McDonald Clarke collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.

Preferred citation:

McDonald Clarke Collection, MSS 7546, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.16 Cubic Feet Four legal file folders
Creator:
Clarke, McDonald, 1798-1842
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

McDonald Clarke Collection, MSS 7546, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection of McDonald Clarke papers contains one autograph poem titled "Midnight" from 1815, an undated manuscript poem fragment beginning "They tell me we shall never meet" from Clarke's Afara; receipts for the sale of books to William Gowans from Clarke dated October 28, 1837, and from Francis G. Dorr, dated October 25, 1837; and an undated lithograph of the head and upper torso of Clarke.

Biographical / historical:

McDonald Clarke (1798-1842) was an American poet, sometimes called the "mad poet of Broadway," who belonged to the Bohemian circle in New York. He was born in Bath, Maine, in 1798, the son of John Clarke, Jr., a sea captain, and Ann McDonald. They moved to New London, Connecticut, in Clarke's childhood. His parents both died when Clarke was young, his mother in 1810 from consumption while on a sea voyage, and his father in 1813 at sea. It is unclear exactly where he lived after his parents' death, but he appeared in New York City around 1819, where he began to pursue a career as a poet. Clarke was also a regular attender of Grace Church, an Episcopal parish, where he came into contact with some of the city's prominent and wealthy families. He married an actress, Mary Brundage, in 1820, but they soon separated due to Clarke's financial instability. Clarke's books sold marginally well, but most of his income was from selling his poems to newspapers, magazines, and journals. In 1842, found destitute by a police officer, Clarke was taken to a New York City jail before removal to an asylum on Blackwells Island (now called Roosevelt Island). Clarke drowned on March 5, 1842, in his cell by water from an open faucet. Posthumously, Clarke's work and life circumstances influenced later poets, most especially Walt Whitman.

References

Matteson, John T. "Clarke, McDonald (1798–1842)." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, and Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 27 August 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.

Sturr, Robert D. "Clarke, McDonald (1798-1842), poet." American National Biography. 1 Feb. 2000; Accessed 27 Aug. 2025. https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1600310.

Acquisition information:
The bulk of the collection is a gift from Clifton Waller Barrett to the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 1964 May 26. One item was purchased from James Cummins Bookseller by the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 26 July 2024.
Processing information:

This collection was originally cataloged in Virgo. In August 2025, an addition was acquired and an ArchivesSpace finding aid was made. Metadata from the original MARC record was migrated and was combined with the new accession to create this finding aid in August 2025. As the bulk of the collection was from the Clifton Waller Barrett Library, items that were part of the Barrett collection were clearly identified in acquisition notes.

Physical description:
Fair.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard