Guide to the Mark Spilka Papers , 1990-2001

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Mark Spilka papers
Date range:	1990-2001
Creator:	Spilka, Mark
Extent:	0.5 Linear feet
Abstract:	Papers include typescripts, reviews, and correspondence from Mark Spilka to independent scholar Carol Sklenicka.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	MS.1UF.S5

Scope & content

Collection comprises typescripts of three works by Mark Spilka including An Aging Ethnic Macho Reverse Pygmalion Computer Poem for Constance Witherby, On Being a Real English Professor, and Taos Talk: Defending the Normative Lawrence. Reviews of various publications, and correspondence addressed to the independent scholar and biographer Carol Sklenicka.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Sklenicka, Carol, 1948-

Subject Organizations

• Brown University

Subject Organizations

• Brown University--Faculty

Subject Topics

• English literature--Study and teaching (Higher)

Occupations

• College teachers

Document Types

• Correspondence
• Poetry
• Typescripts

Subject Topics

• Education

Arrangement

The collection is organized in one series: I. Typescripts, reviews, and miscellaneous correspondence, 1990-2001

Biographical note

A professor and scholar of English literature, Mark Spilka was born August 6, 1925. He was educated at Brown University and, following service in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1944 to 1946, graduated with the class of 1949. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Indiana, completing his PhD in 1956. Between 1968 and 1973, Silka served as chairman of the Brown University English department. He was named the Israel J. Kapstein Professor of English in 1990. He was director of the National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar in 1974. He served as president of the Conference Editors of Learned Journals and the Modern Language Association in 1974-1975. His published works included critical studies of D.H. Lawrence , Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Dickens. He was also an editor of various books, as well as the periodical Novel: A Forum on Fiction. He was previously an editorial assistant at American Mercury and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. He served as a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of Modern Letters at the University of Tulsa, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Indiana University. He was named a Harry T. Moore distinguished D.H. Lawrence scholar, an Indiana School Letters fellow, a Guggenheim fellow, and a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow. He had been president of the Dickens Society and the American Association of University Professors. A member of Temple Emanu-El, he celebrated his bar mitzvah at the age of 63. He counseled male batterers through the Brother to Brother program. At Brown he was vice president of his graduating class, a Francis Wayland scholar, editor of the Brown Daily Herald and Brunonia, and chief scriptwriter for the Brown Network. Phi Beta Kappa. He died March 15, 2001, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Mark Spilka papers, MS-1UF-S5, Brown University Archives.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Brown University Library staff.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013 January 23
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory

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