Hortense J. Spillers papers (Ms.2019.013)

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Hortense J. Spillers, American literary critic, Black feminist scholar, and the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in English at Vanderbilt University. The collection includes handwritten diaries, notebooks, and draft writings; personal and professional correspondence; and conference and teaching materials, dating from 1966 to 1995. Materials are arranged into 12 series.

Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1968-1993, includes calendars, diaries, graduate student papers, funerary documents for friends and family, and photographs. Diaries contain handwritten entries regarding personal and professional experiences, as well as notes on national events including the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Photographs include black and white photos of Spillers with Flo Kennedy. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, NOTEBOOKS, 1966-1990, contain notebooks with handwritten entries. Entries vary in nature from personal diary entries to research notes and draft writings. This series is arranged chronologically by year, then by topic.

Series 3, CORRESPONDENCE, 1969-1995, contains personal and professional correspondence. This series is arranged into 2 subseries.

Series 3, subseries 1, PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1969-1995, contains greeting cards and handwritten and typed letters from friends and family members. Correspondents include Spillers' brothers, Curtis Jr. (deceased) and Ira; her sister Theaster; and her parents Curtis Sr. and Evelyn. There is also personal correspondence from Gayatri Spivak and Ruth Simmons. This subseries is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by sender.

Series 3, subseries 2, PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1972-1995, includes general correspondence regarding talks and conferences; institution-specific correspondence related to meetings, organizations, and administrative tasks; and correspondence with scholars related to shared projects and research interests. Correspondents of note include Claudia Tate, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Toni Morrison. Additional correspondence can be found throughout the collection. This subseries is arranged chronologically, then by institution, then by sender and topic.

Series 4, ADMINISTRATIVE, 1973-1987, includes files from Spillers' time as English Department Chair and member of the Educational Policy Committee at Haverford College, as well as files from her service on the Commission on the Status of Women with the Modern Language Association. The files include handwritten notes, correspondence, and meeting materials. This series is arranged alphabetically by institution then by record type.

Series 5, CONFERENCES, 1977-1993, includes papers, handwritten notes, correspondence, and planning materials for several conferences organized or attended by Spillers. Conferences of note include, "The Birth of Black Cinema," organized by Toni Morrison; "Black Women in the Academy," for which Spillers served on the steering committee; and "Works in Progress" organized by Spillers. This series is arranged alphabetically by conference then by record type.

Series 6, TEACHING, 1973-1993, includes handwritten lecture notes, syllabi, and course evaluations. Courses include "Afro-American Literature," "American Literature since 1945," "Black Literature in America," and "English Literature: The Major Works." This series is arranged alphabetically by course then by record type.

Series 7, TALKS AND LECTURES, 1979-1994, contains typed and handwritten drafts of various talks given by Spillers. Talks of note include, "Dreaming Emmett," "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe," and "Writing and the Self: Re-Positioning the Margins on Paule Marshall." This series is arranged alphabetically by title.

Series 8, WRITINGS, 1969-1995, includes typed and handwritten drafts, correspondence, and offprints of others' writings. This series is arranged into 2 subseries.

Series 8, subseries 1, WRITINGS BY SPILLERS, 1970-1993, includes typed and handwritten drafts of articles, books, edited books, plays, and reviews. Works of note include, "Bro. Isom's Funeral," "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book," "Sunday of Indulgence," "Conjuring: Black Women, Fiction, and Literary Tradition: A Collection of Criticism," and "Sparebone." This subseries is arranged alphabetically by type of writing, then by title of the work, then by record type.

Series 8, subseries 2, WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 1969-1995, includes correspondence and typed and handwritten drafts by other scholars. Scholars of note include Jane Gallop, Ann Z. Leventhal, Gayatri Spivak, and Claudia Tate. Toni Morrison's "Statement to the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and the Humanities," and "Dreaming Emmett" are also included. "Dreaming Emmett" was Morrison's first play which debuted in 1986. This copy, annotated by Spillers for a symposium on Morrison's works, is the only known copy outside of the Toni Morrison papers held at Princeton University. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author's last name then by title of their work.

Series 9, RESEARCH, 1966-1995, contains notecards and readings and is arranged into 3 subseries.

Series 9, subseries 1, NOTECARDS, n.d., contains 5-inch by 8-inch notecards with handwritten citations of books, articles, and periodicals.

Series 9, subseries 2, READINGS BY SUBJECT'S NAME, 1967-1992, contains articles and photocopied readings about individuals including Christopher Columbus, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject's last name.

Series 9, subseries 3, READINGS BY TOPIC, 1966-1995, contains articles and photocopied readings about specific topics such as "Black feminist criticism and Black women writers," lesbian identity, MOVE (Black liberation group), and "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Series 10, PRINT MATERIALS, 1969-1991, includes books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. Notable titles include, "The Black Scholar," "Gourmet: The Magazine of Good Living," "New Women's Times Feminist Review," and "Petits Propos Culinaires: Essays and Notes on Food, Cookery, and Cookbooks." This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title.

Series 11, AUDIO TAPES, 1972-1988, contains 5-inch reel-to-reel magnetic tapes and audio cassette tapes. Of particular note are the 5 tapes from Toni Morrison's "Birth of Black Cinema" symposium, and the 3 tapes from the "Archimedes in Harlem Symposium" regarding Toni Morrison's play, "Dreaming Emmett." This series is arranged by record type then by tape number as assigned by the processor prior to reformatting. Reformatted recordings are available through the Brown Digital Repository and are linked in each item title.

Series 12, RESTRICTED, 1968-1992, includes personal correspondence and administrative materials. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type and is closed until January 1, 2039 at which point the materials will open without restriction.