1930 - 1997
Manuscript Collection Number: 488
Accessioned: Gift of Neala Schleuning,
June 2003 - February 2004
Extent: 2.3 linear ft. and 43 audio cassettes,
10 reel to reel tapes, and 2 VHS videotapes
Content: Correspondence, manuscripts,
typescripts, books, journals, periodicals, news clippings, posters, photographs,
art work, audio tapes, videotapes, and ephemera.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: April 2004 by Gerald
Cloud
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Meridel Le Sueur
The American writer Meridel Le Sueur was born on February 22, 1900, in Murray, Iowa; she died November 14, 1996, in Hudson, Wisconsin. As the author of short stories, poems, a novel, articles, essays, and reportage pieces, Le Sueur was a well-known and respected writer of the political left who published in magazines and journals such as American Mercury, Anvil, Dial, New Masses, New Republic, Scribner’s, Story, and Yale Review.
Le Sueur was raised in a climate of social activism: her mother, a college instructor, and her step-father, Arthur Le Sueur, a lawyer and founder of the Industrial Workers of the World, worked to support the socialist ideals that developed in the American Midwest at the beginning of the twentieth century (see Crusaders, Le Sueur’s biography of her parents). The Le Sueur family associated with figures such as Big Bill Haywood, Eugene Debs, Lincoln Steffens, and Emma Goldman; and Meridel’s writing inherited the spirit of the Socialist movement of the 1920s and ’30s. The stories that Le Sueur published at this time — some of which were anthologized in O. Henry Prize Stories and O’Brien Best Stories — reflect her commitment to Midwestern populist values and feminism.
Le Sueur published consistently until 1947 when she was blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In spite of the blacklist Alfred Knopf continued to publish Le Sueur’s children’s books, but sales were not enough to provide her with an income and she turned to teaching as one means of supporting herself. Le Sueur described the post-war years as her “dark time” (Coiner 82-3). The rise of radicalism in the 1960s and the Women’s movement in the 1970s brought revitalized attention to Le Sueur’s work and she continued producing new writing and publishing into her nineties. Much of Le Sueur’s work remains in print.
Neala Schleuning
The American educator and writer Neala Schleuning (a.k.a. Neala Janis Schleuning Yount) received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1978 with a dissertation on the life and work of Meridel Le Sueur. Schleuning’s association with Le Sueur began in 1973 and continued while Schleuning wrote her dissertation and worked with the Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective on the film My People Are My Home (1976). The film is narrated by Le Sueur from a script of her own poetry and prose, and also includes some brief interviews. In the course of her research for both the Film Collective project and her dissertation Schleuning worked directly with Le Sueur, drawing on Le Sueur’s journals and other archival materials. Schleuning remained in contact with Le Sueur until the latter’s death in 1996.
Schleuning taught American history, Women’s Studies, and American Studies, and was involved in higher education administration. She was director of the women’s center at Mankato State University (now known as Minnesota State University, Mankato), and assistant director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. A Fulbright Scholar, she is the author of several books, including America: Song We Sang Without Knowing (1983), Idle Hands and Empty Hearts: Work and Freedom in the United States (1990), Women, Community, and the Hormel Strike of 1985-86 (1994), To Have and to Hold: the Meaning of Ownership in the United States (1997).
Coiner, Constance. Better Red: The Writing and Resistance of Tillie Olson and Meridel Le Sueur. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2000. Reproduced in Biography
Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2001.
http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC
Le Sueur, Meridel. Ripening, Selected works, 1927-1980. Introduction, Elaine Hedges. Old Westbury, NY: The Feminist Press, 1982.
Schleuning, Neala. “Meridel Le Sueur: Toward a New Regionalism.” Books at Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Libraries 33 (November 1980): 22-41.
The Neala Schleuning – Meridel Le Sueur Collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts, published books, journals, periodicals, news clippings, photographs, art work, audio tapes, video tapes, research materials and notes, and ephemera from Schleuning’s research and archival collection, most of which was used toward her 1978 dissertation and subsequent book on the American writer Meridel Le Sueur. Masterial in the collection spans the dates 1930 -1997, comprising 2.3 linear ft. of files, with 43 audio cassettes, 10 reel to reel tapes, and 2 VHS videotapes.
The collection is arranged in five series of material related to Schleuning’s scholarly work and interest in Meridel Le Sueur. Schleuning’s developing friendship with Le Sueur led her to accumulate more materials documenting both Le Sueur’s career and Schleuning’s own interest in Midwestern literature, feminism, and political activism. Schleuning and Le Sueur maintained a correspondence until Le Sueur’s death in 1996 and the collection provides many insights into Le Sueur’s literary interests and activities during the 1970s until the end of her life.
Series I. Neala Schleuning: America: Song We Sang Without Knowing contains a copy of Schleuning’s dissertation and miscellaneous working notes. A copy of America: Song We Sang Without Knowing (1983), the published book resulting from the dissertation, is also included.
Series II. My People Are My Home, includes materials related to the making of a 1976 documentary film by the Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective. The film is narrated by Le Sueur from a script of her own poetry and prose and also includes some brief interviews. Several drafts of the film’s script are included, as well as a VHS video tape of the final film (cf. Series V. F68). Both Schleuning and Le Sueur were members of the collective, and the film was made with Le Sueur’s direct cooperation and input. The multiple drafts of scripts in this series bear autograph notes and corrections and provide an indication of how the project was developed.
Series III. Research / Resources comprises correspondence, audio transcriptions, reviews and news clippings, and ephemera that Schleuning used during her work on Le Sueur. The correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing letters between Le Sueur and Schleuning, revealing the progression of Schleuning’s scholarly work, as well as the growing friendship between the two women. Other correspondence includes Schleuning’s communications with scholars and acquaintances of Le Sueur, such as writer and Anvil editor Jack Conroy, Twin Cities political activist Don Olson, LeSueur’s long-time friend and labor activist Irene Paull (cf. IV.C.2 and IV.C.6 for more on Paull), writer and editor Fred Whitehead, and Paula Zimmering. The audio transcripts in this series correspond to the audio tapes in Series V. The transcripts include interviews and conversations between Le Sueur, Schleuning, and others associated with Le Sueur. The content of the tapes cover Le Sueur’s thoughts on her writing, the culture of rural America, the feminist and socialist movements in America, and the history of social activism from the 1930s-1970s. Schleuning drew from the content of the tapes for her dissertation. The series also includes several posters for readings and appearances by Le Sueur (1977 – 1990). Some of the materials in this series document the revived interest in Le Sueur’s work that took place during the 1970s-1990s.
Series IV. Meridel Le Sueur comprises works composed by Meridel Le Sueur. Included are manuscripts, photocopies of previously published short stories, poems, and essays (many of which have never been reprinted), transcriptions from Le Sueur’s journal, transcriptions of interviews conducted by Le Sueur in the 1930s-1950s with miscellaneous farmers, socialists, and radicals across the Midwest, and published works authored by Le Sueur, including books, broadsides, several small press publications, periodicals, and journals with writings about Le Sueur. Some of the published works have been removed to the general collection. Among the other significant items in this series are excerpts from Le Sueur’s journals, several unpublished works in progress (F47-48), a typescript copy of Le Sueur’s 1930 novel The Girl (F45), and many early short stories and essays copied from old-left journals and other publications.
Series V. Media contains photographs, art works, and audio and video tapes. The series includes over 60 photographs of Le Sueur from the 1970s-1990s and more than 90 archival photographs used in the production of the film My People Are My Home. The art works (in various media) in the series include portraits of Le Sueur. The audio tapes (cassettes and reel-to-reel) contain conversation and interviews with Le Sueur and various friends and associates. The content of the tapes cover Le Sueur’s thoughts on her writing, the culture of rural America, the feminist and socialist movements in America, and the history of social activism from the 1930s-1970s (some of these tapes are transcribed in Series III.). Two video tapes are also included in the series: the documentary film My People Are My Home and an interview conducted with Le Sueur in 1988.
Ms 409 Meridel Le Sueur Papers
Neala Schleuning Poster Collection
I. Neala Schleuning: America: Song We Sang Without Knowing II. My People Are My Home (film) III. Research / Resources IV. Meridel Le Sueur V. Media
Box -- Folder -- Contents
I. Neala Schleuning: America: Song We Sang Without Knowing
1 F1 Miscellaneous notes from thesis draft, n.d.
Typescript and carbons with autograph notes in NS’s
hand for her dissertation at the University of
Minnesota.
F2 America: Song We Sang Without Knowing, 1978
Dissertation for NS’s doctoral degree at the University
of Minnesota.
F3 America: Song We Sang Without Knowing, 1983
Mankato, MN: Little Red Hen Press. The published book
resulting from NS’s dissertation.
II. My People Are My Home
F4 Filmscripts, n.d.
Typescript, typescript copy, and carbons of the script
for a documentary on MLS, by the Twin Cities Women’s
Film Collective (of which MLS was a member). Includes
multiple drafts, notes, and fragments with autograph
corrections in various hands. The script for this film
was narrated by MLS and composed of her published
writings. A copy of the video tape can be found in
Series V. of this collection.
F5 Filmscript, n.d.
Fragments and notes for the final script.
F6 Promotional Ephemera
Includes a brochure from Femme Films, Inc. advertising
the film, a Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective flyer,
an advertisement for VHS sales, and a news clipping
from the Minneapolis Star reviewing the film.
III. Research / Resources
Correspondence between Meridel Le Sueur and Neala
Schleuning
F7 1973 – 1984
n.d. TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
“dearest Neala it was good…”
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest Neala | well it was great…”
1973 Fall TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1975 Jan 7 TL(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1975 July 24 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
n.d., autograph note in an unknown hand concerning MLS
film project(?)
1975 Sep 14 TL 1 p NS to MLS
1975 Dec 10 TL(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1975 Dec 16 TLS 1 p MLS to NS
1975 Dec 19 TL(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
n.d., “the morning in the sun…” typed note by MLS(?)
[1976] TLS 1 pMLS to Robbie and Henry Yount
1976 Jan 13 TLS 3 pp MLS to NS
1976 Jan 15 TL(c) 3 pp NS to MLS
1976 Jan 31 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1976 Feb 14 TL(c) 5 pp NS to MLS
1976 [Feb 15] TLS 3 pp MLS to NS
1976 Feb 21 TL(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1976 [Feb 23] TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1976 Mar 19 TN 1 pNS’s notes from conversation w/ MLS
1976 Jul 29 TL(c) 3 pp NS to MLS
n.d., Typescript poem “Women of Summer Pipe” signed by MLS
1976 Aug 9 TLS(x) 3 pp MLS to [Film Collective]
1976 Aug 9 TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1976 Aug 18 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1976 Aug 18 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1977 May 27 TL 1 pNS note to self concerning MLS
1977 [May 25] ACS 1 card MLS to the Younts
1977 June 2 ALS 2 pp w/ envelope MLS to NS
1977 July 9 ALS 2 pp w/ envelope MLS to the Younts
n.d. TLS(x) 4 pp MLS to [Film Collective]
“Dear Women | it is good birth…”
1977 Dec 4-17 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest Neala | Your ideas are getting…”
1978 [Jan] TLS 1 p MLS to NS
1978 Jan 5 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1978 [Mar] ALS 1 p MLS to NS
1978 Mar 20 TL(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1978 Aug 8 TL(c) 2 ppMLS to Mankato Women’s Center
MLS’s letter of recommendation for NS including 1
p draft with autograph notes in MLS’s hand.
1978 Sep 10 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
n.d. ALS 2 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala, | I think I am…”
1978 [Oct] TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1978 Oct 30 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1978 Dec 24 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
n.d. ALS 2 pp MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala…” on pink paper
n.d. TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
“dearest neala.. | under separate cover sending
you…”
1979 Feb 13 TL(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1979 [Mar] TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1979 Mar 24 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1979 Apr 10 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
n.d. AN, 1 p in MLS’s hand, “Good to see a
Woman…”
n.d. ALS 2pp MLS to NS
“Neala— | Thank you for the…”
n.d. ALS 1 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala | Rachel told me…”
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala.. | well I did it all…”
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest Neala / | Good to get your generous
report…”
1980 Sep ACS 1 card (“Driver of Oxen”)MLS to NS
n.d. ALS 1 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala, | Had a wonderful…”
1980 ALS 2 pp MLS to NS
Includes an envelope fragment with MLS’s return
address in Tucson, AZ.
1980 AN 1 p MLS to NS
Written on the back of The Woman’s Building
application form.
[1982] ALS 2 pp MLS to NS
n.d. ANS 1 p MLS to ?
“Here I go off [to] NY…
1982 [Oct 7] TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1982 Nov 16 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest neala is it possible…”
News clipping. “Feminist Radical is Survivor.” Los
Angeles Times 6 Nov 1981: V6+.
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala.. | I listenedin [sic] on that…”
1983 Sep 27 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1983 Aug 15 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1983 Sep 20 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1983 Oct 18 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 Jan 15 TLS(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
1984 Jan 20 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 Feb 27 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 Mar 3 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1984 Mar 14 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 Apr 2 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 May 31 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 July 9 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1984 July 21 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1984 July 31 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
n.d. TL 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest Neala.. I have been struggling with…”
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“Dearest Neala.. | I still see a fire burning…”
1984 Nov 28 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
F8 1985 – 1994
1985 Dec 13 ALS 2 pp Rachel Tilsen-Le Sueur
Kat Scan Newsletters, “1985” and “# 2.”
1985 Mar 7 TL(c) 2 pp NS to MLS
n.d., typescript poem / letter with autograph note,
from [MLS], unsigned.
1985 May 2 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1985 May 20 TL(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1985 June 25 typescript draft of an essay on MLS
n.d. ALS 2 pp MLS to [NS]
“Sorry I missed the…”
n.d. AL 1 p MLS to [NS]
“Go here and take…”
1985 Jul 31 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1985 Aug 12 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1985 Aug 15 TL(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1985 Sep 15 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1985 Oct 31 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1985 Dec 10 TL(c) 2 p NS to MLS
1986 Nov 11 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest Neala | it was kind of you…” Verso
includes two poems: “Family Man: One and Two.”
Also includes typescript carbon of the poem “High
on the Hog, Hog on a High,” signed by MLS.
1987 Jan 10 TL(c) 1 p NS to MLS
1987 Jan 11 TCS 1 card MLS to NS
1987 Mar 31 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“yes Id like to go…”
1987 May 18 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1987 Jun 17 TL 1 p NS to MLS
1987 Jul 8 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1987 Jul 16 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest neala well you certainly…”
1988 Feb 26 TLS(c) 1 p NS to MLS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest neala Im amazed at the womens thing…”
n.d. TLS(x) 1 p NS to MLS
“Dearest Meridel, | We’re really a pair!...”
1989 Jan 31 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
n.d. TL 2 pp NS to MLS
“Dearest Meridel, | Got your note today…”
n.d. TLS(c) 1 p MLS to NS
1989 Mar 28 ACS 1 card MLS to NS
1989 July 6 TL 1 p w/ envelope MLS to NS
1990 Feb 3 TL 1 p NS to MLS
Includes a flyer from the Minnesota Historical
Society for “Meridel Le Sueur: A Witness to
Minnesota History” and a TLS from Claire McInerney
of the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul,
Minnesota, concerning various projects related to
MLS.
1990 Nov 27 TLS 2 pp MLS to NS
1991 Apr TL 2 pp NS to MLS
n.d. TLS 1 p MLS to NS
“dearest poor neala | im damned glad…”
n.d. ALS 1 p MLS to NS
Written on the verso of a flyer for MLS’s
ninetieth birthday celebration, “Songs for Our
Time,” Orpheum Theatre, 17 Feb 1990, Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
1991 June 17 TLS 3 pp MLS to NS
1991 June 18 TL 3 pp NS to MLS
1991 Oct 20 TL 2 pp NS to MLS
1994 Feb 5 ALS 1 p MLS to NS
Autograph note signed “Meridel” and “Rachel” on
the verso of a broadside containing MLS’s poem
“Arise!”
Transcripts made by NS of letters received, various
dates, 5 pp
1 F9 Correspondence, 1974 – 1987
Includes 21 incoming letters to NS and 13 carbons of
her outgoing letters. Correspondents include writer
and Anvil editor Jack Conroy, Twin Cities political
activist Don Olson, MLS’s long-time friend and labor
activist Irene Paull (cf. IV.C.2 and IV.C.6 for more on
Paull), writer and editor Fred Whitehead, Paula
Zimmering (cf. T17), and various academics.
Audio Transcripts
“T” numbers refer to Tape numbers assigned by
Schleuning. See America, pp. 162-163. See Series V.
for audio recordings.
F10 T1 Baker, Mike. Interview 1974
Typescript, 5 pp
F11 T4(?) “Love of the Land”
Typescript with autograph notes, 7 pp / fragments.
F12 T5 Chrysalis Women’s Center, 1974
Typescript with autograph notes, 5 pp
F13 T8 Le Sueur, Meridel, Bill Maxine, and Mary Maxine.
Conversations, July 27, 1976
Typescript with autograph notes, 3 fragments
F14 T9 Le Sueur, Meridel, Rachel Tilsen and Neala
Schleuning. Conversations, September 1976.
Typescript with autograph notes, approx. 15 pp
(including fragments).
F15 T10 Le Sueur, Meridel, John Crawford, Jim Dochniak,
and Neala Schleuning. Conversations, October 11, 1976.
Typescript with autograph notes, 4 fragments.
F16 T13 Script meeting, Twin Cities Women’s Film
Collective.
Typescript with autograph notes, 8 pp.
F17 [T14 (?)] “Film Collective”
Typescript with autograph notes, 21 pp.
F18 T17 Zimmering, Paula. Interview June 29, 1976
Typescript, 5 pp.
F19 T18 Le Sueur, Meridel, Jim D[ochniak], and Neala
Schleuning. June 10, 1977
Typescript with autograph notes, 2 pp.
F20 T19 Le Sueur, Meridel. Unitarian Society, October 24, 1976
Autograph notes from MLS’s speech, 5 pp. Includes Order
of Service from the First Unitarian Society of
Minneapolis.
F21 “History Tapes”
Typescript and autograph notes, fragments.
F22 Interview with MLS
Typescript, 17 pp
F23 Fragments and Notes
Typescripts and autograph notes from conversations and
interviews with MLS, some of which overlap with other
tape transcripts, but have been conserved here in their
original order, 30 pp, with fragments and eight 5x7
index cards with typed notes.
Miscellaneous notes, transcriptions, and ephemera
F24 Published and unpublished resources related to MLS
Typescript copies, transcripts, and autograph notes
from letters, news articles, and NS’s working notes, 8
pp with fragments.
F25 The People’s College Catalog, 1915
Fort Scott, Kansas
Includes a mention of MLS’s step-father, Arthur Le
Sueur, Dean of the Law department, p 24. Photocopy.
F26 Ephemera, 1977 – 1983
News clippings, publisher’s newsletters, flyer
Includes news clippings from the late 1970s-early
1980s; West End Press catalog and newsletters: 1.5
(1977) and 3.2 (1981); Holy Cow! Press title list;
Midwest Villages & Voices newsletter (1.1, Sp 1986); a
flyer from the Feminist Press for Ripenings, Selected
Works 1927-1980, a flyer for a reading October 1, 1977
at the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (Minneapolis),
and other readings and appearances by MLS.
III. Research / Resources
F27 Honors, 1980 – 1992
News clippings, correspondence, invitations to MLS
birthday celebrations, programs related to awards and
events honoring MLS, including a program for a concert
in honor of MLS, “Earth Mass,” by the Paul Winter
Consort, April 14, 1984, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis,
MN., featuring MLS.
F28 Meridel Le Sueur’s ninetieth birthday, 1990
Including flyer and program for “Songs for Our Time,”
Orpheum Theatre, 17 Feb 1990, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
correspondence, and news clippings related to MLS’s
ninetieth birthday.
F29 Reviews, articles, and news clippings, [1931] – 2003
Articles related to MLS’s writings and career from
various sources, including newspapers, journals, and
periodicals. Includes NS’s transcriptions from reviews
and news articles, dated 1931 – 1947, and unpublished
essays written by graduate students.
F30 Miscellaneous items related to Meridel Le Sueur, 1978–1988
Includes NEH grant proposal for a biographical radio
series on MLS, 1988; Ripenings, a play by Phyllis
MacDougal for Molly Culligan based on the writings of
MLS, n.d. (poster removed to Oversized); two flyers for
“Hurt of the Daughters, based on the novel, The Girl by
Meridel Le Sueur” [1978], Cherry Creek Theatre, St.
Peter, MN; Minnesota Women Calendar, 1984 (two items).
F31 Posters, 1977 – 1990
Film listings for New Projections, Twin Cities Women’s
Film Collective, Minneapolis Public Library, featuring
My People Are My Home; MLS lecture at Rochester
Community College, November 22, 1977 (cf. T28);
“Meridel Le Sueur Day,” September 27, 1982 (two
copies); “Our Hidden Heritage of People’s Culture, a
Conference,” Wichita Sate University, n.d.; “Songs for
Our Time,” Orpheum Theatre, 17 Feb 1990, Minneapolis,
Minnesota (five copies); Excerpts from “The Origins of
Corn,” by MLS, five-color letter press broadside with
four poems, n.d. (cf. IV.B.7); “Meridel Le Sueur, the
Iowa Tour,” n.d.
IV. Meridel Le Sueur
Items with “*” have been removed from the collection
and cataloged in Special Collections. Search DELCAT
for call number locations.
1
A. Works by Meridel Le Sueur (published)
*1. Annunciation. Los Angeles: The Platen Press,
1935. Number 466 of 500 copies, signed by Meridel
Le Sueur.
*2. Arise! Minneapolis: Midwest Villages & Voices,
1990. Broadside poem printed in commemoration of
Meridel Le Sueur’s 90th birthday, February 22,
1990.
*3. Crusaders. New York, Blue Heron Press 1955.
*4. Harvest. Cambridge, MA.: West End Press, 1977.
*5. Little Brother of the Wilderness: the Story of
Johnny Appleseed. Duluth, MN: Holy Cow! Press,
1997.
*6. North Star Country. NY: Duell, Sloane, and
Pearce, 1945. First edition. Paul Bunyan edition,
signed by Meridel Le Sueur. Inscribed to –
emaine[?] McDowell
F32 7. Rites of Ancient Ripening. Minneapolis:
Vanilla Press, 1975. Illustrations by Deborah Le
Sueur. (2d copy in Special Collections)
*8. Salute to Spring. NY: International Publishers,
1940. First edition. Includes Farmers Insurance
Group business card of Bill Hansen laid in.
*9. Surround of Rainbows. [Vashon Island, Wash.]:
Laughing Dog Press, [1974]. Inscribed by Meridel
Le Sueur to Neala Schleuning.
*10. The Gospel of the Sow. Aberdeen, WA: Ten Crow
Press, 1980
*11. Winter Prairie Woman. Minneapolis: Midwest
Villages & Voices, 1990.
*12. Women on the Breadlines. Cambridge, MA: West End
Press, 1977.
*13. Word is Movement: Journal Notes; Atlanta, Tulsa,
Wounded Knee. Tulsa, OK: Cardinal Press, 1984.
Inscribed by Meridel Le Sueur.
B. Including Works by Meridel Le Sueur
F33 1. “Demeter’s Weeping Stone.” Moons and Lion
Tailes 2, 1 (1976). Includes a review of Rites of
Ancient Ripening.
F34 2. “Hold Out Your Hands” and “Interview.” West
End: Midwest People’s Culture Anthology Issue 5, 1
(Summer 1978).
*3. “People are the Story.” The People Together: One
Hundred Years of Minnesota, 1858 – 1958.
Minneapolis: People’s Centennial Book Committee,
1958.
*4. “Proletarian Literature and the Middle West.”
American Writers’ Conference. Hart, Henry, ed.
New York: International Publishers, 1935.
F35 5. “Struck to Ash Struck to Fire.” Great River
Review 2, 1 (1979).
F36 6. “Surround a Round.” Ripenings (1987): 26. Two
copies, one of which is inscribed by Meridel Le
Sueur.
1 F37 7. “The Origins of Corn.” New America 2, 3
(Summer, Fall 1976).
*8. Foreward [sic]. Of Birds and Factories. by Sue
Doro. Milwaukee: Peoples’ Books and Crafts, 1983.
F38 9. Minnesota Writes: a Collection of
Autobiographical Stories by Minnesota Prose
Writers. Richards, Carmen Nelson, ed.; Breen,
Genevieve Rose. Minneapolis: Lund Press, 1945.
MLS contributor.
C. Works about Meridel Le Sueur
*1. Coiner, Constance. Better Red: the Writing and
Resistance of Tillie Olsen and Meridel Le Sueur.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
F39 2. Ellis, Gayla Wadnizak. Every Woman has a
Story, a Collection by Gayla Wadnizak Ellis.
Minneapolis, MN: Gayla Wadnizak Ellis, 1982.
2 F40 3. Frontiers, a Journal of Women Studies IX, 2 (1987).
F41 4. Halpert, Stephen and Richard Johns, ed. A
Return to Pagany: the History, Correspondence, and
Selections from a Little Magazine, 1929 – 1932.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1969.
*5. McAnally, Mary, ed. We Sing Our Struggle a Tribute
to Us All for Meridel Le Sueur. Tulsa, OK:
Cardinal Press, 1982.
F42 6. Ross, Carl. Radicalism in Minnesota 1900-
1960, a Survey of Selected Sources. St. Paul:
Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1994.
F43 7. Schleuning, Neala. “Meridel Le Sueur: Toward
a New Regionalism.” Books at Iowa. Iowa City:
University of Iowa Libraries 33 (November 1980):
22-41.
D. Periodicals related to / about Meridel Le Sueur
(listed in chronological order)
F44 1. Hampl, Patricia. “Meridel Le Sueur, Voice of
the Prairie.” Ms. Aug 1975: 62+.
2. Roth, Martha. “Evil is the Only Thing That Dies.”
Hurricane Alice, a Feminist Review 3.1 (Fall
1980): 9.
3. “Interview.” Big Mama Rag June 1983: 8-9+.
4. Ohmans, Patricia with Earl Nurmi. “Interview.”
City Pages 31 Aug 1983: 5+.
5. Schleuning, Neala. “Plains Daughter.” MPIRG
Summer 1986: 11.
6. Darling, Sharen. “We must find how…” Minnesota
Women’s Press 26 May-8 June 1987: 1+.
7. Gage, Amy. “The Insistent Voice.” Minnesota
Monthly 22.3 (March 1988): 24+. (two copies)
8. “A Celebration of Meridel Le Sueur.”
Hurricane Alice, a Feminist Review 5.3 (Summer
1988).
9. Jeffrey, Susu. “Fire in the Heartland.” Northern
Sun News Jan-Feb 1990: 4-5.
10. CLA Today, College of Liberal Arts, University of
Minnesota, Fall 1992: 1.
11. Special issue dedicated to MLS. People’s Culture
34 (1996). Includes correspondence from the
editor Fred Whitehead to NS concerning MLS
(removed to Correspondence F9).
E. Le Sueur Manuscripts
F45 The Girl, 1930
Typescript copy with Le Sueur’s corrections and
annotations. Pagination: 1-37 [1] 38-155 158-207 [1]
208-210 207-240 [=244 pp]
F46 “Hossanah! The corn reached total zenith in crested
and entire August,” n.d.
Typescript copy, 11 pp.
F47 Memorial Day, n.d.
Typescript copy of a work in progress, 14 pp
F48 Works in progress, n.d.
Typescript copies and carbons with autograph
corrections. According to Neala Schleuning’s note the
drafts include “Meridel’s work-in-progress in the
[19]80s-[19]90s… unsorted, but pages numbered. [H]er
‘nounless’ novel… may also include typed up journal
entries…” 55 pp.
IV. Meridel Le Sueur (Miscellaneous items)
Journal Transcriptions
F49 Meridel Le Sueur Journal entries, n.d.
Typescript copies and transcriptions from MLS’s
journals made by Film Collective members in early
research for the film My People Are My Home. The
transcriptions are in some cases typed copies and in
other cases photocopies. The original journals are
held by the Minnesota Historical Society.
Interview Transcriptions
Meridel Le Sueur interviews, 1930s – 1950s
Typescript copies and transcriptions from audio tape
interviews conducted by MLS with miscellaneous farmers,
socialists, and radicals across the Midwest, some of
whom are specifically identified. The tapes associated
with these interviews, held by the Minnesota Historical
Society, are not contained within the collection, with
the possible exception of the Madge Hawkins interview
(cf. T27).
F50 Part 1
F51 Part 2
Short stories and essays (most never reprinted)
F52 “Pale Children.” Daily Worker 25 Jan 19??
“The Sleepwalkers.” The New Republic 2 Aug 1933: 313-
14.
“The Way it Seems.” The Dubuque Dial 1 (1934): 22-24.
“People in the Heat.” The Dubuque Dial 2 (1934) 41-42.
“Alone in Chicago.” The Anvil March-April 1934: 5-7.
“Murder in Minneapolis.” New Masses 7 Aug 1934: 12-13.
“Join Hand and Brain.” New Masses 9 July 1934: 25
“Christmas and the Child.” The Parents Magazine
December 1934: 16-17+.
“The Orchard.” Manuscript 1.6 (December 1934): 70-75.
“Proletarian Literature and the Middle West.” American
Writers’ Congress. Ed. Henry Hart. NY: International
Publishers, 1935. 135-38.
“My Town.” The New Republic 25 Sep 1935: 175-78.
“Minneapolis Counts Its Victims.” New Masses 1 Oct
1935: 12-15.
“The People Demand.” New Masses 24 Dec 1935: 14-15.
“Farmers Face a Crisis.” New Masses 1936: 9-10.
“Midwest Writers’ Conference.” Pacific Weekly 16 Nov
1936: 324.
“Benson of Minnesota: the Farmer-Labor Party Faces
Elections,” New Masses 6 Sep 1938: 8-10.
“Sure, Honey!” The New Anvil June-July, 1939: 5-8.
“This is from David.” Story 17 (1940): 91-101.
“I’m Going, I Said…” New Masses 9 Jan 1940: 17-18.
“Milk Went Up Two Cents.” Black and White 2.3 (March
1940): 26-29.
“The Derned Crick’s Rose.” New Masses 18 Feb 1941: 37-
38
“Home Was a Million Streets.” New Masses 8 Apr 1941:
18.
“The Story of Dan Garrison.” New Masses 6 Jan 1942: 12-
13.
“We’ll Make Your Bed.” New Masses 7 May 1946: 6-10.
“Sweet Beulah Land.” Collier’s 5 Oct 1946: 79-82.
“Iron Country.” Masses & Mainstream 2.3 (March 1949):
53-60
“The Root.” California Quarterly 4.1 (1954): 32-37.
“A night in the Woods.” Masses & Mainstreams December
1955: 26-36.
“Red Party Line is Catch Line in New Abe Lincoln Book.”
Milwaukee Sentinel 28 Nov 1954. Typescript copy of the
article.
“Saga of the Steel Mills.” Mainstream 14.10 (Oct 1961):
37-44.
“Spring Came on Forever.” Plain Song 1 (Spring 1967): 5-
17.
“I am the Meadow,” 1978
Sheet music (copy), words by MLS, music by Agnes Smuda.
“A Comet, a Child; a Comet, a Woman.” Minneapolis
Star and Tribune Sunday Magazine 24 Nov 1985: 8-13.
“They Want You to Perfume the Sewers.” Cultural
Democracy 36 (Sum 1988): 3-4. See F55 for original
artwork from the magazine’s cover.
“Tradesman La Salle.” ??? pp 33-57.
“Xmas Tree.” The Windsor Quarterly. 146-53.
Poems
F53 “Corridos of Love.” Mainstream 15.6 (June 1962): 23-25.
“The Dance of St. Paul, Then and Now and Yet.” n.d.
Typescript copy, 2 pp.
“From the Furrow.” Masses and Mainstream 4.3 (Mar
1951): 35-38.
“A Memorial by Meridel Le Sueur,” n.d.
Typescript copy, 6 pp.
Poem appears as part of an eulogy for Margie Baker by
Mildred Ptashne of the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom and Irving Nudell, for the staff of
the Jewish Family and Children’s Service.
“Nests.” n.d.
Typescript copy, 1 p.
“Poem for Elizabeth.” Mainstream 16.5 (May 1963): 32-
34.
“Put on your best buckskin…” n.d.
Typescript carbon
“Spring Out of Jerusalem.” Scribner’s Magazine Apr
1933: 234.
“Women of Summer Ripe.” Written for the Women’s Film
Collective, July 1976
Typescript copy, 1 p.
V. Media
Photographs and Artwork
2 F54 Photographs
25 Black and white photographs and 38 color photographs
of Le Sueur circa 1980s-1990s, including some
photographic negatives and color slides.
F55 Artwork
Artwork includes camera ready art for the cover of
Cultural Democracy 36 (Sum 1988); a silver silk-screen
print; two graphite portraits (copies) by Charles
Waterman, a Minnesota poet; and a photocopy of a
drawing by Tecla for Le Sueur’s Women on the Breadlines
(a copy of which is contained in the collection),
inscribed by Tecla.
3 F56 Archival Photographs
94 Black and white photographs used in the making of
the film My People Are My Home, with production notes
and crop marks. Reproduced from originals held by the
Minnesota Historical Society.
Mounted on paper 10.5 x 12.5 inches; housed in a
separate box.
Audio Tapes Note: All audio recordings housed
separately.
4 F57 Audio cassettes (43 tapes) -- “T” numbers refer to
Tape numbers assigned by Schleuning. See America, pp.
162-163. See Folders 10 – 23 for transcripts.
T1 Baker, Mike. Interview 1974
T2 Le Sueur, Devorah [Deborah]. On Meridel.
T3 Le Sueur, Meridel. Interview, October 25, 1974
T4 Le Sueur, Meridel. Interview on “Land,” June
11, 15, 1977
T5 MISSING [Chrysalis Women’s Center, 1974]
T6 Le Sueur, Meridel. Poetry reading, Neuman
Center May 22, 1976
T7 Le Sueur, Meridel. Poetry reading and
discussion, Marxist Club, University of
Minnesota, March 2, 1977
T8 Le Sueur, Meridel, Bill Maxine, and Mary
Maxine. Conversations, July 27, 1976. Two
tapes.
T9 Le Sueur, Meridel, Rachel Tilsen and Neala
Schleuning. Conversations, September 1976.
Three tapes.
T10 Le Sueur, Meridel, John Crawford, Jim Dochniak,
and Neala Schleuning. Conversations, October
11, 1976. Two tapes.
T11 Le Sueur, Meridel and others. Meetings on
North Star Country, from May 29, June 1, June
12, 1977. Four tapes.
T12 MISSING [Marvy, Darlene Interview, September
1976]
T13 Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective. Meeting.
Meridel and others, 1975. Three tapes.
T14 Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective. Meeting.
Meridel and others, September 25, 1975. Two
tapes.
T15 Twin Cities Women’s Film Collective.
Meeting. Meridel and others, March 1976
T16 MISSING
T17 Zimmering, Paula. Interview June 29, 1976
T18 Le Sueur, Meridel, Jim D[ochniak], and Neala
Schleuning. June 10, 1977
T19 Le Sueur, Meridel. Unitarian Society, October
24, 1976
T20 People, Pride, and Politics: Building the North
Star Country. Three tapes.
T21 Soundtrack, My People Are My Home. Two tapes.
T22 Fierce for Change: a Portrait of Meridel Le Sueur.
Produced by Adina Back. Readings by Bridget Cleary
and original music by Dave Patchkey. [ [
Available April 2004 from
http://soundprint.org/radio/display_show/ID/54/nam
e/Fierce+for+Change%3A+Meridel+Le+Sueur ]
T23 Tribute to Neruda. November 19, 1973, Minnesota
Public Radio
T24 Le Sueur, Meridel, Patrick, Ralph, and Neala.
September 1975
T25 Le Sueur, Meridel, Bill Hinkley, and Suzy
Larson. Chautuaqua, October 29, 1975.
T26 Le Sueur, Meridel. Sound on, November 1975
T27 Hawkins, Madge. January 23, 1976
T28 Le Sueur, Meridel. Rochester [Community
College], November 22, 1977
T29 Voice of Meridel Le Sueur. Minnesota Public
Radio, July 5, 1993
T30 Meridel Sings IWW Songs, Old PHC (Marcie’s
Albums), n.d.
T31 Le Sueur, Meridel. Millville, MN, n.d.
T32 M[eridel]—Women’s History, n.d.
T33 Le Sueur, Meridel. Poetry Reading
Audio Tapes
Reel-to-Reel recordings (9 7-inch reels, 1 5-inch reel)
5
F58 T34 “Meridel YWCA Sound On Poetry Reading”
F59 T35 “Adina Back – Dub Meridel Le Sueur
(soundtrack/film)” [Fierce for Change: a Portrait of
Meridel Le Sueur ?] cf. T22
F60 T36 “Cont. Woman – Meridel S/On – 1973”
F61 T37 “Meridel Le Sueur – Soundtrack Dub” 1 of 2
F62 T38 “Meridel Le Sueur – Soundtrack Dub” 2 of 2
F63 T39 “Final Copy 1-4” (w/ Neala Schleuning return
address)
F64 T40 “Final Copy 5-8” (w/ Neala Schleuning return
address)
F65 T41 “Meridel #5”
F66 T42 “Meridel #6”
F67 T43 “Meridel #7”
Video Tapes VHS (2 tapes)
F68 My People Are My Home, 1976
VHS video tape. Femme Films, Twin Cities Women’s Film
Collective.
F69 “Meridel Leseur [sic],” 1988
VHS video tape. Filmed interview with MLS, recorded 8
Feb 1988.
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