Curtis White papers
Biographical / Historical note
Born in 1951 in San Lorenzo, California, social critic, essayist, and novelist Curtis White has authored five novels [The Idea Of Home (1992), Anarcho-Hindu (1995), Memories of My Father Watching TV (1998), Requiem (2001), and America's Magic Mountain (2004)], four non-fiction books [Monstrous Possibility (1998), The Middle Mind (2003), The Spirit of Disobedience (2007), The Barbaric Heart:Faith, Money, and the Crisis of Nature (2009)], two collections of short stories [Heretical Songs (1980), and Metaphysics in the Midwest (1988)], four edited/co-edited works, and numerous articles and essays. His work has been widely excerpted and anthologized.
White received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy from the University of San Francisco in 1973, and was a California Scholar from 1969 through 1973. As a Words and Ideas Fellow at The Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars, White received his Masters in English in 1974. White began the English Ph.D. program at University of Iowa in 1975. While there, he worked on his doctoral dissertation with Vance Bourjaily in the Writers Workshop and was a Graduate College Fellow; White received Ph.D. in 1979. Since 1980, White has been a professor of English at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. He has also been the Managing Director of FC2/Black Ice Books Press, Editor of Context, a forum for Literary Arts and Culture, and President of the Center for Book Culture/Dalkey Archive Press. White is married to Georganne Rundblad, author and Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Scope and Contents
The Curtis White Papers consists of 35 boxes and 1 oversize folder of White's personal papers, including 6 boxes of correspondence; 21 boxes of manuscript and printed material by White; 1 box of interviews and works by other authors; 2 boxes of audio/visual material; 1 box of speeches and presentations; and 4 boxes and 1 oversize folder of personal ephemera.
Items of particular interest to researchers include correspondence from well-known writers and editors, including Raymond Federman, Ralph Berry, John Barth, Gilbert Sorrentino, Ronald Sukenick, Fiction Collective, Douglas Messerli, Harold Jaffe, Larry McCaffery, Gerald Vizenor, Charles Bernstein, John O'Brien, Cris Mazza, Eurudice, Paul Auster, Robert Coover, and Andrei Codrescu; manuscripts, typescripts, and printed ephemera from White's essays, short stories, non-fiction works and novels; and numerous audio/visual materials from White's public appearances.
Creator
- White, Curtis, 1951- (Person)
Dates
- Creation: 1818-2009
Language of Materials
English
Extent
34 box(es) (34 boxes and 1 oversized folder)
Access
The Curtis White Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books, Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.
Use
In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased July 2007. New material added in March 2009.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Curtis White Papers, D.368, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Arrangement
Box 1: Correspondence, A – E
Box 2: Correspondence, F – G
Box 3: Correspondence, H – M
Box 4: Correspondence, N – S
Box 5: Correspondence, T – Z and First Name Only
Box 6: Correspondence, Fan Mail & First Name Only
Box 7: Heretical Songs (Short Stories, 1980) and Metaphysics in the Midwest (Short Stories, 1988)
Box 8: The Idea Of Home (Novel, 1992)
Box 9: Anarcho-Hindu (Novel, 1995)
Box 10: Monstrous Possibility (Non-Fiction, 1998)
Box 11-13: Memories of My Father Watching TV (Novel, 1998)
Box 14-15: Requiem (Novel, 2001)
Box 16-17: The Middle Mind (Essay, 2001; Non-Fiction, 2003)
Box 18-19: America's Magic Mountain (Novel, 2004)
Box 20: The Spirit of Disobedience (Non-Fiction, 2007)
Box 21: Unpublished Novels
Box 22: Edited and Co-edited Works
Box 23: Undergraduate and Graduate Writing
Box 24: Essays, 1980 – Present
Box 24A: The Barbaric Heart:Faith, Money, and the Crisis of Nature (Non-Fiction, 2009)
Box 25: Printed Essays, Reviews and Other Ephemera
Box 26: Reviews Written by Curtis White
Box 27: Interviews and Works by Other Authors
Box 28: Audio/Visual Materials
Box 29: Audio/Visual Materials
Box 30: Personal Ephemera, 1965 – 1970
Box 31: Personal Ephemera, 1973 – Present
Box 32: Personal Ephemera – Marion Bowler
Box 33: Personal Ephemera – Miscellaneous
Box 34: Speeches and Presentations
Oversize Folder 1: Personal Ephemera
Subject
- White, Curtis, 1951- (Person)
- Title
- Curtis White papers
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
- Date
- undated
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Library Details
Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library