Scope and arrangement
The Stanley Crouch papers are arranged in six series:
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1945-2016
This series includes biographical information about Stanley Crouch, such as a copy of his birth certificate and church programs. It also includes information on his family, including his daughter, first and second wives, and his sister. Finally, it covers awards and fellowships, and any corresponding material, which he received over the years, including his "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation.
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1976-2015
Arranged into three subseries, this series consists of personal and professional letters and emails with friends, colleagues, musicians, employers, publishers, agents, and readers. In the Personal subseries, noted individuals include writers such as Saul Bellow, James McPherson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Darcy O'Brien; musicans such as Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, and Sonny Rollins; and editors including Tina Brown and Graydon Carter, among many others. The Professional subseries mostly contains correspondence with publications (such as The New York Times and The New Yorker) regarding writing assignments and organizations (such as Lincoln Center for Performing Arts and King Features Syndicate Division/Hearst Holdings, Inc.) for which Crouch spoke, lectured, or worked. Many of the individuals in the personal subseries overlap with those in the professional subseries, but they have been included in the former because either the correspondence is of a personal nature or the relationship started as a personal one and later developed into a professional one. Files marked with a letter ("A", "B", etc.) include one-time correspondence with an individual or organization, by last name or first name, if last name is unknown. All descriptive notes in parentheses are Crouch's own. The final subseries, Reader mail, mostly consists of correspondence from readers of his newspaper columns or magazine articles.
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1945-2015
The largest series, Writing, consists of drafts, manuscripts, research material, interview transcripts, proofs, galleys, and final versions of Crouch's various writing. The first subseries, Published, is divided into further subgroups by the type of writing (articles, books, and other). The articles subgroup contains drafts, manuscripts, research material, and final versions of articles written for various publications, including his columns for The Village Voice and the New York Daily News. The books subgroup is organized chronologically by publication date, and also consists of drafts, manuscripts, and research material. The Kansas City Lightning material also contains correspondence, contract, and numerous interview transcripts with such prominent musicians as Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach, among others. The last subgroup, Other, contains manuscripts and final versions of Jazz at Lincoln Center's "Notes on the Program"; liner notes; and a draft foreword for Tom Piazza's Blues and Trouble: Twelve Stories, among other writings. The second subseries, Unpublished, is similarly subdivided into subgroups as the Published subseries. The material included in this subgroup also consists of drafts and manuscripts, and includes a complete typescript of "First Snow in Kokomo", an unpublished novel. Additionally, there are multiple reporter's notebooks and journals with handwritten notes and drafts. The last subseries, Other people's work, consists of publications, such as articles, essays, books, and sheet music, by other authors, some of which was used by Crouch as research for his writing and many of which are inscribed.
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1974-2014
This series mostly contains administrative material relating to Crouch's professional life, such as day planners, address books, itineraries, and contact information from his Rolodex. In addition, there are papers concerning his Board and committee participation in organizations such as LAEF and Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. Lastly, there are flyers and other publicity materials for events in which Crouch participated, such as lectures, conferences, and symposia.
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1901-2014
This series mostly consists of printed matter (articles, essays, and books) on various individuals, organizations, and topics. Many of these materials were used by Crouch as research for his writing. Other materials in the Individual subseries were most likely collected by Crouch because of a personal connection or friendship; in one case, an individual is fictional. Some of the organizational files were retained because of Crouch's participation, while some of the topical files probably related to Crouch's interest. Dates refer to the dates of the contents of the folder.
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1979-2012
The Printed matter series consists of articles, clippings, posters, flyers, and other publications that are either about Crouch or mention him. Also included are reviews of his writing, interviews, and publicity material for his publications.