{"value"=>"<p>Donaldson's correspondence files contain incoming and outgoing letters and postcards which document many aspects of his career as author, editor, and activist, as well as his turbulent personal history. The files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the correspondent, organization, or subject. Numerous correspondents are identified only by first name, nickname, or initials. Donaldson's strong autobiographical impulse led him to make and preserve carbon copies of many of the letters that he wrote over the years. Many of his carbons were made on the backs of mimeographed documents of organizations with which Donaldson was involved (such as the Student Homophile League), and thus have an additional evidentiary value.</p> <p>This Series includes important items from Donaldson's formative years as a student at Columbia University, such as his letters to friends regarding the 1968 student uprising, the origins of the Student Homophile League, his cross-country hitchhiking trips, his experimentation with drugs, his romantic attachments, and his sexual encounters. This early material is complemented by Donaldson's 1960s and 1970s correspondence with his mother, Lois Vaughan, which provides insights on his troubled family history. There is also extensive correspondence with lawyers, editors, politicians, and friends regarding Donaldson's fight against his 1972 discharge from the United States Navy. Several folders which contain only letters related to this case are marked \"re: Navy Discharge\" in the container list.</p> <p>There is additional legal correspondence regarding Donaldson's 1980 arrest and felony conviction, and his subsequent terms in prison from 1980 to 1984 and 1990. During the early 1980s Donaldson typed, photocopied, and mailed to multiple recipients what he called \"round letters.\" These documents provide a remarkable view of Donaldson's daily life in prison, his sexual encounters with fellow inmates, his interest in punk rock, and his experiences in New York City after his parole. The round letters are complemented by correspondence with various publishers and editors regarding essays and poems written by Donaldson while he was in prison and shortly thereafter.</p> <p>During the late 1980s to 1990s, Donaldson's music reviews won him some renown among punk rock fans, and the circle of his correspondence widened to include dozens of punks from around the world. Many of these letters are contained in the Miscellaneous folders located in box 4, folders 4-6.</p>"}