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Dorothy Lykes Poetry Recordings 1949-1992 (Bulk 1983-1992)

MSS-373

Biographical Note

Dorothy E. Raitt was born to G. Emmett and Jessie (Quisno) Raitt in Berkeley, California on June 26, 1923. She built a career as a poet before coming to central Arizona in 1962, where she studied creative writing at Arizona State University, taught creative writing courses, and continued to write poetry. She eventually published two books, Colbalt Blue (1995) and Raitt's Rich Milk. She also interested herself in conservation causes, selling 333 acres of land to the Hassayampa River Preserve near Wickenburg in 1986 and donating an additional 330 acres just prior to her death. Lykes died in Phoenix, Arizona on February 25, 2004.

Dorothy Raitt married Norman Roberts Lykes (1918-1993) in Orange County, California on July 23, 1969 and the couple had five children, including Bonnie (Lykes) Bridges, Allison, Heather, and Timothy.

Scope and Content Note

The majority of the cassette tapes in this collection are recordings that Dorothy R. Lykes made at poetry readings. Most of these events featured poets reading their own work, readings of other poets' works, or readings conducted as part of the Master of Fine Arts program at Arizona State University. Many of these readings took place at such local venues as the Changing Hands Bookstore, the MARS Gallery, Encanto Park, and Arizona State University. A few recordings were commercially produced.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Dorothy Lykes Poetry Recordings, MSS-373, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing transferred these recordings to University Archives in 2016 (Accession #2016-04963).

Processing Note

In some cases, a recording's creation date postdates the listed reader's death date. Because all description was taken directly from the cassettes' housings, it is not clear whether the date of the recording is incorrect, the reader's name is incorrect, or the reader shares a name with a performer who predeceased him in these instances.

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