Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1945- (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
20.10 m of textual records and other material including:
3,146 photographs
113 slides
5 audio cassettes
2 1/4 inch open reels
1 16mm films
11 VHS
56 3.5-inch diskettes
1 5.25-inch diskette
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Canadian author and poet Robert Kroetsch was born in Heisler, Alberta, on June 26, 1927. The author of nine novels, thirteen books of poetry, and seven non-fiction volumes, he was a major figure in the development and history of literature in Canada.
Kroetsch began his academic career at Binghamton University (State University of New York), winning the Governor General’s Award for Fiction for The Studhorse Man in 1969.
After returning to Canada in the mid-1970s he taught at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. He subsequently received honorary degrees from both the University of Winnipeg (1983) and the University of Alberta (1997). In 2001 Kroetsch was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry for The Hornbooks of Rita K.
Kroetsch spent several years in Victoria, British Columbia, before returning to Winnipeg, then to retirement in Alberta, where he continued to write. In 2004, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Robert Kroetsch stands as a seminal figure in the Canadian literary landscape. In his early fiction, he introduced postmodern techniques into the mainstream of Canadian fiction. He then moved on to writing poetry while still writing fiction, and created a new vision for poets across the country, defining the nature of the poetic experience by searching out the roots of his place in the Canadian landscape.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Acquired between 1975 and 2006.
- Accession 527/93.2 donated by the National Library of Canada.
- Accession 591/96.6 donated by R. Kroetsch through the University of Calgary Foundation.
- MsC 264, consists of 67 b&w photographs taken at the Celebration of his 70th Birthday (1997), acquired from the symposium organizers in 1997.
- MsC 265, consisting of an audio cassette of R. Kroetsch reading at the University of Calgary (recorded/acquired 1999).
- Accessions 762/04.12 and 860/09.4 donated by Smaro Kamboureli in 2004 and 2009.
- Accession 804/06.3, letters and other material relating to Robert Kroetsch, donated by his cousin, Lorne Kroetch, in 2006.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of correspondence; manuscripts of poetry, novels, short stories, speeches, essays and reviews; notebooks; audio visual material; awards and honours; teaching materials; works on R. Kroetsch; published work; and works by others. MsC 42, the speech given by R. Kroetsch on the occasion of the presentation of the Robert Kroetsch papers to the University of Calgary, is an appendix to MsC 27.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Some items restricted.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital content may be available for select sound recordings:
Acc 591/96.6, Box 71
Acc 775/04.25, Box 29
MsC 27, Box 26, 27, 28
MsC 265, Box 1
Related units of description
For additional archival material relating to Robert Kroetsch see George C. Gahan (Acc 628/98.4 and 647/99.4)).
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
ckey
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Reaccessioned and intellectually rearranged. Combination spreadsheet created. October 2023 CLC|
Acc 775/04.25 Box 42 reaccessioned to describe contents (buttons and pins); Box 47 added to better house "The Stone Hammer" object. June 2024 CLC