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Creator
Cortez, Jayne
Call number
Sc MG 829
Physical description
22.26 linear feet (56 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Jayne Cortez papers, Sc MG 829, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Jayne Cortez (1934-2012) was a poet, performance artist, activist, small press publisher, and teacher. A prominent figure of the Black Arts Movement, Cortez was known for performing her poetry accompanied by jazz music. The Jayne Cortez papers document her artistic and professional life through published books of poetry; notebooks; event and performance files; correspondence with collaborators; and business and teaching files.

Biographical/historical information

Jayne Cortez was a poet, performance artist, activist, small press publisher, and teacher who was prominent in the Black Arts Movement. Cortez performed and recorded her poems, often accompanied by jazz music. Her work is noted for its vivid and surrealistic imagery, visceral sound, and political stances, which frequently addressed racism, sexism, and class.

Sally Jayne Richardson was born on an army base in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in 1934. Her father served in the United States Army in both world wars and her mother was a secretary. As a child, Cortez moved with her family from Arizona to the mostly Black working-class neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles, California, where she developed an appreciation for jazz and Latin music through listening to her parents' record collection. Initially more interested in acting and theatre, Cortez studied music, drama, and art at Manual Arts High School. She attended classes at Compton Junior College and studied drama at the Ebony Showcase in Los Angeles, before shifting her focus to writing. Early on in her artistic career, she adopted Cortez, the maiden name of her Filipino maternal grandmother, as her own surname.

Cortez was married to jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman from 1954 until 1964. The two had a son, the jazz drummer Denardo Coleman. During her marriage to Coleman, Cortez supported their family by working as a waitress, in several factories, and as an office assistant. In 1963 and 1964 Cortez participated in the civil rights movement by working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to register voters in Mississippi. In 1964 she founded the Watts Repertory Theater Company, where she gave her first public poetry reading, and went on to serve as its artistic director for several years.

Cortez moved to New York City in 1967 and began traveling widely, eventually performing around the world and throughout the United States with her band, the Firespitters. In 1972 Cortez established Bola Press, through which most of her twelve volumes of poetry were published. She also released many of her records on the label including, Unsubmissive Blues (1980), There It Is (1982), Maintain Control (1987), and Cheerful and Optimistic (1994). Celebrations and Solitude (1975) was released on Strata East Records and Taking the Blues Back Home (1996) was released on Harmolodic/Verve. Her poetry has been translated into numerous languages and included in many anthologies, journals, and magazines.

In 1975 Cortez married visual artist Melvin Edwards, who illustrated many of Cortez's books and record covers. The couple kept residences in New York City and in Dakar, Senegal.

Cortez taught at Rutgers University and other colleges around the United States. She was featured, alongside artists including Amiri Baraka, John Cage, and Allen Ginsberg, in the documentary film Poetry in Motion (1982). She was the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the American Book Award (1980), a National Endowment for the Arts grant (1987), the Fannie Lou Hamer Award (1994), and the Langston Hughes Medal (2001).

In 1991, together with Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo, Cortez co-founded the Organization of Women Writers of Africa (OWWA). Cortez served as the group's president for many years, and board members included Maya Angelou, Alexis De Veaux, and Rashidah Ismaili. OWWA held Yari Yari conferences and assisted with Slave Routes conferences from the 1990s to the 2000s.

Cortez died of heart failure in 2012.

Scope and arrangement

The Jayne Cortez papers, which date from 1960 to 2009, chronicle the artistic and professional life of Jayne Cortez. The collection is arranged into five series covering Cortez' writings; correspondence; events she participated in; her business files; and documentation from her teaching career.

The creative process Cortez utilized for her written poetry is demonstrated in Series I through handwritten notes; typed drafts; various iterations of poems; clippings of individual poems published in magazines, journals, and anthologies; and galleys and published volumes of her poems. Series II: Correspondence comprises a significant portion of the collection and reflects Cortez's robust communication with friends, fellow poets, musicians, family, and others. Besides Series II, smaller batches of correspondence are also held within Series III: Events, Series IV: Business, and Series V: Teaching. Evidence of Cortez's poetry readings and musical performances is held in Series III: Events. Scant personal content in the collection is limited to correspondence from family and friends.

The Jayne Cortez papers are arranged in five series:

  • Series I: Writings
    1960s-2009
    7.25 linear feet (20 boxes)

    Series I holds Cortez's completed written work, including her poetry, essays, and interviews, as well as speeches, artist's statements, fragmentary work, musical notations, and files on Studio Watts Workshop. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject or format.

    All twelve volumes of Cortez's poetry, as well as several other titles she co-authored are held here. Printing plates, layout sheets, and artwork produced by Cortez are filed with several of the book titles, including Pisstained Stairs and the Monkey Man's Wares and Scarifications. Cortez's poems held in this series include works that were published in magazines, journals, or anthologies. Cortez's loose notes and bound notebooks comprise handwritten factual journal entries, essay fragments, experimental creative writing, early iterations of her poems, as well as occasional lists, random jottings, and doodles. The Studio Watts Workshop files document some of Cortez's earliest collaborative creative work. Poetry, articles, essays, and scripts, written by others, including some of Cortez's most frequent collaborators are filed at the end of the series.

  • Series II: Correspondence
    1965-2009
    6.08 linear feet (15 boxes)

    Correspondence with Cortez's network of fellow writers, musicians, artists, friends, and colleagues comprise series II. The bulk of the letters in this series is incoming correspondence. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject, with a small assortment of chronological general correspondence held at the beginning. The Names files hold correspondence from notable individuals and frequent correspondents, including Wanda Coleman, Alexis De Veaux, Ted Joans, Ana Mendieta, Nancy Morejón, and Val Wilmer. A file of correspondence from Cortez's second husband, Melvin Edwards, contains handmade birthday cards decorated with Edwards's original artwork. Cortez retained many files of invitations inviting her to participate in or attend performances, literary festivals, events, and parties. Also of note is a file of letters from incarcerated individuals, many expressing appreciation for Cortez's work or including their own original poems. A few files of correspondence can be found elsewhere in the collection within Series III: Events, Series IV: Business, and Series V: Teaching.

  • Series III: Events
    1960s-2009
    5.38 linear feet (14 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

    Series III holds files relating to concerts, poetry readings, and lectures given by Cortez, as well as conferences and book fairs in which she was featured. The bulk of this series comprises publicity materials such as fliers, programs, posters, and clippings of reviews. Larger events, particularly those that Cortez helped to organize, such as the Slave Routes and Yari Yari conferences, are filed under their names. Of note are files of setlists from Cortez's music performances and readings. Also held in this series are files relating to the many committees and organizational boards on which Cortez served.

  • Series IV: Business
    1964-2009
    4.96 linear feet (13 boxes)

    This series is arranged alphabetically by subject and reflects the administrative side of Cortez's publishing and creative endeavors, chiefly through contracts, grant applications, awards, copyright applications, invoices, general promotional material, and correspondence. Music files in this series include record cover designs, dealings with record distributors, and recording session documents. Organization of Women Writers of Africa (OWWA) files trace Cortez's work in cofounding this group and serving as its president.

  • Series V: Teaching
    1969-2009
    1.25 linear feet (3 boxes)

    Series V, which is arranged alphabetically by subject, encompasses Cortez's work as a visiting lecturer at colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Course notes, syllabi, and planning correspondence are held in this series. Rutgers University, John Jay College, University of Minnesota, and University of California, San Diego are among the institutions Cortez lectured and taught at most frequently.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Purchased from Jayne Cortez in 2010.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Halliday in 2024.

Separated material

Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center. Audio and moving image materials transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, Schomburg Center. Two books transferred to the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, Schomburg Center.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor