Scope and arrangement
The Brad Johnson Papers, 1952-2011, are arranged into three series: Biographical, Writings, and Correspondence. The Biographical file documents the major events in his life: education, Navy career, work history, involvement in gay organizations, publishing history, and diaries. The Writings series forms the bulk of the collection, especially his poems, both published and unpublished. The Correspondence series contains a significant amount of letters from a former lover, the musician and conductor, Charles Darden, and others. Of note is a long "coming-out" letter to his parents expressing the anger and loneliness of the gay Black man in America.
The Brad Johnson papers are arranged in three series:
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ca. 1970-1985
This series includes personal effects such as Johnson's high school yearbook, several Yale term papers, and a memorial book from the USS Nassau, the ship on which Johnson served in the Navy for 4 years.
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1978-2005
This series is largely comprised of poetry, most of which appears to be unpublished. The published poems include "When He Love," his first publication, in Essence Magazine (June 1978). Other poems were published in In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology; The Road Before Us; Other Countries; and one in the first issue of The Pyramid Periodical. Notable is Johnson's contribution to Milking Black Bull (1993-1994), which includes his poetry suite, "Dare to Hear", dedicated "For Charles Darden and Michael Khoury, who loved me." After that, his publishing history falls silent. The large collection of manuscript poems are arranged alphabetically by title, followed by a folder of untitled poems, and another containing poems written in French during Johnson's tenure at Yale. There are also three issues of the Gator Gazette, a shipboard newspaper from his years on the U.S.S. Nassau, each containing a poem by Johnson, 1982-1983. A miscellaneous file includes letters from several editors, soliciting contributions from Johnson, but there is no indication if anything was published. Other writings include an extensive review of Essex Hemphill's chapbook, Earth Life, which Johnson wrote for Black/Out (1986), the journal of the National Association of Black Lesbians and Gays, edited by Joseph Beam. Lastly, there is a file of short prose pieces (essays and short stories), most undated.
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1973-2004
This series is comprised primarily of incoming letters and a small file of copies of outgoing letters. The largest group of letters is from a former lover, Charles Darden (1946-2013), a conductor and musician. Most letters date from the 1970s (bulk dates 1973-1977). Many of the letters were written from Europe, specifically when Darden's career took him abroad. There appear to be gaps in their correspondence, as there are some letters from Darden in the late 1980s, none in the 1900s, and few in the early 2000s. There is also a typed letter from Maya Angelou (January 1974) acknowledging receipt of poems from Johnson, but giving reasons for not accepting them for publication, instead forwarding them to Paula Giddings at Howard University Press. Miscellaneous letters range from the 1970s through the 2000s. Two letters are particularly revealing of Johnson: 1) a handwritten, multipage letter in the form of an interview with his brother, Michael, in which they discuss sexual and family issues, and 2) a long letter written (again in longhand) shortly before Johnson's death, to Diana Lachatanere, then curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.