Mitchell Goodman papers

Collection

Identifier: C-21

C-21 Goodman manuscripts index

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Scope and Contents

Collection contains typescript poetry manuscripts, typescript and holograph correspondence written to and by Goodman between 1978 and 1984, drafts and manuscripts, and various notes and fragments written by Goodman. For detailed inventories of materials within Series I, see "Other Finding Aids" note for that series. Note that most of the materials are undated.

Dates

Creation: 1978-1984

Creator

Goodman, Mitchell (Person)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish materials, contact: Special Collections & Archives Middlebury College Phone: (802) 443-2387 Email: specialcollections@middlebury.edu

Biographical / Historical

Mitchell Goodman (1923-1997) was an American writer, teacher, and activist. He was involved in the Vietnam draft resistance movement. Goodman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to first and second-generation Jewish immigrants. When the US entered World War II, Goodman was studying at Harvard. He was trained as a Second Lieutenant forward observer in an artillery battalion, but was not deployed overseas. He traveled to Europe after the war, where he met the poet, Denise Levertov. The two were married in 1947 and lived in France and Italy before moving to the US to Greenwich Village in 1948. They had a son in 1949. In the mid-1960s, Goodman and Levertov became prominent figures in the anti-war movement. Goodman was indicted for conspiracy with Benjamin Spock, Marcus Raskin, Rev. William Sloane Coffin, and Michael Ferber, in what became known as the "Boston Five" conspiracy trial.

In his later years, Goodman resided in Temple, Maine, where he wrote poetry and participated in local politics. He and Levertov divorced in 1975.