Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm95083268
Collection material in English, and French
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of James A. Emanuel, poet and educator, were given to the Library of Congress by Emanuel in 1995 and 1996. In 2006 James A. Emanuel gave the Library of Congress an audio CD of an interview of him. Additional material was given in 2014 by his estate.
The papers of James A. Emanuel were arranged and described in 2000. Additional material received between 2006 and 2014 was processed in 2016.
Sound and video recordings have been transferred to the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of these papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of James A. Emanuel in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further information.
The papers of James A. Emanuel are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, James A. Emanuel Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of James A. Emanuel (1921-2013) span the years 1922-1995, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period between 1960 and 1995. The collection, which focuses on Emanuel's work as a poet and educator, consists of five series: General Correspondence , Writings , Subject File , Addition , and Oversize . Included in the papers are appointment calendars, autobiographical writings, biographical material, correspondence, poems, transcripts of interviews, material relating to poetry festivals and readings, poetry anthologies and collections, subject files, teaching material, textbooks, and writings by others. The collection contains notes in shorthand as well as material in French. Additional papers may be found at the Jay B. Hubbell Center for American Literary Historiography at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
The General Correspondence series consists primarily of letters received and sent from poets, writers, editors, and publishers, most of whom were active in the promotion of African-American literature and culture in the second half of the twentieth century. Correspondents include Houston A. Baker Jr., Robert Bone, Arna Bontemps, Paul Breman Jr., Gwendolyn Brooks, Ralph Ellison, Michel Fabre, Hoyt Fuller, Addison Gayle Jr., Theodore L. Gross, Theodore R. Hudson, Huki R. Madhubuti, Naomi Long Madgett, Robert Mane, Beatrice M. Murphy, Therman B. O'Daniel, Dudley Randall, Anthony Suter, Doug Watson, Joseph Weixlmann, and John A. Williams. Publishing houses and poetry journals are represented by
The Writings series includes writings by Emanuel and those by others. A poetry section among Emanuel's writings contains anthologies, collections, individuals' poems, material relating to poetry festivals and readings, and textbooks on writing poetry. Emanuel's first major editorial project, the publication of a collection of poetry by his mentor, Langston Hughes, is represented by only a small amount of correspondence following the theft of a trunk during the 1970s. Poetry collections by Emanuel represented in the series include
The prose section in the Writings series consists primarily of an anthology, autobiographies, and transcripts of interviews by and with Emanuel. The collaborative work of Emanuel and Theodore L. Gross documented in files labeled
The Subject File includes appointment calendars, biographical material, newspaper and magazine clippings, travel material, and files on African-American poets and writers. Emanuel's tenure as confidential secretary to General Benjamin O. Davis and as staff sergeant in the United States Army during World War II are documented in a military service file. His unsuccessful election campaign in 1966 for a seat on the Board of Education in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1966 is covered in a file by that name containing letters to Robert F. Kennedy revealing Emanuel's suspicions of covert racial harassment and telephone wiretapping during the campaign. Letters in the General Correspondence series to neighbor Ossie Davis in New Rochelle, New York, relate Emanuel's experience as an African American seeking election in a mostly white neighborhood during the mid-1960s. Material relating to teaching chronicles his career at the City College of the City University of New York as well as in Poland and France. Following his first Fulbright professorship in 1968-1969 at the University of Grenoble, Emanuel held two more teaching professorships in France and made numerous extended visits, eventually moving there permanently upon his retirement in 1984.
The Addition spans the years 1938-2013, and is arranged into three groups: general correspondence, writings, and subject file. The majority of the Addition consists of general correspondence with friends, fellow poets and publishers. It also includes photographs and medals he received recognizing his work in the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tannie Award for lifetime achievement, and other accomplishments.
The collection is arranged in five series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm95083268
Letters sent and received with enclosed and related matter.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent, organization, or subject.
Background material, correspondence, notes, drafts, master sheets, and publicity relating to articles, autobiographical writings, book reviews, interviews, poetry anthologies and collections, speeches, textbooks, and writings by others as well as material relating to poetry festivals and readings.
Arranged according to writings by Emanuel and by others and therein alphabetically by type of writing, title, or name of author.
Material relating to African-American poets and writers; appointment calendars; biographical, election campaign, and military service material; newspaper and magazine clippings; a scrapbook; and material relating to teaching and travel.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material, name of organization, or subject and chronologically therein.
Correspondence, broadsides, unpublished materials, photographs, and materials related to his military service in World War II.
Arranged by type of material reflecting established series arrangement.
Publicity for poetry readings certificates, and military service documents.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.