Jones, L. mss., 1950-1961
Papers of Various at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana
Electronic finding aid encoded by Indiana University
Libraries.
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly
Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly
Creator
Various
TitleJones, L. mss., 1950-1961
Collection No.
LMC 1562
Extent
569 items
(4 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Jones, L. mss., 1950-1961 (principally
1958-1961), consist of the editorial office records of two little magazines,
Yugen, 1958-1961, of which LeRoi Jones and Hettie (Cohen)
Jones were editors, and
The Floating Bear, 1961, of which
Jones and Diane Di Prima were editors. Also included are manuscripts and proofs of
certain books published by the Totem Press.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
LeRoi Jones, 1934-2014, also known as Amiri Baraka, was an African-American writer and
poet. Hettie (Cohen) Jones, 1934- , is an American poet. Diane Di Prima, 1934- , is an
American poet.
Scope and Content Note
The collection has been arranged in three sections:
[1] Correspondence, 1955-1961. This consists in the main of letters to LeRoi Jones and
Diane Di Prima from contributors and others interest in expressing the opinions of the
"beat generation." The letters are basically concerned with matters regarding
contributions, criticism of contemporaries, and descriptions of activities participated
in by various individuals.
Correspondents represented include Daisy Aldan, Donald M. Allen, John Ashbery, James
Baldwin, Bill Berkson, Wallace Berman, Paul Blackburn, Robin Blaser, Raymond Bremser,
William S. Burroughs, Paul Carroll, Bruce Conner, Sidney Corman, Gregory Corso, Robert
Creely, Judson Crews, Edward Dahlberg, Fielding Dawson, Ellis Dorfman, Edward Dorn,
Richard Edson, Larry Eigner, Edmund L. Epstein, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Max Finstein,
John Fles, Allen Ginsberg, Louis Ginsberg, Jack Green, Barbara Guest, Lorraine Hansbury,
Jack Hirschman, Andrew Hoyem, Langston Hughes, Steve Jones, Robert Kelly, John Kerouac,
Kenneth Koch, Seymour Krim, Dale Landers, Alfred Leslie, Denise Levertov, Stephen
Levine, Ron Loewinsohn, Walter Lowenfels, Desmond McCarthy, Michael McClure, William F.
McNaughton, Edward Marshall, David Meltzer, Jack Micheline, John Montgomery, Barbara
Ellen Moraff, Frank O'Hara, Charles Olson, Gil Orlovitz, Rochelle Owens, Ron Padgett,
Stuart Z. Perkoff, John Perreault, Stan Persky, Donald Phelps, Ezra Loomis Pound, Marc
Schleifer, Howard Schulman, Alan Shavzin, Michael Shayer, Gary Snyder, Harriet Sohmers,
Carl Solomon, Gilbert Sorrentino, Raymond Souster, A. B. Spellman, Jack Spicer, George
Stade, George Stanley, David Rafael Wang, James Waring, Jon Edgar Webb, Philip Whalen,
John Wieners, Elias Wilentz, Theodore Wilentz, Johnathan C. Williams, William Carlos
Williams, and Louis Zukofsky.
[2] Mss. of poems and articles submitted for publication in
Yugen and
The Floating Bear and mss. and
proofs of publications of the Totem Press. Authors of manuscripts and writings submitted
for publication in
Yugen and
The
Floating Bear
included are: John Ashbery, Bill Berkson, Paul Blackburn, Robin
Blaser, Raymond Bremser, Harold Briggs, Robert Carlton Brown, William S. Burroughs, Paul
Carroll, Gregory Corso, Robert Creeley, Judson Crews, Fielding Dawson, Fivos Delfis,
Diane Di Prima, Edward Dorn, Russell Edson, Larry Eigner, Charles Farber, Max Finstein,
Allen Ginsberg, Barbara Guest, Bobb Hamilton, Langston Hughes, Thomas Jackrell, LeRoi
Jones, Steve Jones, John Kerouac, Tuli Kupferberg, Denise Levertov, Ron Loewinsohn,
Walter Lowenfels, Michael McClure, William F. McNaughton, Edward Marshall, Mason Jordan
Mason, James Boyer May, David Meltzer, Barbara Ellen Moraff, Frank O'Hara, Charles
Olson, Joel Oppenheimer, Peter Orlovsky, Ron Padgett, Stan Perksy, Thomas Postell, Jr.,
Howard Schulman, Gary Snyder, Carl Solomon, Gilbert Sorrentino, A. B. Spellman, Ben
Spellman, George State, C. Jack Stamm, George Stanley, Philip Whalen, and John
Wieners.
Books published by the Totem Press, for which the mss. are included in the collection
are: Jones, LeRoi.
Preface to a twenty volume suicide
note
(New York, Totem Press, 1961) (galleys included); Kerouac, John.
The scripture of the Golden Eternity (New York, Totem Press,
1960); Loweinsohn, Ron.
Watermelons (New York, Totem
Press, 1959); McClure, Michael.
For Artaud (New York,
Totem Press, 1959); O'Hara, Frank.
Second Avenue (New
York, Totem Press, 1960) (page proofs included); Snyder, Gary.
Myths & Texts (New York, Totem Press, 1960) (page proofs included).
[3] Editorial make-ups and proofs of
Yugen, arranged in
the order of the numbers of the magazine. Included are:
No. 1, 1958. Editorial make-up. Lacks cover, advertising, pp. 22-24, and illustrations.
No. 3, 1958. Editorial make-up. Lacks cover, advertising, and illustrations. Page 24
varies greatly from printed content.
No. 4, 1959. Editorial make-up. Lacks cover, advertising, p. 28, and illustrations.
No. 7, 1961. Galley proofs. Holograph emendations. Lacks cover, contents, advertising,
illustrations, and p. 63.
Unused editorial make-up dated Jan. 1, 1959, 5 pp.
Related Material
See the Jones, L. mss. II, also located at the Lilly Library, Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Purchase: 1961
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however, patrons
from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in advance of their
visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the curator.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Jones, L. mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Container List
Box 1
Correspondence 1955-1961 , n.d.
Box 2
Writings, n. d. A-L
Box 3
Writings, n. d. M-Z
Box 4
Writings, 1950-196-
