Mel B. Yoken collection (Ms.2011.038)

The compilation of this collection started in the early 1960s and is the result of the special interests and efforts of Dr. Mel B. Yoken with significant assistance from his wife Cynthia Yoken. As of April 2015, the collection contains documents relating to 11,750 people. It is primarily correspondence but also includes newspaper articles, magazine articles, photographs, notes, event programs, and advertisements.

Dr. Yoken first began corresponding with authors while studying for his Master of Arts in Teaching at Brown University in 1960. He wrote to ask them specific questions about their work and most of them responded. In the beginning, his focus was French-speaking authors and poets, however over time, he began writing to authors from every corner of the world. His interests then expanded to individuals who were making significant contributions to their professions: politicians, actors, lawyers, judges, business leaders, military officers, radio personalties, religious leaders, scientists, doctors, musicians, artists, and educators. He wrote to express how much and why he enjoyed a particular book, and to inquire about what influenced the author. He wrote to thank and congratulate performers and artists for wonderful performances and to politicians and business leaders for their successes. This collection contains the responses that he received. Some responded with hastily written cursory notes, but most wrote back with detailed responses and a good number maintained correspondence with Dr. Yoken for many years, and have resulted in close, personal friendships.

Dr. Yoken, accompanied by this wife Cindy, also attended innumerable readings, lectures, meetings, conventions, and events during which he made a point of introducing himself to the presenters, inquiring about their work, and requesting a comment on the program or the article about the event. Dr. Yoken often wrote a short essay - or memoir - describing the experience of meeting individuals such as the politician Hillary Clinton at a book signing or the American poet Richard Eberhart on a visit to the poet's home. Those memoirs are included in the folder for the individual to whom they relate.

The collection also includes correspondence and documents, purchased by Dr. Yoken at auction, from well-known authors and politicians from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The collection includes individuals such as Claude Monet, Eva Perón, Pearl S. Buck, Barry Goldwater, Jean-Paul Sartre, Allen Ginsberg, Henri Matisse, and many others.

The majority of materials are in French or English. A smattering of materials are in Chinese, Czech, German, Hebrew, Irish Gaelic, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, or Swedish.