Special Collections Department
The Ishmael Reed Papers
X. Personal Papers, 1959-1992
Extent: 2 linear ft.
Contents: Correspondence, notes, calendars, driver's license, financial papers, medical information, telephone messages, photographs, receipts, and printed material.
Arrangement: Series X. Personal papers is divided into three subseries. X.1. Personal correspondence, notes, and messages is arranged in chronological order. X.2. Personal calendars and date books is also arranged in chronological order. Subseries X.3. Biographical and personal information is arranged by subject.
Description:
Reed's personal life is less completely documented in this collection. The personal series is small, but even so, its contents are so intermixed with literary and business materials that the division is somewhat arbitrary. There is no material from Reed's childhood in the collection except the anecdotes in his autobiographical writings in Series I. There are almost no photographs of family and leisure activities. The different areas of Reed's adult life were interrelated on a daily basis, with his work at the center, and his visits to Alaska, Hawaii, Martinique, Japan, Europe, and the East Coast were work-related. He carefully guarded the privacy of his wife and daughters as a general rule, but he sometimes collaborated with his wife Carla, a dancer, on performance pieces, and his daughter Tennessee, a poet, at readings. The correspondence labeled personal which was assigned to this series contains a good deal of correspondence of a general literary nature as well as letters from his wife and mother. His calendars and desk notes are included in this series, but these also document the extent to which his work and personal life were deeply interrelated.
The final subseries includes a miscellany of personal documents, such as letters documenting Reed's early employment, his letter of admittance to the University of Buffalo, a driver's license, a few medical records, several photographic images of Reed, and a folder of financial papers.
Contents List
54 Series X. Personal papers, 1959-1992
Series X.1. Personal correspondence, notes, and messages, 1966-1990
Correspondence, 1966-1990
F1 1966-1968
F2 1969 Jan-May
F3 Jun-Dec
F4 1970
F5 1971
F6 1972 Jan-Jul
F7 Aug-Dec
F8 Undated material found in 1972 file
F9 1973 Jan-Sep
F10 Oct-Dec
F11 Undated material found in 1973 file
F12 1974 Jan-Sep
F13 Oct-Dec
F14 1975 Jan-Jun
F15 Jul-Dec
F16 1976 Jan-Jun
F17 Jul-Dec
F18 1977 Jan-Oct
F19 Nov-Dec
F20 1978
F21 1979 Jan-Sep
F22 Oct-Dec
F23 1980
F24 1981-1989
F25 1990
F26 [n.d.]
F27 Telephone messages, 1981-1984
F28 Notes and scraps, 1970-1986
Includes brief notes, names and telephone numbers and/or addresses, library notes,
and to-do lists.
55 Series X. Personal papers (cont'd)
Series X.2. Personal calendars and date books, 1965-1989
Many of the calendars include notations of appointments, as well as lists of
names, telephone numbers, and addresses.
F29 1965
F30 1972
F31 1975
F32 1976 (two calendars)
F33 1977 (two calendars and one pocket organizer)
F34 1979
F35 1980 (two calendars - removed to oversize)
F36 1982
F37 1984 (three calendars - removed to oversize)
F38a 1985 (one calendar - removed to oversize)
F38b 1988
F39 1989
Series X.3. Biographical and personal information, 1959-1992
F40 Printed references, [n.d.]
F41 Driver's license, 1978
F42 Medical records, 1971-1987
F43 Photographic and negative images of Reed, [n.d.]
F44 Documents regarding housing, 1983-1984
F45 Financial papers, 1959-1990
Includes a few documents regarding employment, income tax forms, receipts,
travel arrangements, banking correspondence, and letter of acceptance to the
University of Buffalo in 1959.
F46 Material related to Tennessee Reed, 1988-1990
Material related to Carla Blank, 1971-1990
F47 Notes and worksheets for "Wall St. Journal," 1971
F48 Issues of Washington International Arts Letter, 1975-1978
F49 Letters, printed material, and miscellaneous items, 1972-1990
F50 Material related to James Baldwin, 1988
Includes a program for A Tribute to James Baldwin and the press packet for James
Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket (including press photographs).
F51 Notes and documents for the funeral of Paul Lofty, 1992
Return to Ishmael Reed Papers Index Page
Return to List of Manuscript Finding Aids by Title
citation and reference information
The Ishmael Reed Papers
Manuscript Collection Number: 398
Accessioned: Purchases, 1980-1995.
Extent: 65 linear ft.
Content: Correspondence, novels, plays, poems, essays, reviews, speeches, magazines, posters, clippings, brochures, flyers, broadsides, photographs, artwork, books, galley and page proofs, financial documents, catalogs, programs, photocopies, sound recordings, schedules, comic books, notes, transcripts, awards, certificates, minutes, audiovisual recordings, and miscellaneous ephemera.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1998-1999 by Shiela Pardee, completed by Anita Wellner.
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
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