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ODU University Archives
3000 Perry Library4427 Hampton Blvd.
Norfolk, VA 23529
Telephone: 757-683-5350
libspecialcollections@odu.edu
URL: https://www.odu.edu/library/special-collections
Elizabeth Vincelette
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restrictions.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
Source of Acquisition
Mildred Guilds Peele
Method of Acquisition
Gift.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and finding aid created by Elizabeth Vincelette in 2014.
Biographical or Historical Information
Elizabeth Ann Burton (1958-1990) was a poet born in Richmond, VA, who lived in Painter, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. A member of the Poet Society of Virginia, she held a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Old Dominion University. In 1990, Burton's book of poetry, Waiting for the Messiah, was published. Additionally, she had poems published in a volume of The Poet's Domain , a book of poetry featuring work by regional authors of the Mid-Atlantic states. She was working on a creative writing degree at Old Dominion University and a second book of poetry when she died.
Burton's manuscripts were collected and donated in 2000 by Mildred Guilds Peele, former lecturer in the English department at Old Dominion University, and wife of E. Vernon Peele, professor of English at ODU and past dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Note written by Elizabeth Vincelette
Scope and Contents
This collection includes letters as well as typed and handwritten drafts of poetry written by Elizabeth Ann Burton, a faculty member at Old Dominion University. Included are the original manuscripts for Burton's published book of poetry, Waiting for the Messiah, as well as the draft of a second book, which was never published.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Old Dominion University--Alumni and alumnae
- Old Dominion University. Department of English
- Poets, American--20th century
Container List
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 1 Folder 1
Folder 1: Poetry of Elizabeth A. Burton1984-1988Preferred Citation
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 1, Poetry of Elizabeth A. Burton, 1984-1988, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 1 Item 1
Typed and Handwritten Drafts of PoetryundatedScope and Contents
Thirty-four typed and handwritten drafts of poetry ("The Falcon Came"; "Instructions for the Messiah"; "The Poor Poet"; "Visiting Italy"; "No Title"; "Root, Stem, Leaf"; "Love Poem in Twos and Threes"; "Torn and Tattered Elegy in Black"; "Stoned Cold"; "Remembrance of my Trip to Europe Italy"; "Human Being"; "Buddha Inside the Light"; "An Anginal Equivalent"; "Gift"; "Solitude Late At Night In the Woods"; "Remembering A March Against The Vietnam War"; "But I Do Not Need Kindness"; "The Ghetto Girls at Eastern State"; "The Hospital"; "Christmas Poem"; "August 24, 1987"; "Nocturne for the U. S. Congress"; "Hunger for Me"; "Reading the Names of the Vietnam Dead"; "The Kiss"; "The Black Woman"; "The Phoenix Has Come"; "To a woman in a pink bathing suit"; "A Solitary Woman"; "Exaggerated Self-Portrait"; "To my Sister"; "Mothers, Daughter"; "To a Friend's Child"; "A Dream")
Preferred CitationTyped and Handwritten Drafts of Poetry, undated, Box 1, Folder 1, Poetry of Elizabeth A. Burton, 1984-1988, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 1 Item 2
Letter to Mildred Peele Attached to Iron Heaven and Other Poems1987 November 16Scope and Contents
Manuscript of forty-three poems by Burton ("Iron Heaven"; "To My Sister"; A Dream"; "Summer Garden"; "Silence"; "Song for South Africa"; "The Black Woman"; "V. D. Clinic"; "Newly Born"; "Sounds"; "Harlem on the Poor Side of Town"; "Pheasant"; "Poem"; "Drum"; "You're"; "The Flying Change"; "Your Child"; "A Walk"; "Democracy"; "A Ghost May Come"; "There are Poems"; "To a Friend's Child"; "A Solitary Woman"; "As Benefits A Woman"; "End of the World"; "Madness"; "Our Hands in the Garden"; "I am going to Sleep (suicide poem)"; "The Ghetto Girls at Eastern State"; "Platoon"; "Self-Portrait"; "The Painter in the Lion Cage"; "Song of the Old Woman"; "Talking Fish"; "So Long"; "Abortion"; "The Three Fates"; "Slump"; "Mothers, Daughter"; "Nothing"; "dust"; "July 29, 1987"; "Troubled Woman")
Preferred CitationLetter to Mildred Peele Attached to Iron Heaven and Other Poems, 1987 November 16, Box 1, Folder 1, Poetry of Elizabeth A. Burton, 1984-1988, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 1 Item 3
Notebook of Poetry: To Bedlam and Part Way BackundatedScope and Contents
Contains twenty three poems ("Tucker's"; "Madness"; "Words to Dr. S."; "Another Morning"; "The Hospital Windows at Dunbar"; "I am going to Sleep (suicide poem)"; "Suicidal Note"; "Mr. Death"; "Psychiatrist"; "This is not a Dream"; "Poem #3 on Shock Treatment"; "Shock #9"; "Psychotics at Eastern State"; "Poem #112"; "Sonnet to Satan"; "A Villanele"; "Leftovers from a Mental Institution"; "Let every Woman"; "Coming out of the depression"; "Elencierro"; "La analista"; "Unas palabras ala dra. A."; "A Bedlam y de reqreso en porte")
Preferred CitationNotebook of Poetry: To Bedlam and Part Way Back, undated, Box 1, Folder 1, Poetry of Elizabeth A. Burton, 1984-1988, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 1 Item 1
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 2 Folder 2
Folder 2: Correspondence From Elizabeth A. Burton to Mildred Peele1987-1990Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence dating from November 30, 1987 to October 2, 1990.
Preferred Citation[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 2, Correspondence From Elizabeth A. Burton to Mildred Peele, 1987-1990, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 3 Folder 3
Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings1991Scope and Contents
Clippings in regard to the death of Elizabeth A. Burton, including her obituary.
Preferred Citation[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 3, Newspaper Clippings, 1991, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 4 Folder 4
Folder 4: Correspondence From L. S. Loomer to Mildred Peele1997Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence dating from March 4 to May 9, 1997.
Preferred Citation[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 4, Correspondence From L. S. Loomer to Mildred Peele, 1997, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 5 Folder 5
Folder 5: Correspondence From Mary Ann Burton to Mildred Peele1997Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence between Burton's mother and Peele, also includes handwritten and typed lists of Burton's books.
Preferred Citation[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 5, Correspondence From Mary Ann Burton to Mildred Peele, 1997, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 folder: 6 Folder 6
Folder 6: Publication Notes By Mildred PeeleundatedScope and Contents
Contains handwritten notes about publishing Elizabeth A. Burton's poetry.
Preferred Citation[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 6, Publication Notes By Mildred Peele, undated, Elizabeth Ann Burton Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.