Joe Johnson papers

id
11563
origination
Johnson, Joe, 1940-2019
date statement
1961-2018
key date
1961
identifier (local_mss)
186167
org unit
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
call number
Sc MG 982
b-number
b22890036
total components
95
total series
4
max depth
5
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2022-10-28 20:17:46 UTC
updated
2022-10-28 20:18:33 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"186167", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 982", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b22890036", "type"=>"local_b"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1961-2018", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1961/2018"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"Joe Johnson papers"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"4 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"4.0 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"Joe Johnson (1940-2019) was a poet and writer who was a member of the Umbra Poets Workshop, a group of young Black writers who met on New York City's Lower East Side from 1962 to 1965 to conduct readings and discuss writing and politics. The Joe Johnson papers consist largely of writings—mostly poetry and fiction, with some drama and nonfiction—by Johnson, as well as notebooks, personal and professional files, and printed material."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
origination
{"value"=>"Johnson, Joe, 1940-2019", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Joe Johnson was born January 18, 1940, in Harlem. As a young man, he became involved in the Umbra Poets Workshop, a group of young Black writers who met on New York City's Lower East Side from 1962 to 1965 to conduct readings and discuss writing and politics. Johnson's writing appeared in various periodicals, including <span class=\"title\">Umbra</span>, <span class=\"title\">Black Creation</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Yardbird Reader</span>, as well as anthologies including <span class=\"title\">Poets of Today</span> (1964) and <span class=\"title\">The Poetry of Black America</span> (1973). His published books of poetry include <span class=\"title\">At the West End</span> (with Bliem Kern, 1976), <span class=\"title\">Hot</span> (1977) and <span class=\"title\">Tight</span> (1978).</p> <p>In 1973, Johnson formed a publishing company with two other former Umbra members, Ishmael Reed and Steve Cannon. The group, Reed, Cannon & Johnson Communications, published works by authors of color, including <span class=\"title\">Francisco</span> by Alison Mills, <span class=\"title\">Black Picture Show</span> by Bill Gunn, and <span class=\"title\">Medicine Man</span> by Calvin Hernton, for which Johnson wrote the introduction.</p> <p>Johnson attended Hunter College in the early 1960s, then Columbia University, earning a bachelor's degree in art history and English in 1970 and a master's in linguistics from Columbia Teachers College in 1973. He worked at the Harlem Education Project (1962-1963) and City College (1971-1972), before joining the faculty of Ramapo College in New Jersey, where he taught literature from 1971 until his retirement in 2017. He lived in New York until his retirement, after which he moved to Virginia.</p> <p>Johnson died on February 17, 2019.</p> <p>Sources: Rush, Theressa Gunnels, Carol Fairbanks Myers, and Esther Spring Arata. <span class=\"title\">Black American Writers Past and Present: A Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary</span>. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1975.</p> <p>Shockley, Ann Allen, and Sue P. Chandler. <span class=\"title\">Living Black American Authors: A Biographical Directory</span>. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1973.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The Joe Johnson papers consist largely of writings—mostly poetry and fiction, with some drama and nonfiction—by Johnson. There is also a significant number of notebooks containing a mix of writing drafts, journals, and personal notes. Personal and professional files include material relating to Johnson's publishing business, Reed, Johnson, & Cannon Communications, his teaching career at Ramapo College, and a small amount of personal material and correspondence. Finally, there is printed material, including flyers, press clippings, periodicals, and poetry books (many inscribed to or annotated by Johnson).</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Joe Johnson papers are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/186167#c1688840'>Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1983-2017</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The writings consist mostly of typescript drafts, many annotated with Johnson's notes and edits. Many are spiral bound (in some cases the bindings have been removed).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/186167#c1688910'>Notebooks</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1985-2018</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Johnson's notebooks--which include reporter's notebooks, exercise books, and legal pads--contain a mix of poetry and writing drafts, journals and personal notes, and various ideas and fragments. Most are undated.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/186167#c1688911'>Personal and Professional Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1961-1991</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/186167#c1688920'>Printed Matter</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1963-2004</div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Allison Hughes</span> in <span class=\"date\">2022</span>.</p>"}
sponsor
{"value"=>"Home to Harlem Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"}
date_start
1961
keydate
1961
date_end
2018
date_inclusive_start
1961
date_inclusive_end
2018
extent_statement
4.0 linear feet (4 boxes)
prefercite
{"value"=>"[Item], Joe Johnson papers, Sc MG 982, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}

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