Finding Aid
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Collection Summary
Identifier
MA 52
Title
Audrae Visser Collection
Creator
Dr. Charles Woodard
Dates
1938-2002
Extent
1.0 linear feet (1 records center box) photographs
Language
Material is mainly in English, but includes a small amount of Dutch.
Repository
South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.
Access note
This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Preferred Citation
Name of item . Audrae Visser Collection. MA 52. South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.
Abstract
Audrae Visser is an American educator and poet and was Poet Laureate of South Dakota from 1974-2001. The collection is composed primarily of correspondence with Dr. Charles Woodard, Visser’s poetry and prose writings, and photographs.
Biographical Note
Audrae Eugenie Visser was born June 3, 1919 to Harry J.L. and Addie Mae (Perryman) Visser on a farm near Hurley, South Dakota. She attended country schools in Turner and Moody counties and graduated from Flandreau High School in 1938. She received degrees from Black Hills Teachers College, South Dakota State University, and the University of Denver.
Visser’s 52 year career in the field of education began with a position in the Moody County country schools from 1939 to 1943. She also taught elementary and high school students in Hot Springs, Pierre, Elkton, De Smet, and Flandreau, South Dakota, and in Windom, Verdi, and Lake Benton, Minnesota. She spent one year in Nagoya, Japan from 1954 to 1955, teaching the children of U.S. Air Force personnel stationed there.
Visser was also a poet and wrote her first poem when she was twelve years old. Her first published poem appeared in Pasque Petals, the South Dakota Poetry Society magazine when she was 21 years old. She published her first book of poetry, Rustic Roads and Other Poems, in 1961, and was appointed to be Poet Laureate of South Dakota in 1974 by Governor Richard Kneip. She published nine more volumes of poetry from 1974-1998, and also wrote the introduction to Pages Glued Apart, a book of poetry by Evelyn Winklepleck-Stuefen. Visser’s books sometimes included her own art work.
Visser’s poetry has won numerous awards, including second prize in the 1984 National Federation of State Poetry Societies contest judged by May Swenson. She also sponsored state and national poetry contests as memorials to her parents since 1976, including the Perryman-Visser scholarship for outstanding poetically-inclined students at South Dakota State University. She served as Associate Editor and Editor of Pasque Petals during the time that she was Poet Laureate and a member of the South Dakota State Poetry Society.
Audrae Visser had a son, Lou H. Guardino, and a brother, Donald. She died on October 8, 2001 in Mabank, Texas.
Education:
1942 Associate Degree from Black Hills Teachers College, Spearfish, South Dakota
1948 B.S., South Dakota State College, Brookings, South Dakota
1954 M.A., University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
Honors:
1974 Appointed Poet Laureate of South Dakota by former Governor Richard Kneip
1981-1982 Who’s Who of American Women
1984 Awarded second prize by May Swenson in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies contest
1984-1985 Who’s Who in the Midwest
1989 Heritage of the Prairies Institute Scholarship, Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota
1990 Woman of Achievement in Literature by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in South Dakota
Memberships:
American Association of University Women
American League of Pen Women
American Legion Auxiliary Unit #0198 – Life Member
National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs
National League of Pen Women
Delta Kappa Gamma
General Federation of Women’s Clubs
South Dakota Education Association
South Dakota Press Women
South Dakota State Poetry Society
United Poets Laureate International
Western Women in the Arts
Contents Note
The materials in this collection were collected and donated by Dr. Charles Woodard of the South Dakota State University English Department. The collection is primarily composed of correspondence between Audrae Visser and Dr. Woodard and includes many of her writings to fulfill class assignments. Also included are photographs she took and written accounts of her frequent travel vacations, as well as materials related to her awards, honors, and activities as a poet and as a member of numerous organizations.
This collection consists of correspondence, clippings, photographs, and many poetic and prose writings by Visser including book reviews and reports, speeches, and a Pioneer Humor Project undertaken to fulfill the requirements of the Heritage of the Prairies Institute at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota.
Bibliography
Country Cousin
Call Number: PS3572.I75 C68 1986
Publication Date: 1986
Grass Roots Poetry
Call Number: PS3572.I75 G7 1991
Publication Date: 1991
Honyocker Stories
Call Number: PS3543.I58 H6
Publication Date: 1981
Meter for Momma
Call Number: PS3572.I75 M47 1974
Publication Date: 1974
Pages Glued Apart by Fern Evelyn Winklepleck-Stuefen, edited by Janet Leih
Introduction by Audrae Visser
Call Number: PS3573.I534 P33 1990
Publication Date: 1990
Pheasant Flights
Call Number: PS3572.I75 P5 1989
Publication Date: 1989
Poems for Brother Donald
Call Number: PS3572.I75 P6 1974
Publication Date: 1974
Poems for Pop
Call Number: PS3572.I75 P63 1976
Publication Date: 1976
Prairie Poetry
Call Number: PS3572.I75 P7 1998
Publication Date: 1998
Rustic Roads and Other Poems
Call Number: PS3543.I58 R8
Publication Date: 1961
South Dakota Stories
Call Number: PS3572.I75 S67
Publication Date: 1980
Key Words
American poetry -- 20th century
Japan -- Description and travel
Mexico -- Description and travel
Middle West -- Poetry
South Dakota -- Literature
South Dakota -- Poetry
Visser, Audrae Eugenie, 1919-2001
West (U.S.) – Poetry
Container List
View container list on Open Prairie
| Box | Folder | Description | Date(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Activities and Events | 1975-1988 |
| 1 | 2 | Awards, Honors, and Memberships | 1951-1990 |
| 1 | 3 | Biographical Information | 1918-2002 |
| 1 | 4 | Clippings: Awards, Honors, and Activities | 1938-1998 |
| 1 | 5 | Clippings: Information about Other Writers | undated |
| 1 | 6 | Clippings: Miscellaneous | 1988-1991 |
| 1 | 7 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1979, 1988 |
| 1 | 8 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard, January-June | 1989 |
| 1 | 9 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard, July-December | 1989 |
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1990 |
| 1 | 11 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1991 |
| 1 | 12 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1992 |
| 1 | 13 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1993 |
| 1 | 14 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1994 |
| 1 | 15 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1995 |
| 1 | 16 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1996 |
| 1 | 17 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1997 |
| 1 | 18 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1998 |
| 1 | 19 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 1999 |
| 1 | 20 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | 2000-2001 |
| 1 | 21 | Correspondence with Dr. Woodard | undated |
| 1 | 22 | Correspondence with Others | 1946-1998 |
| 1 | 23 | Humor | undated |
| 1 | 24 | Photographs: Events and Activities | 1990 |
| 1 | 25 | Photographs: Family | undated |
| 1 | 26 | Photographs: Trip to Mexico | 1997 |
| 1 | 27 | Poems by Other Writers | undated |
| 1 | 28 | Poems by Unknown Authors | undated |
| 1 | 29 | Published Work: Country Cousin | 1986 |
| 1 | 30 | Published Work: Honyocker Stories | 1981 |
| 1 | 31 | Published Work: Pheasant Flights | 1989 |
| 1 | 32 | Published Work: Prairie Poetry | 1998 |
| 1 | 33 | Writing: Autobiographical | undated |
| 1 | 34 | Writing: Childrens Stories | undated |
| 1 | 35 | Writing: Fiction | undated |
| 1 | 36 | Writing: Instructional | undated |
| 1 | 37 | Writing: Other Class Reports | undated |
| 1 | 38 | Writing: Miscellaneous | undated |
| 1 | 39 | Writing: Pioneer Humor Project | undated |
| 1 | 40 | Writing: Poems A-L | undated |
| 1 | 41 | Writing: Poems M-Z | undated |
| 1 | 42 | Writing: Reports on Books, Authors A-L | undated |
| 1 | 43 | Writing: Reports on Books, Authors M-Z | undated |
| 1 | 44 | Writing: Reports on Poetry | undated |
| 1 | 45 | Writing: Speeches | undated |
| 1 | 46 | Writing: Trips | undated |
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.
South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.
Copyright note
Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.
Arranged and Described by
Ruby R. Wilson, 2014 May 23.