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Archibald Leyasmeyer papers

 Collection
Identifier: PA127

Scope and Contents

Collection contains records/materials relating to Archibald Leyasmeyer.

Dates

  • 1973 - 2003

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

Biographical / Historical

"Archibald Leyasmeyer was a faculty member of the University of Minnesota since 1964 and retired in 2003 as a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teacher of English. His primary academic interests were in dramatic literature, especially Shakespeare and modern drama, and eighteenth century British Literature. He was widely recognized for his teaching career, with a number of major awards from the University and external organizations. For most of his career, Archibald Leyasmeyer was extensively involved with numerous arts and cultural organizations. He was in leadership positions with some dozen institutions, among them were the Guthrie Theater, Playwrights' Center, Jerome Foundation, Center for Arts Criticism, Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Humanities." (1) "It was all a long way from his beginnings in Latvia in 1935. The end of World War II found him living, largely unschooled, in a refugee camp in southern Germany. At 14, he arrived in the US, knowing no English. At 18, he enrolled at Harvard University, eventually graduating with honors in English literature. He earned his MA and PhD from Princeton, then was hired at the University of Minnesota. For all his war-time upheaval, as an adult he had a great passion for travel, visiting some 75 countries with his wife Edith (Dean Emeritus of the University’s School of Public Health), among them Bhutan, Bolivia, Mongolia, and Morocco. Together they savored, as he once wrote, “the richness of human life and cultures on this little blue-white planet, so beautiful, so fragile, floating in the darkness of space.” (2) Archibald Leyasmeyer passed on Saturday, October 22, 2016 due to complications from Parkinson's Disease.

1.) "Archibald I. Leyasmeyer Obituary", Accessed July 23, 2020. https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/162801/. 2.) "In Memoriam: Archibald I. Leyasmeyer, Emeritus", Accessed July 23, 2020. https://cla.umn.edu/english/news-events/news/memoriam-archibald-i-leyasmeyer-emeritus.

Extent

15 Linear Feet (15 Paige boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection contains records/materials relating to Archibald Leyasmeyer.

Title
Archibald Leyasmeyer Papers
Author
K Pearl McClintock
Date
Feb 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Collecting Area Details

Contact The Performing Arts Archives Collecting Area

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