Scope and arrangement
The papers consist of Hardy's personal and family correspondence; editorial correspondence and papers reflecting his work as a writer and editor; clippings of published articles; typescript drafts and outlines of stories, novels and other writings, including The Crisis of Desire ; personal miscellany including high school and college compositions; diaries; photographs; printed matter relating to AIDS; and sound and video recordings.
Correspondents include Hardy's friends and family member, fellow writers, publishers, and editors. The correspondence illustrates Hardy's career as a writer and editor, his experiences as an expatriate in Europe and the United States, and reflects his interests in men's sexuality and AIDS. His diaries provide further insights into his day-to-day activities living in Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, as well as the development of ideas that became actualized in The Crisis of Desire . Hardy's writings include fiction both fiction and nonfiction works; nonfiction include articles and essays, autobiographical writings, poetry, and both Hardy and Groff's material involving The Crisis of Desire . Hardy's work as an editor is well-documented and consists of correspondence with authors, authors' typescripts, book proposals, chapter outlines, research notes, agreements, and papers relating to Hardy's work as executive director of the Cloverdale Press, to his freelance work as editor and author of action/adventure fiction, and to the Writers Retreat Workshop where he was a editor-in-residence.
The Robin Hardy papers are arranged in eleven series:
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1970-1996
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1914-1944, 1964-1992
The family correspondence consists of letters to Robin Hardy from his brothers, Charles and Christopher Hardy; from his sisters, Eloise and Michele Hardy; from his mother and father, Jean and William Hardy; and from his aunt and grandmother. There are a few letters from Robin Hardy to his brother, Christopher, in the period 1974-1981; and to his sister, Eloise, in the period 1972-1985; and miscellaneous papers of Christopher Hardy. Also included are various condolence cards and letters that were sent to Eloise, Jean, and William from Hardy's friends and colleagues following his death. The letters often contain detailed remembrances of Hardy's life. Additionally, this file contains Eloise's eulogy for Hardy and a detailed letter regarding the circumstances of his death while hiking in Tonta National Forest.
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The writings are arranged into fiction and nonfiction. The nonfiction writings are arranged into typescripts of articles; clippings of published articles; autobiographical writings and poetry; and Crisis of Desire .
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This series consists of a topical file of correspondence, authors' typescripts, book proposals, chapter outlines, research notes, agreements, and other papers relating to Hardy's work as executive director of the Cloverdale Press, publisher of action/adventure fiction, to his free lance work as editor and author of action/adventure fiction, and to the Writers Retreat Workshop where he was a editor-in-residence. Included is correspondence with Mark Howell of Gold Eagle Books, a subsidiary of Harlequin Enterprises of Ontario, Canada, with his literary agent, Mitch Douglas, relative to work in progress and to marketing strategies; and correspondence with other editors and publishers including Mega-Books of New York, Inc. relative to a proposed Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mystery entitled "Conspiracy in Copper Canyon," with Chardiet Unlimited, Inc. relative to a horror series entitled "Foul Play"; and with Bantam Books regarding the publication of his book The Call of the Wendigo. There are also research files on ancient Egypt, folklore, myths, spirituality, and on the American West; correspondence with John Anthony West regarding a proposed biography of West; and correspondence, including a letter from Congressman Barney Frank, regarding Hardy's article "Final Exit" about the euthanasia death in Holland of his friend, Hans Faasse, which was published in Penthouse magazine.
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This series, which is arranged topically, consists of miscellaneous papers relating to Robin Hardy's personal life. Included are biographical papers, fragments of a personal journal (1972-1975), letters of recommendation, medical records including insurance invoices relating to his HIV infection, membership cards, passports, a memorandum book of personal accounts (1968-1969), pocket engagement calendars (1979-1995 in 15 volumes), file of addresses, report cards of his grades in primary school; and papers relating to his high school education at The Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa; and to his studies at The University of Alberta and at Dalhousie University. Included are typescripts of his college compositions for courses in creative writing, philosophy, psychology, and political science; examination papers and grade reports.
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1974-1995
This series contains holograph notebooks with printed matter, photographs, correspondence, and ephemera interleaved within the entries. The majority of the diaries are from late-1970s to the early-1980s, thus documenting Hardy's life in Canada as a writer, editor, and activist, and his move to Europe where he lived in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Entries discuss Hardy's life abroad, his friends, family, work, his sexual encounters and fantasies, as well as trace the development of his ideas on male sexuality, the gay community, and the affect of AIDS on both.
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This series includes snapshots and photographic portraits of Robin Hardy taken at various periods of his life, as a child, college student, and during his adulthood. Most of the photos appear to have been taken in Canada. There are also group snapshots of Robin Hardy with friends; and family photos of his mother, father, and siblings. There are also a few snapshots of gay demonstrations in New York City.
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This series consists of miscellaneous oversized artwork by, or relating to, Robin Hardy, and other oversized materials. Included are water color drawings depicting human images in distorted shapes some erotic in nature; cover designs for "Waterworld" and "Zimbab and the Greek Boy"; an oversized drawing pad containing brief notes and ideas for chapters of literary works in progress including "The Weimar Syndrome," "Saigon Story," "The Armageddon Conspiracy," and his action/adventure fiction series "The S.O.Bs" and "Soldiers of Barrabas." Included also is an oversized engagement calendar for 1995, "Art Against AIDS," containing a few entries by Hardy; and three nude photographic portraits of Robin Hardy on oversized sheets. There are also a few drawings of images of Robin Hardy by his friend [Susan] Collins dated 1973.
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The bulk of the printed matter consists of ephemera relating to gays and to AIDS. Additionally, the materials related to circumcision include issues of Chuck Thompson's newsletter regarding intact celebrities as well as an issue of Sam Frank's "Well-Hung Hollywood."
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The restricted papers consist of correspondence removed from Series I; a record of an interview removed from Series III; and response letters to a personal ad placed by Hardy.