Introduction to the Collection

The William D. Hull collection at Hofstra University consists of the personal and professional papers of Hull, who was a professor at Hofstra from 1946 until his death in 1984.

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The collection includes personal and family correspondence, correspondence relating to his career as a professor at Hofstra and other institutions, and as a Fullbright scholar lecturing at universities in Sri Lanka and India; manuscripts of essays and lectures, poems, verse dramas, and his ten-volume poetic work Visions of Handy Hopper; magazines and books containing poems and articles by Hull; audiotapes of Hull reading his works, photographs, music manuscripts, drawings and sketches; personal items and artifacts.

William Doyle Hull II*, son of William Doyle Hull Sr. and Mayme (Miller) Hull, was born in Westminster, South Carolina, in 1918. He received his B.A. degree from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1938, his M.A. in 1940, and his PhD. in 1941, from the University of Virginia. In 1941-1942, he taught at Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama. He joined the U.S. Army in 1942, was trained in cryptography, and was stationed in India for several years.

After returning to civilian life, he taught briefly at North Carolina State College in Raleigh, and in 1946, he received an appointment as instructor of English at Hofstra College (later, University) in Hempstead, NY. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1947, associate professor in 1950, and professor of English in 1963. He was closely involved in the organization of Hofstra University’s Faculty Senate, and served as chairman of the Senate Executive Committee for several years. In 1965 he received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award. He had a lasting influence on many of his students, as evidenced by the correspondence they maintained with him over the years.

Hull received a Fullbright award to teach American Literature at the University of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) 1955-1956. He received another Fullbright in 1959-1960 to teach at Patna University in India.

*When Hull used a suffix with his name, he usually used II rather than Jr.

As a poet, Hull was a prolific and ambitious writer. He wrote many short poems and contributed to numerous literary reviews and “little magazines” from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Publications in which his poems appeared include Sewanee Review, The Poetry Book Magazine, The Beloit Poetry Journal, Chicago Review, and Intro. He wrote several verse dramas including The Journey of Alcestis and Saul at Endor. The latter was given a dramatic reading at Town Hall in New York City in 1952. The Catullus of William Hull, modern translations of the Roman poet, was published in 1960. In his later years he concentrated on longer works, including Dandy Brown and Visions of Handy Hopper, which was published in 10 volumes between 1970 and 1979.

Hull died in 1984 at the age of 66.

For biographical information on Hull, see:

1. Contemporary Authors, First Revision, Vols. 13-16, p. 114. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1975. (Included in this guide, p. 38)
2. Contemporary Authors, New Revision, Vol. 5, p. 274. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1975. (Included in this guide, p. 39)
3. International Who’s Who in Poetry, 6th edition, p. 878. Cambridge, England: International Biographical Centre, 1982. (Included in this guide, p. 40)

Note: Certain documents in this collection are restricted. Consult with archivist about particular items.

The William D. Hull collection is arranged in ten series:

1. Biographical Information
2. Personal Correspondence: colleagues, friends, students. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Each letter of the alphabet begins with one folder containing letters from several correspondents represented by only one or two letters each. Following this are folders for individual correspondents.
3. Family Correspondence: parents, sister and brother and their families.
4. Professional Correspondence:
   
   1. Professional and business other than publications
   2. Publications: correspondence with editors and publishers. Arranged alphabetically by name of publication or publisher.
   3. Publications: related materials
5. Manuscript
   
   1. Essays and talks
   2. Poems and verse dramas: Long works and collections. Arranged by title.
   3. Poems and verse dramas: Long works and collections. Arranged chronologically.
   4. Visions of Handy Hopper
   5. Writings by others
   6. Fragments
6. Print Material
   
   1. Magazines, Journals and Offprints
   2. Books by William D. Hull
   3. Books by others
7. Audiotapes
8. Photographs
9. Artwork and Music
10. Personal Items, Artifacts and Ephemera

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