Found 24 collections related to American literature -- African American authors

The Melvin Dixon papers consist primarily of manuscripts, correspondence, notes, and journals reflecting his experiences as a black gay writer. Most of the collection is comprised of manuscript drafts of Dixon's published works "Trouble the Water," "Vanishing Rooms," "Ride Out the Wilderness," "Change of Territory," as well as drafts for incomplete novels and stories, the fiction he called "works in progress," and short stories, poetry and plays, both published and unpublished. In addition, there are drafts and other material for Dixon's translations of "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor," Genevieve Fabre's "Drumbeats, Masks and Metaphors," and works by the Haitian writer Jacques Roumain. Some essays and academic papers he presented are also included in collection. less

Born in Sweet Home, Arkansas, in 1934, Henry Dumas was an African American poet and short story writer, and the editor and publisher of several magazines, including "Anthologist," "Untitled," "Hiram Poetry Review" and "Collection." Dumas was shot and killed in the New York City subway in 1968, by a white policeman. His work was published posthumously and is represented in many anthologies, including "black Fire" edited by Imamu Amiri Baraka (1968). One typed letter signed to LeRoi Jones (1966), accompanied by a photocopied typescript of a short story "Fon" and original typescripts of seven poems: "Cutting Down to Size," Hold on, I'm Comin!" "Knock on Wood," "Mosaic Harlem," "New Game," "Discus" and "Uplight.". less

Afro-American book collector and writer of verses and short stories. Bradley was born in Enfield, N.C. and moved to Brooklyn (N.Y.) during the 1920s. His published and unpublished works include: "Love and Mystery, a Tale in Rhyme" (1907), "A Printer's Dream" (n.d.), "Effusions of the Soul" (1917), "Marching to Berlin" (1918), "Ethiopian Women's Society of the Moon" (1926), "Out of the Depths" (1928), "In Defense, a Sketch for Broadcasting" (n.d.) and "A Catalog of Books of Modern First Editions and Old, Rare Editions" 1936. Correspondence, writings and printed matter documenting Henry Thorpe Bradley's activities as an African-American book collector and self-published author, during the first half of the twentieth century. Includes letters to the editors of several New York daily newspapers on racial biases in media reporting and the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini's Italian troops, typescripts of poems, short stories and essays, and a radioscript entitled "In Defense.". less

Zora Neale Hurston (1901?-1960) author of several novels, short stories, poetry and an autobiography, was a trained anthropologist who also wrote ethnographic studies. Writings consisting of nine poems and one short story entitled "The Conversion of Man", and correspondence with William Clifford and Lawrence Jordan. less

Composer, pianist, arranger. Brown worked as Paul Robeson's accompanist for thirty-eight years. The Lawrence Brown papers encompass correspondence reflecting Brown's wide-ranging travels, and his friendships (mostly letters written by his friends and business associates); personal papers; travel file consisting mostly of itineraries for tours; financial records comprised largely of royalty and earnings statements; programs for Brown and other artists; scrapbooks of news clippings and telegrams covering the Brown and Paul Robeson concert years (1928-1968); news clippings of concert reviews; and original scores and sheet music written by Brown and other composers. Papers relate to Brown's life and times, including World War I, Harlem Renaissance, World War II, spirituals, and his collaborator, Paul Robeson. Correspondents include Amanda Aldridge, Ethel Gardner Dingle, Jannett Hamlyn, Roland Hayes, Langston Hughes, Zaidee Jackson, William Lawrence, John Payne, Paul and Eslanda Robeson, Clara Rockmore, Robert Rockmore, Mrs. Corinne Sawyer (Brown's landlady), and Greta and I. W. Sequeira. less

Files of the Board of Directors containing correspondence, agendas, minutes, and records of three board committees; administrative records including materials on the founding of the Academy, nominations for awards, and records relating to daily operations; and annual meeting files which encompass planning and programing for annual meetings, 1970-1972. less

The Larry Neal Papers document his role as a writer/editor and seminal figure in the Black Arts Movement, and consists principally of Neal's diverse forms of writings, including essays, scripts, screenplays, poems, short stories and anthologies. Published copies of some of his writings are included in the collection, as are writings by colleagues and publishers. less

The Ann Petry papers document the professional, social, and family life of writer Ann Petry (1908-1997). With the publication of her 1946 debut novel titled, The Street, Petry became the first US black woman author to sell over a million copies. The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, manuscripts, clippings and printed matter, and personal memorabilia. less

Papers reflecting Schomburg's endeavors as a writer and researcher, and collector and curator of books and manuscripts documenting black history and culture. Personal and professional papers, including correspondence and writings, and writings of others. Includes material relating to Schomburg's position as curator of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th St. branch of the New York Public Library, and to black literature, art, and history. Correspondents include John E. Bruce, Henrietta Buckmaster, W.E.B. Du Bois, Nicolás Guillén, W.C. Handy, Langston Hughes, Charles S. Johnson, James W. Johnson, Claude McKay, J.A. Rogers, Albert A. Smith, Sténio Vincent (President of Haiti), Walter White, and Carter G. Woodson. Other papers include programs, news clippings, invitations, announcements, and minutes of a variety of organizations, such as the New York Urban League, New York Public Library, Young Men's Christian Association, and several black cultural and educational groups. Also, transcriptions of eighteenth and nineteenth century historical documents pertaining to black history and culture. less

The Umbra Poets Workshop was a group of young African-American writers who met on New York City's Lower East Side from 1962 to 1965 to conduct readings and discuss writing and politics. The Umbra Poets Workshop collection consists of oral history interviews with fourteen of the poets along with letters relating to the formation of Umbra and Calvin Hernton's activities. less

The Joseph Beam Papers consist of correspondence, conference materials, prison letters, writings by Beam and other authors, files of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays and its organizational journal Black/Out, and printed matter. The Correspondence series is divided into five subgroups: Family, General, Individuals, Organizations and Prison Letters. Significant correspondents include Barbara Smith, Essex Hemphill, Daniel Garrett, Renee McCoy, Assoto Saint, Colin Robinson, Craig Harris, Isaac Julien. Beam's writings and correspondence dealt with issues of gay life and civil rights for blacks and other minorities, and with contemporary developments in Philadelphia, including the police bombing of the MOVE headquarters in 1985. Other writings in the collection were destined for publication in the two anthologies conceived by Beam and the journals Black/Out and Other Countries. Contributors included Audre Lorde, Pat Parker, Samuel Delany, Melvin Dixon, Gilberto Gerald, Michelle Parkerson, Michael J. Smith, and Alice Walker. Also included are minutes of board meetings, financial reports, correspondence, memoranda, conference papers, and printed matter of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, and subject files on AIDS awareness and prevention, prisoners' support groups, gay and lesbian entertainers and South Africa. The collection also documents activities of Black and White Men Together, Blackheart Collective and other black gay organizations. less

Jeremy Randolph, an African-American actor, poet, playwright and founder of independent publishing houses, was born in 1947 in La Grange, Texas. In ca. 1970 he and Georgia Nicholas co-founded Rannick Playwrights Company, publisher and producer of dramatic poetry readings, which published his books of poetry, among other works. In January 1971 Randolph founded a second independent publishing company, Amuru Press, with offices at 161 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, to provide an outlet for black works. The press published poetry, plays, short stories, essays and novels. Although he sought to publish writers and non-writers, he focused on unpublished writers from around the country, many who were incarcerated. By May 1972, only fourteen months after its founding, Rannick Amuru Press had already published eight books of poetry with plans to publish five plays. The Press also sponsored two Annual Black Writers Conferences in 1971 and 1972, with two days of workshops, speakers, panel discussions, poetry readings and performances, held in Harlem. The Jeremy Randolph papers primarily document the activities of Randolph's small, independent black publishing company, Amuru Press during the brief period from 1972 to 1974. Files of close to two hundred writers, many who were never published previously, contain samples of their poetry, short stories, play scripts, and other writings. Many files consist only of correspondence between Amuru and the writer. There is also press and related information for the First and Second Annual Black Writers Conference he prepared in 1971 and 1972. less

Author. Born and raised in New York City, Wylie was educated at Boston University where he studied comparative literature. Corrected manuscripts of the novels THE HOMESTEAD GRAYS (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1977), THE SIGN OF THE DAWN (New York: Viking Press, 1981), THE LOST REBELLION (New York: Trident Press, 1971), and THE RED EARTH. less

Author, poet. Born in Jamaica. Correspondence and manuscripts of McKay's works, both published and unpublished, including "Banjo," "Banana Bottom," "Harlem Glory," and "Romance in Marseilles." Included are letters with Max Eastman, from Louise Bryant, Arrack Johns, director of the Federal Writers' Project, and to Carl Van Vechten, 1941. less

The collection documents Julian Mayfield's career as a writer, educator and actor, and his activities as a political expatriate in West Africa and Guyana. Significant correspondents include fellow African-American expatriates and friends Maya Angelou, Herman Kofi Bailey, Sylvia Boone, William Branch, Tom Feelings, David DuBois, Preston King, Jim Lacy, Calvin and Elinor Sinnette, and Alice Windom. Other correspondents are John Henrik Clarke, Jules Dassin, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, James Forman, Richard Gibson, Gloria Joseph, Woodie King, Paul Mann, William Marshall, Truman Nelson, and Conor Cruise O'Brien. less

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was the premiere African American writer and public intellectual of the post-War period. He authored six novels, three plays, dozens of short stories, a book-length work of non-fiction, a children's book, scores of essays and reviews, and a book of poems. Baldwin won renown in the U.S. and internationally for his writing, his leadership in the civil rights movement, and for championing human rights around the world. His essays and reviews, especially, are remarkable not just for their mastery of literary technique - their marriage of music and sharp analysis - but for the breadth of the African American experience which they interpret, dramatize, honor, and lament. These prose masterpieces are unique in the history of American literature for the depth, subtlety, and daring with which they explore the psycho-political causes and consequences of racism and other ideologies of political exploitation. His best known works include Go Tell It on the Mountain(1953), Notes of a Native Son(1955), Giovanni's Room(1956), The Fire Next Time(1963), and If Beale Street Could Talk(1974). "Five Years" is an 18-page typescript of sixteen unpublished poems (the last two being carbons) written by Baldwin between 1942 and 1948 prior to the publication of his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain. The poems, which are dated, explore themes of love, fear and mortality, lifelong preoccupations of the author best known for his insightful essays and probing fiction. less

The feature-length 16mm documentary James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, directed by Karen Thorsen in 1989, is an autobiographical portrait of writer and activist James Baldwin. Without using narration, the film allows Baldwin to tell his own story. It premiered on American Masters, a PBS show, in 1989. Since then, repeated PBS broadcasts have reached millions of people. The film received numerous awards and was honored at festivals in over two-dozen countries, including Sundance, London, Berlin, and Tokyo. Co-written and produced by Karen Thorsen and Douglas K. Dempsey, the film uses archival and original footage, including scenes from Baldwin's funeral service; explorations of his homes in France, Switzerland, Turkey, and Harlem; and on-camera interviews with close friends, colleagues, and critics including his brother David; biographer David Leeming; writers Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, William Styron, Ishmael Reed, and Yashar Kemal; painter Lucien Happersberger, and entertainer Bobby Short. This collection consists of material used to make the film including notebooks and binders prepared by the production crew documenting the resources acquired during film research; transcripts of interviews; research forms; stock footage research; book tour itineraries and promotional items; articles about Baldwin; FBI files on Baldwin; eulogies and memorials; and reviews. less

The Negro World Digest was a monthly periodical which began publication in July 1940 and ceased publication after the December issue of the same year. It condensed the best in writings by or about Blacks, reflecting the life, thought, and achievement of Blacks worldwide. The Digest, edited by William Cummings and A. Jackson, featured such writers as Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Ralph Ellison, and Sterling Brown, and represented a variety of African, British, and American publications. This collection mostly contains correspondence covering the period 1939-1941. Additionally, there are some articles intended for publication, and information regarding advertising, reprint permissions, sales, and distribution. Also there are some congratulatory letters, office notes, and memoranda. less