ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT RECORDS,
UND WRITER'S CONFERENCE

COLLECTION: UA #92

DATES: 1969-1990, 1992, 1996

SIZE:1.75 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The English Department records of the Annual Writers Conference were photocopied from the originals in August, 1998. The originals remained in the possession of John Little, Professor Emeritus.

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

RELATED MATERIALS: Videotaped sessions of all Writer's Conferences beginning with the 1974 conference are available for viewing in Special Collections.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

In the spring of 1970, Professor John Little organized a Writer's Conference using the theme of "Southern Writers." He invited seven authors to travel to the University of North Dakota to participate in readings and panel discussions with UND students. After viewing the success of the conference, the English Department, along with Professor Little, decided to make the Writer's Conference an annual event.

Over the years, the UND Writer's Conference has been greatly acclaimed by many in the writing and education professions and has attracted such noted authors as Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, and Alex Haley. Professor Little organized the conference for 21 years, with the exception of the 1985 conference. This one was organized by Dan Eades while Professor Little was on leave. The 1991-1993 conferences were jointly directed by Jay Meek and Bob King, while Mr. King organized the next two conferences independently. He was succeeded by Professor James McKenzie in 1996.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The University of North Dakota English Department's records of the Annual Writer's Conference span the dates of 1969-1996. The bulk of the collection documents the first twenty conferences (1970-1989), which were organized by Professor John Little. Additional files include some correspondence on the twenty-first conference (1990) and some student papers on the twenty- third conference (1992). Materials are separated by individual Writer's Conference and arranged chronologically. General files contain correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, notes, and financial statements that document each conference, including the selection of conference themes and participating authors and subsequent media coverage. Files on individual authors contain correspondence between John Little and the authors and/or their literary agents. Contracts, biographies, and samples of author's work are often included in these files as well. The nineteenth writers conference (1989) was planned in conjunction with a campus-wide Native American Week, and one file documents this event. Two files relate to Little's 1996 developmental leave project, which partially involved cataloging and describing videotaped Writer's Conference sessions, housed in the Special Collections Department of UND's Chester Fritz Library. The first two files of the collection contain biographical information on John Little and a list of the first fourteen writers conferences. These lists note conference themes and participating authors.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

  1. John Little Personal/Biographical(1972,1998, undated)
  2. List of Writer's Conferences; Checklist for Poet's Visits, (undated)
  3. 1st Conference: General, (1969-1970)
  4. 1st Conference: William Anderson, (1969-1970)
  5. 1st Conference: John Carr, (1969-1970)
  6. 1st Conference: Fred Chappell, (1969-1970)
  7. 1st Conference: Jesse Hill Ford, (1969-1970)
  8. 1st Conference: George Garrett, (1969-1970)
  9. 1st Conference: Peter Taylor, (1969-1970)
  10. 1st Conference: Jim Whitehead, (1969-1970)
  11. 2nd Conference: General, (1970-1971)
  12. 2nd Conference: Dave Evans, (1970-1971)
  13. 2nd Conference: Roland Flint, (1970-1971)
  14. 2nd Conference: Lois Phillips Hudson, (1970-1971)
  15. 2nd Conference: Richard Lyons, (1970-1971)
  16. 2nd Conference: Thomas McGrath, (1970-1971)
  17. 2nd Conference: John Milton, (1970-1971)
  18. 2nd Conference: Antony Oldknow, (1970-1971)
  19. 3rd Conference: General, (1971-1972)
  20. 4th Conference: General, (1972-1973)
  21. 4th Conference: Gwendolyn Brooks, (1972-1973)
  22. 4th Conference: Carolyn Kizer, (1972-1973)
  23. 4th Conference: Myrna Lamb, (1972-1973)
  24. 4th Conference: Mary McCarthy, (1972-1973)
  25. 4th Conference: Diane Wakoski, (1972-1973)
  26. 4th Conference: Sylvia Wilkinson, (1972-1973)
  27. 5th Conference: General, (1973-1974)
  28. 5th Conference: Transcripts, (1973-1974)
  29. 5th Conference: Gregory Corso, (1973-1974)
  30. 5th Conference: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, (1973-1974)
  31. 5th Conference: Allen Ginsberg, (1973-1974)
  32. 5th Conference: Michael McClure, (1973-1974)
  33. 5th Conference: Kenneth Rexroth, (1973-1974)
  34. 5th Conference: Charles Rothschild (agent for Ginsberg, Orlovsky, and McClure), (1973-1974)
  35. 5th Conference: Gary Snyder, (1973-1974)
  36. 6th Conference: General, (1974-1975)
  37. 6th Conference: Transcripts, (1974-1975)
  38. 6th Conference: Short Story-Author Unknown, (1974-1975)
  39. 6th Conference: John Barth, (1974-1975)
  40. 6th Conference: Wendell Berry, (1974-1975)
  41. 6th Conference: William Gass, (1974-1975)
  42. 6th Conference: Ken Kesey, (1974-1975)
  43. 6th Conference: N. Scott Momaday, (1974-1975)
  44. 6th Conference: Tshmael Reed, (1974-1975)
  45. 6th Conference: Alice Walker, (1974-1975)
  46. 7th Conference: General, (1975-1976)
  47. 7th Conference: Truman Capote, (1975-1976)
  48. 7th Conference: Ed McClanahan, (1975-1976)
  49. 7th Conference: B.J. Philips, (1975-1976)
  50. 7th Conference: Alix Kate Shulman, (1975-1976)
  51. 7th Conference: Larry Woiwode, (1975-1976)
  52. 7th Conference: Tom Wolfe, (1975-1976)
  53. 8th Conference: General, (1976-1977)
  54. 8th Conference: Harlan Ellison, (1976-1977)
  55. 8th Conference: George Garrett, (1976-1977)
  56. 8th Conference: John Houseman, (1976-1977)
  57. 8th Conference: Larry McMurtry, (1976-1977)
  58. 8th Conference: Joan Tewkesbury, (1976-1977)
  59. 9th Conference: General, (1977-1978)
  60. 9th Conference: Proposals,. (1977-1978)
  61. 9th Conference: John Ashbery, (1977-1978)
  62. 9th Conference: Amiri Baraka, (1977-1978)
  63. 9th Conference: William Burroughs, (1977-1978)
  64. 9th Conference: Ring Lardner, (1977-1978)
  65. 9th Conference: Tillie Olsen, (1977-1978)
  66. 9th Conference: Eudora Welty, (1977-1978)
  67. 10th Conference: General, (1978-1979)
  68. Peter Cloud-Poet, (1979?)
  69. 11th Conference: General, (1979-1980)
  70. 11th Conference: Selo Black Crow, (1979-1980)
  71. 11th Conference: James Crumley, (1979-1980)
  72. 11th Conference: James Dickey, (1979-1980)
  73. 11th Conference: Tony Oldknow, (1979-1980)
  74. 11th Conference: Leslie Marmon Silko, (1979-1980)
  75. 11th Conference: Lawrence Watson, (1979-1980)
  76. 12th Conference: General, (1980-1981)
  77. 12th Conference: Esther Broner, (1980-1981)
  78. 12th Conference: Robert Creeley, (1980-1981)
  79. 13th Conference: General, (1981-1982)
  80. 13th Conference: Proposals, (1981-1982)
  81. 13th Conference: Alain Robbe-Grillet, (19811982)
  82. 13th Conference: Paul Engle and Hualing Nieh Engle, (1981-1982)
  83. 14th Conference: General, (1982-1983)
  84. 14th Conference: Proposals, (1982-1983)
  85. 14th Conference: Media Coverage, (1982-1983)
  86. 14th Conference: Joseph Brodsky, (1982-1983)
  87. 14th Conference: Caroline Forche, (1982-1983)
  88. 14th Conference: Richard Howard and James Merrill, (1982-1983)
  89. 14th Conference: Bobby Ann Mason and James McPherson, (1982-1983)
  90. 14th Conference: Czeslaw Milosz, (1982-1983)
  91. 15th Conference: General, (1983-1984)
  92. 15th Conference: Proposals, (1983-1984)
  93. 15th Conference: Harlan Ellison, (1983-1984)
  94. 15th Conference: Joe Haldeman, (1983-1984)
  95. 15th Conference: Robert Silverberg, (1983-1984)
  96. 15th Conference: Jayne Tannehill Sturgeon and Theodore Sturgeon, (1983-1984)
  97. 15th Conference: Luisa Valenzuela, (1983-1984)
  98. 15th Conference: Roger Zelazney, (1983-1984)

Box 2
Folder

  1. 16th Conference: General, (1984-1985)
  2. 16th Conference: Norman Mailer, (1984-1985)
  3. 17th Conference: General, (1985-1986)
  4. 17th Conference: Raymond Carver, (1985-1986)
  5. 17th Conference: Ellen Gilchrist, (1985-1986)
  6. 17th Conference: Rebecca Hill, (1985-1986)
  7. 17th Conference: Maxine Kumin, (1985-1986)
  8. 17th Conference: Jay Mclnerney, (1985-1986)
  9. 17th Conference: Robert Ward, (1985-1986)
  10. 17th Conference: John Yount, (1985-1986)
  11. 18th Conference: General, (1986-1987)
  12. 18th Conference: Joy Harjo, (1986-1987)
  13. 18th Conference: Larry McMurtry, (1986-1987)
  14. 18th Conference: Paul St. Pierre, (1986-1987)
  15. 18th Conference: Elizabeth Tallent, (1986-1987)
  16. 18th Conference: James Welch, (1986-1987)
  17. 19th Conference: General, (1987-1988)
  18. 19th Conference: Proposals, (1987-1988)
  19. 19th Conference: Micheal Dorris, (1987-1988)
  20. 19th Conference: Louise Erdrich, (1987-1988)
  21. 19th Conference: Patrick Hemingway, (1987-1988)
  22. 19th Conference: Mona Simpson, (1987-1988)
  23. 19th Conference: W.D. Snodgrass, (1987-1988)
  24. 20th Conference: General, (1988-1989)
  25. 20th Conference: Gretel Ehrlich, (1988-1989)
  26. 20th Conference: Richard Ford, (1988-1989)
  27. 20th Conference: William Least Heat-Moon, (1988-1989)
  28. 20th Conference: N. Scott Momaday, (1988-1989)
  29. 20th Conference: Leslie Silko, (1988-1989)
  30. 20th Conference: Tobias Wolff, (1988-1989)
  31. Native American Week, (1989)
  32. 21st Conference: General, (1989-1990)
  33. Student Papers on Writer's Conference, (1992)
  34. Developmental Leave, (1996)
  35. Video Tape Transcripts, (undated)
 Original Donation: UND Writer's Conference  First Addition: UND Writer's Conference, 1998
 Second Addition: UND Writer's Conference, March 1974 Third Addition: Faculty Personnel Files, 1940-1997

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