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Dominick J. Lepore Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 1985-0007

Scope and Content

This collection consists of material dating from Mr. Lepore's graduation from Enfield High School and ends with his published poetry in 1986. It includes his educational experiences as a student and then as a teacher, his work for the government, his poetry and his personal correspondence. The bulk of the collection falls into these last two areas.

Mr. Lepore's poetry, both published and non-published, is contained in the collection. It ranges from his early works in 1948 and ends with the various works he had published in the mid-1980s. The collection contains rough drafts, lists of publications that Mr. Lepore submitted work to, and the books and periodicals in which his poetry was published. Missing from the collection are his fist published volumes, The Praise and the Praised and Within His Walls, though both poems for which the books are titled are in the collection. Also missing is any work that was done between 1986 and his death in 1992.

Personal correspondence makes up the bulk of the collection. Mr. Lepore, an avid letter writer, kept many of the postcards, cards and letters that he received as well as drafts of letter he sent. The collection has numerous letters from his daughter, Anna Kasabian, as well as materials related to her career, included are photographs of her and her husband, David. The majority of correspondence, however, are from Mr. Lepore's close personal friend, Patricia A. Kirby. Mr. Lepore and Mrs. Kirby maintained a six-year correspondence that began in 1980. These letters provide insight to Mr. Lepore's feelings about poetry and his love of the Roman Catholic Church. The collection contains their letters, cards, and photographs of Mrs. Kirby, plus many of her poems.

The collection does have several gaps. There is nothing about his experiences at Georgetown University or the time he spent in Washington, D.C.> In addition to the missing volumes and later works of Mr. Lepore, the collection contains very little about his work with the Works Progress Administration/General Accounting Office, what he did in the early 1950s or his teaching experiences after 1966. As for his personal life, with the exception of his correspondence with his daughter and Mrs. Kirby, there is very little information about Mr. Lepore's private life and Mrs. Lepore is completely misssing from the collection. Publications found in the collection have been removed for cataloging.

Dates

  • Creation: 1929-1986

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from the owner(s) of the copyright.

Biography

Dominick J. Lepore was born on July 1, 1911, in Enfield, Connecticut, to John and Anna (Porcello) Lepore. In 1929 he graduated from Enfield High School and entered College of the Holy Cross where he received his Bachelors degree in 1933. Mr. Lepore move to Washington, D.C., in 1935 and began working for the government in the Works Progress Administration and the General Accounting Office until 1945. During this time he also attended Georgetown University from 1937 until 1939.

On January 15, 1949 he married Agatha Maggio, with whom he had one child, Anna F. Kasabian. The family settled once more in Enfield, Connecticut, where Mr. Lepore remained for the duration of his life. During the 1950s he worked in Hartford, Connecticut, as a Revenue Agent for the Internal Revenue Service unitl 1955. Mr. Lepore then took a job teaching English at Kosciuszko Junior High School in Enfield, Connecticut. In 1959 he received his Masters Degree from the University of Connecticut and attended the University of Hartford to upgrade his teaching certificate from 1964 through 1966.

Mr. Lepore was a very active member of the teaching community and was a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, National Education Association, Modern Language Association of America, New England Association of Teachers of English, and the Conncecticut Council of Teachers of English. He was elected chairman of his department in 1966 and often wrote on the subject of teaching. His articles appeared in 1963 Connecticut Teacher , 1965 Language Arts News, as well as many other magazines and newspapers. Mr. Lepore retired from teaching in 1975.

In 1948 Mr. Lepore's poem, "Jealousy", was first published in Different Magazine and in 1955 his first volume of poems entitled The Praise and the Praised was published. A second volume of his poems, Within His Walls, was published in 1968 and in 1971 the poem for which the book is titled was featured in Quaderni di Poesia, a collection of Italian Poetry. By the 1980s, Mr. Lepore's poetry was included in several books and periodicals both here and in Italy. A devout Roman Catholic, many of his poems were of a religious nature and published in religious publications. He was awarded 2nd prize in the 13th International Contest of Religious Poetry in 1981. Mr. Lepore was very highly regarded internationally for his work: he was invited to attend the Poets Festival of the Republic of China, in 1986, was awarded an honorary degree of letters from the l'Universite Libre of Karachi, Pakistan, and was a member of the Poetry Society of America.

Mr. Lepore had a close relationship with his daughter, Anna Kasabian, and kept many of their letters as well as materials related to her professional work. He also kept a great deal of his personal correspondence especially those to/from Mrs. Patricia A. Kirby of Atlanta, Georgia. Included in the collection are many of their letters, as well as her poetry and photographs.

In 1987, after 38 years of marriage, Mrs. Agatha Lepore died. Mr. Lepore died on August 13, 1992, in Boston, Massachusetts, of cancer at the age of 81. During his lifetime he was an active member of the community, involved in many groups including the National Board of Italian Executives of America, featured on talk radio and, in 1986, was featured by Northeast Magazine in their "Who's Who" in the state of Connecticut.

Extent

1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The poetry and papers of Dominick J. Lepore.

Arrangement

Collection arrangement was determined by the donor.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to the University of Connecticut in 1985.

Separated Material

The following materials have been separated from the collection and cataloged:

Anthology of magazine verse and yearbook of American poetry (1984) Dodd Periodicals

Bibliography

WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:The Praise and the Praised (poems), Humphries, 1955.Within His Walls (poems), Branden Press, 1968.Contributor to Praire Schooner, Arizona Quarterly, Experiment, New York Herald Tribune, and other periodicals and newspapers.
Title
Dominick J. Lepore Papers
Status
Published
Author
Archives & Special Collections staff
Date
2002 April
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library Repository

Contact:
University of Connecticut Library
405 Babbidge Road Unit 1205
Storrs Connecticut 06269-1205 USA US
860-486-2524