Writings, 1930s-ca. 1950
Extent
Scope and Contents
Series III includes typescript and manuscript versions of virtually all Beltrone's poetry and some of his prose, in Italian and English. He was an active member of the Raven Poetry Circle of Greenwich Village, and some sheets show evidence of having been thumbtacked for display and sale at Raven shows on Washington Square.
After her husband's death, Kate Fabian Beltrone worked to assemble an omnibus edition of his writing called Poetic Letters. This never materialized, apparently, but the projected volume was to include 293 poems—some drawn from his only known published book, Eroica and Other Poems (New York: S. F. Vanni, 1940)—grouped in the five sections below (which are detailed in a prospectus in box 5, folder 7):
1. Poetic Letters (36 poems)
2. This Pilgrimage (70 poems)
3. Appassionata (68 poems)
4. Selections from Eroica and Other Poems (29 poems)
5. General Poems (90 poems)
The drafts for a number of these sections survive in the current collection (see, for instance, box 5, folders 6-8), but Kate Fabian Beltrone reused binders, crossing out titles and inserting new ones (see, for instance, box 5, folder 10, where the title "Appassionata" has been replaced by "Variations on a Theme"), so it is unclear at what stage she left the project on her death in 1969. A few of her own poems and lyrics are found in box 6, folder 1.
Arrangement
The few dated items in Series III are arranged chronologically (box 5, folders 1-5). Undated poetry and prose follows (box 5, folder 6, through box 6, folder 9). Folder titles appear as written. Titles in brackets were supplied by the archivist. No attempt has been made to collate multiple copies/versions of poems scattered throughout Series III.
Notebooks, [1935-1936]
Scope and Contents
Photocopies of manuscript journals Beltrone kept while serving in the Italian military in Somaliland. Location of originals unknown.
Newspaper editorials, 1930s-1941
Scope and Contents
Microfilm printouts of seven editorials (of many) Beltrone wrote for the English section of Il Grido della Stirpe [The Cry of the Race], a pro-Fascist Italian-language newspaper published in New York. The printouts do not include the year of publication, only the month and day (handwritten in ink), but these pieces are all presumably from the late 1930s through 1941. In the list below, those articles with a full date are excerpted in an FBI document in Beltrone's WWII Alien Enemy Detention and Internment Case File (see box 4, folder 7). Other editorials are excerpted there as well.
1. "The Heroic End of the Graf Spee," 6 January 1940.
2. "British Violations on the High Seas," 2 March 1940.
3. "Political Tremors Among the Allies," 13 April 1940 (2 copies).
4. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 11 February [unknown year].
5. "Russia's Straggling Army," 18 February [unknown year].
6. "Victories on Paper," 27 April [unknown year].
7. "When the Guns Will Speak in the Mediterranean," 4 May [unknown year].
[Poetry] (2 folders), 1939-1941
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems from a binder marked "Typed Copy 1945 / 1939-41," some with handwritten annotations and drawings. The thumbtack holes in at least two sheets—the poems "Hotel Lobby" and "Skyscraper"—as well as the handwritten price (15-cents) indicate they were likely displayed and offered for sale at Raven Poetry Circle gatherings on Washington Square.
[Poetry], 1945-1946
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems.
Poetic Letters, n.d.
Scope and Contents
Table of contents headed "Poetic Letters / Vignettes (MSS 3) / By Vincent Beltrone."
Poetic Letters (Originals), n.d.
Scope and Contents
Annotated typescript of the preceding folder. From a binder marked "(Poetic letters) Originals."
Fragments & Poetic Letters, n.d.
Scope and Contents
Manuscript and typescript poems from a binder marked "poems to be read again."
Poems by Vincent Beltrone, n.d.
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems with handwritten annotations.
Variations on a Theme, n.d.
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems with handwritten annotations.
[Poetry], n.d.
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems from a binder marked "Poems of Romance" [crossed out] and "Poems to Kate" [crossed out].
Carbon copies, n.d.
Scope and Contents
Typescript poems from a binder marked "Carbon Copies / General Poems [crossed out] / Vincenzo di Beltrone."
[Lola Montez] (2 folders), n.d.
Scope and Contents
The typescript poems in folders 13-14 were housed in the cardboard wrapper of a package of Nekoosa watermarked bond paper. One flap (preserved in box 5, folder 13) is marked "Lola Montez," but it is unclear if there is any connection between the nineteenth-century actress and Beltrone's text. His first poem in English—"Myself"—is in folder 13.
General Poems (2 folders), n.d.
Scope and Contents
Typescripts from a portfolio marked "General Poems." Includes material in Italian and some pieces by Kate Fabian Beltrone (box 6, folder 1). Box 6, folder 2 preserves the portfolio.
Italian Poetry (3 folders), n.d.
Scope and Contents
Manuscripts and typescripts from a portfolio marked "Italian Poetry." Box 6, folder 5 preserves the portfolio.
[Dramatic dialogue], n.d.
Scope and Contents
Manuscript dialogue between Scypio and Omnis, presumably by Vincenzo Beltrone. Written on verso of stationery from Health Brands Distributors, Liquid Garlic Products, 267 East 2nd Street, New York, NY.
The Attic Speaks (2 folders), n.d.
Scope and Contents
Manuscript and typescript prose sketches from an unfinished work called "The Attic Speaks: A Greenwich Village Diary," including "The Arch," "Nefretiti" [sic], "The Suicide," and "Two Village Ladies."
[Prose sketches], n.d.
Scope and Contents
Additional sketches that possibly belong to "The Attic Speaks," including "Madame le Baroness," "The Maestro," "Moses in New York," "My Friend Valdo / The Mad Monk," "Papa Greenberg / The Eccentric Landlord."