Special Collections Department
The Ishmael Reed Papers
VII. Professional Activities, 1956-1994
Extent: 3 linear ft.
Contents: Correspondence, programs, notes, minutes, schedules, printed material, flyers, posters, plaques, clippings, financial reports, photographs, certificates, brochures, and grant applications.
Arrangement: Series VII. Professional Activities is divided into two subseries: VII.1. Resumes, arranged in chronological order, and VII.2 Organizations, arranged in alphabetical order by name of the organization.
Description:
Reed participated in a number of professional activities, which are documented in Series VII. Professional Activities. These files reflect his different levels of involvement in different activities. Notable among these files, for instance, are records of the Before Columbus Foundation (1977-1992), which Reed founded to promote publication of minority writers. Reed's involvement took many forms, and the files reflect his participation on the Board of Directors from the initial incorporation through 1992 with minutes, correspondence and business records. Additional files document the creation of two Before Columbus anthologies and the annual American Book Awards sponsored by the group. Reed also founded There City Cinema to promote multi-cultural film, video, and artists of Northern California, and files for this organization are present for 1986-1989. Reed's efforts to promote new and lesser-known talent is also documented in the files of the Pushcart Prizes, which give awards to outstanding work from small presses. Reed was a long time member of P.E.N., the national association of published authors, and the collection contains correspondence related to P.E.N. activities spanning the years 1969-1988. Dissatisfied with P.E.N.'s lack of support for Reed's proposed boycott of television news, Reed started a new P.E.N. chapter in Oakland. Reed served as a member of the Usage Panel for several editions of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, from 1976-1987. Files on other organizations in which Reed participated are less extensive, reflecting shorter periods of involvement or a more peripheral role. He served as a judge in a number of literary prize and grant competitions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the MacArthur Fellowship. On the local level, he headed California Poetry in the schools for a short time. Reed's awards and resumés, included in this series, also provide evidence of Reed's varied professional activities.
Contents List
45 Series VII. Professional activities, 1956-1994
Series VII.1. Resumes, [1964-1986]
F1 Resumes, [1964-1986]
Series VII.2. Organizations, 1956-1994
F2 Academy of American Poets, 1966-1975
Reed read poetry at New York City high schools in 1966 and 1967 through a
program sponsored by the Academy.
F3 Actors Studio, 1979-1981
Reed is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Program.
Actors Studio produced Reed's Hell Hath No Fury.
F4 African American Publishers', Booksellers', and Writers' Association, 1991
F5 American Book Review, 1977-1988
Reed was an associate editor. Copy removed to oversize (L).
F6 American Civil Liberties Union, 1978
Reed received an ACLU Award on June 12, 1978.
F7 American Council for the Arts, 1986-1987
Reed was a member of the Council's National Planning Committee on the
Originating Artist in 1986-1987.
F8 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1976-1987
Reed served as a member of the Usage Panel for several editions.
F9 The Authors Guild, Inc., 1969-1975
Reed is a member.
F10 Bay Area Black Journalists Association, 1986
Before Columbus Foundation, 1977-1994
Ishmael Reed founded the Before Columbus Foundation to distribute the
work of writers from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
F11 American Book Awards, 1980-1994
46 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
Before Columbus Foundation (cont'd)
F12 Anthologies, 1991-1992
Announcements and public relations material.
F13 Before Columbus Foundation Review, 1989-1992
Issues and a list of material to be included in the first issue.
F14 Board, 1977-1990
Includes minutes of meetings, financial reports, annual reports, photographs,
flyers, and promotional material.
F15 Bylaws and articles of incorporation, [1977]
F16 Clippings, 1984-1992
F17 Conferences, 1977-1991
Identification badges and programs related to ABA, MLA, and library conferences,
which Reed attended to promote BCF.
F18 Contemporary American Literature, 1981
Anthology/Catalog paste-ups. Removed to oversize (L).
F19 Correspondence, 1977-1992
F20 Events, 1978-1989
Programs, flyers, clippings, notes, and other material related to readings, institutes,
celebrations for new publications, and other events sponsored by the BCF.
F21a Price lists, 1980-1981
F21b [Untitled remarks regarding Before Columbus Foundation], n.d.
Typescripts with autograph revisions.
Berkeley Civil Arts Commission, 1979-1982
Reed was appointed to the Commission.
F22 1979
F23 1980
F24 1981 Jan-Mar
F25 1981 Apr-Dec
F26 1982
F27 [n.d.]
F28 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1984
Certificate.
F29 Black Poets Reading, Inc., 1971
46 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
F30 California Arts Council, 1973-1990
F31 California Council for Humanities and Public Policy, 1981
F32 California State University, Distinguished Artists Forum, 1987-1988
Reed was invited to become a member in 1987.
F33 Center for the Study of Southern Culture, 1979
Reed was a national consultant for the center.
F34 Chattanooga Museum of Afro-American Culture and History, [n.d.]
Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines (CCLM), 1972-1989
Reed became a member of the board in 1974.
F35 1972-1973
F36 1974 Mar-May
F37 1974 Jun-Sep
F38 1974 Oct-Dec
F39 1975 Jan-Jun
F40 1975 Jul-Dec
F41 1975 (notebook)
F42 1976 Jan-Jul
47 F43 1976 Aug-Dec
F44 1976 (notebook)
F45 1977 Jan-Jul
F46 1977 Aug-Dec
F47 1977 (notebook)
F48 1978 Jan-Jul
F49 1978 Aug-Nov
F50 1978 Dec and [n.d.]
F51 1978 (notebook)
F52 1979
F53 1979 (notebook)
F54 1980
F55 1981
F56 1983
47 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines (cont'd)
F57 1984-1985
F58 1986-1987
F59 1989 and [n.d.]
F60 The Dana Reed Prize, 1988
Reed served as a judge for the prize in 1988.
F61 Ford Foundation, 1975-1981
Reed applied for grant.
Freedom Forum, 1991-1993
Publications.
F62 1991-1992 Jun
F63 1992 Sep-1993
F64 Gannett Center for Media Studies, 1987-1992
Publications (continued by Freedom Forum).
F65 The George Kent Award, 1994
Plaque presented by the Gwendolyn Brooks Center, Chicago State University.
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 1956-1986
Reed was awarded at Guggenheim Fellowship for 1975-1976.
F66 Correspondence, 1956-1985
F67 Brochures, 1969-1986
F68 KPFA Staff, 1977-1989
Reed was a member of the staff for drama and literature.
F69 Loft-McKnight Awards, 1987-1988
Reed was a judge for these awards for Minnesota prose writers.
F70 MacArthur Foundation, 1982
Reed was a nominator for the Prize Fellows Program in 1982.
48 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
F71 Morgan State University Alumni, 1994
The Northern California Chapter of the Morgan State University Alumni awarded
Reed a plaque in 1994 "in honor of your outstanding leadership and contributions
to the Arts.
National Endowment for the Arts, 1965-1990
Reed received an NEA grant for 1974-1975.
F72 1965-1974
F73 1975-1977
F74 1978-1990
F75 National Foundation for the Arts and Humanities, 1965-1968
F76 National Geographic Society, 1992
F77 National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1975-1976
Reed won The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award in 1975 for The
Last Days of Louisiana Red.
F78 National Poetry Award, 1985
Member of the awarding board for the National Poetry Award in 1985 (to Robert
Duncan).
F79 New York State Council on the Arts, 1971
P.E.N., 1969-1993
Reed founded the P.E.N. Oakland branch.
F80 Correspondence, 1969-1988
Poster removed to oversize (L).
F81 Grants and awards [lists], 1969-1974
F82 P.E.N. Newsletter, 1972-1985
F83 P.E.N. Oakland, 1990-1993
F84 Poetry in the Schools, 1976
Reed was appointed the State Coordinator of the California Poetry in the Schools
Program in May 1976 and resigned in August 1976.
48 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
F85 Poets and Writers, 1973-1981
Reed is a member. Poets and Writers sponsored Reed's poetry readings in 1980 at
Attica Prison and in New York City.
F86 The Pushcart Press, 1975-1981
Reed received a Pushcart Prize for his essay, "American Poetry: Is There a
Center?" and was a contributing editor.
F87 San Francisco (City and County of), 1990 Mar 17
Certificate of Appreciation to Reed "in recognition of his outstanding literary
accomplishments, 1st Annual Tribute to Bay Area Journalists and Writers."
Removed to oversize.
F88 San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society, [n.d.]
Reed was a guest speaker for a Black History Month Forum.
F89 San Francisco Aids Activism - Literary Committee, [n.d.]
Literary Committee member.
F90 San Francisco Art Commission, 1976
F91 San Francisco Bay Area Book Festival, 1990
Advisory Board member for the festival.
F92 San Francisco Bay Guardian, 1986
Reed judged the "Fiction '86" contest.
F93 Seattle Arts Commission, 1985
Reed was a 1985 juror for the prose/fiction category of the Seattle Art
Commission Individual Artists' Program.
F94 Signet Society, 1988-1989
Reed is an Associate Fellow of the Harvard Signet Society.
F95 South Carolina Arts Commission, 1985
Reed was a 1985 panelist for the commission's Literary Arts Selection Panel.
48 Series VII. Professional activities (cont'd)
Series VII.2. Organizations (cont'd)
F96 There City Cinema, 1986-1989
Founded by Reed to promote multi cultural film, video, and artists of Northern
California.
F97 United States Information Agency, 1986
Reed did presentations for the agency.
F98 University of Michigan - Hopwood Award, 1981
Reed was a judge for the novel division of the 1981 Hopwood Awards.
F99 Whiting Foundation Writers' Program/Awards, 1985
Reed participated in the initial meeting to form the Whiting Writers' Awards in
1985.
F100 Who's Who in America, 1968-1974
F101 Wisconsin Arts Board, 1982
Reed was a juror for the Wisconsin Arts Board 1983 Fellowship Program.
F102 YM-YWCA (New York) - Poetry Center, 1969-1970
F103 Miscellaneous, 1968-1988
Includes brochures, applications, and information regarding grants, fellowships,
arts organizations, and other professional opportunities.
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
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