Maureen Howard papers, 1962-2002

Maureen Howard papers, 1962-2002

Summary Information

Abstract

Maureen Howard is an American writer, scholar, and literary critic. She is best known for her second novel, Bridgeport Bus (1962) and her award-winning autobiography, Facts of Life (1982). The collection includes drafts, correspondence, and publication material for nine novels published between 1962 and 2001, as well as correspondence, essays, teaching notes, and personal material written during this time period.

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1452
Bib ID:
5420020 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Howard, Maureen, 1930-
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
4.17 linear feet (10 oversized document boxes)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Collection has no restrictions.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Description

Summary

The bulk of the collection consists of material for eight novels written between 1962 and 2002, as well as her autobiography and a short play ("Songs at Twilight") published in 1977. Included are publisher's correspondence, drafts, edited manuscripts, and research notes, as well as illustration and art material for some of the later novels. The majority of the revisions are Howard's own; her correspondence with her publisher appears to be limited to minor edits and proofreading. A note on the drafts: The revisions included in this collection are often fragmented. Howard apparently reused her own papers, and frequently included handwritten material interspersed with typewritten copies or new drafts written on the back of (apparently abandoned) older versions. Where there is no other apparent order, the material has been left in the order in which it arrived. The collection also includes an extensive selection of Howard's journalism and critical writing, personal correspondence, and research on Howard's activism and political work. Overall, the material is in excellent condition, with the exception of newspaper clippings and magazine articles, many of which are acidic and have been either separated or photocopied to preserve their integrity.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 5 series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Collection has no restrictions.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Maureen Howard Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--George Minkoff. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--2003.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers sent off-site PL 9/13/2005.

Papers processed Katie Gradowski, GSAS 2012 2009.

Finding aid written Katie Gradowski, GSAS 2012 06/--/2009.

Revision Description

2011-09-03 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical Note

Maureen Howard, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the daughter of William Kearns, an Irish immigrant and county detective for Fairfield County. Howard's early novels (Bridgeport Bus, and Before My Time) draw extensively on the influence of her own Irish-Catholic upbringing, with Bridgeport featuring prominently in subsequent works.

Howard is best known for her novels Bridgeport Bus, Natural History, and A Lover's Almanac, as well as her critical introductions to Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton. Her writing often describe individuals who are "out of place" often focusing on female characters divided between the obligations of home, career, and private life. Her work is frequently compared to Virginia Woolf and Henry James, both of whom she cites as influences. Howard was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1967; her 1978 memoir Facts of Life won the National Book Critics Circle award.

As a self-identified "gypsy teacher," Maureen Howard has held positions at Columbia, Yale, the New School for Social Research, Brooklyn College, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition to her novels, Howard wrote an op-ed column "Her" in the New York Times (1979), as well as critical introductions for Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, and several collections of essays and women's fiction. She currently lives in New York City and teaches writing at Columbia University.

This collection focuses primarily on her novels, beginning with the 1962 Bridgeport Bus and ending with her 2001 collection Big as Life; it also includes a broad representation of journalism, essays, and teaching materials through this period.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Name
Cavell, Stanley, 1926-2018
Howard, Maureen
McLaughlin, Anne
Scott, Joanna
Subject
American fiction -- Women authors
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Biography

Series I: Correspondence, 1965-2002

This series consists of correspondence from the mid-1960s through the 1990s, including a range of personal material, postcards, and correspondence from Howard's work as a literature teacher, as well as correspondence with novelists and publishers. Of particular interest is correspondence with Joanna Scott, William Pritchard, Anne McLaughlin, Richard Powers, and Matthew Stadler, which provides a rich view of Howard's literary contacts during this period. This series is arranged alphabetically.


Box 1 Folder 1 to 3

General, 1965-2002, (3 Folders)


Authors


Box 1 Folder 4

Bell, Millicent, 1987-1994


Box 1 Folder 5

Cavell, Stanley, 1992-2001


Box 1 Folder 6

Demas-Bliss, Corinne, 1981-1982


Box 1 Folder 7

Fussell, Betty, 1988-1998


Box 1 Folder 8

Kirshenbaum, Binnie, 1989-1996


Box 1 Folder 9

Longenbach, James, 1995-2002


Box 1 Folder 10

Maddox, Brenda, 1986-1996


Box 1 Folder 11

McLaughlin, Ann, 1985-1999


Box 1 Folder 12

Messud, Claire, 1996-2001


Box 1 Folder 13

Powers, Richard, 1992-2001


Box 1 Folder 14

Pritchard, William, 1980-2000


Box 1 Folder 15

Scott, Anne, 1991-2000


Box 1 Folder 16

Scott, Joanna, 1993-2002


Box 1 Folder 17

Stadler, Matthew, 1988-1994


Box 1 Folder 18

Stephens, Michael, 1987-2001


Box 1 Folder 19

Tiberghien, Susan, 1987


Box 1 Folder 20 to 23

Postcards, 1975-2002, (4 Folders)


Box 1 Folder 24

Publishing, 1983-2000


Box 1 Folder 25 to 28

Teaching, 1982-2002, (4 Folders)

Series II: Novels, 1962-2002

This series includes correspondence, drafts, research notes, and publication material for each of Howard's eight major novels produced during this period, as well as her autobiography and her 1977 play "Songs at Twilight." The bulk of this series consists of draft material for Howard's three most recent works, Natural History (1992), A Lover's Almanac (1998), and the collection Big as Life (2001), excluding her most recent novel The Silver Screen (published in 2004). Unless otherwise noted, this material is arranged in alphabetical order.


Bridgeport Bus


Box 2 Folder 1 to 2

Drafts--Chapters 1-12--incomplete, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 2 Folder 3 to 5

Drafts--General--incomplete l, undated, (3 Folders)


Box 2 Folder 6

Journal, 1962


Box 2 Folder 7

Manuscript--incomplete, undated


Box 2 Folder 8

Notes, undated


Box 2 Folder 9

Notes--Editorial--Corrections, 1964


Box 2 Folder 10

Publishing material, 1984-1996


Not a Word About Nightingales


Box 2 Folder 11

Correspondence, 1961-1962


Facts of Life


Box 2 Folder 12

Correspondence, 1975-1979


Box 2 Folder 13

Draft -- "Sweet Memories,", undated


Box 2 Folder 14

Notebooks, undated (2), undated


Songs at Twilight


Box 2 Folder 15

Correspondence, 1977


Box 2 Folder 16 to 17

Drafts, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 2 Folder 18

Manuscript, 1979


Box 2 Folder 19

Manuscript, undated


Box 2 Folder 20

Publicity, 1977


Box 2 Folder 21

Scores, undated


Before My Time


Box 2 Folder 22

Correspondence, 1974-1979


Box 2 Folder 23

Drafts, undated


Box 2 Folder 24

Script--Adapted, 1974


Grace Abounding


Box 2 Folder 25

Correspondence, 1974-1983


Box 2 Folder 26 to 27

Draft--Full--Proofreading, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 2 Folder 28

Drafts--General, undated


Box 2 Folder 29

Galleys--Annotated, 1982


Box 2 Folder 30

Notes--Handwritten, undated


Box 2 Folder 31 to 32

Notebooks, undated (5 in 2 Folders), undated


Box 2 Folder 33

Poem, undated


Box 2 Folder 34

Publicity material, undated


Expensive Habits , 1985


Box 3 Folder 1

Correspondence, 1984-1986


Box 3 Folder 2 to 8

Drafts--General--incomplete, undated, (7 Folders)


Box 3 Folder 9

"Child's Play,", undated


Box 3 Folder 10

"Deadline,", undated


Box 3 Folder 11

"Kill Fee,", undated


Box 3 Folder 12

"Rough Cut,", undated


Box 3 Folder 13

"Wonder Book,", undated


Box 3 Folder 14

Notebook, undated


Big as Life


Box 3 Folder 15

Correspondence, 1998-2001


Folder 16 to 18

Drafts--General, undated, 3 folders


Box 3 Folder 19

"Children with Matches,", undated


Box 3 Folder 20 to 21

"The Magdalene,", undated, (2 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 1 to 3

"Speed of Light,", undated, (3 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 4

Jacket--Design, 2000


Box 4 Folder 5 to 8

Manuscript--Full, undated, (4 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 9

Mechanicals--Art, undated


Box 4 Folder 10

Notes--Handwritten, undated


Box 4 Folder 11

Research, undated


Natural History


Box 4 Folder 1 to 2

Correspondence, 1992-1998, (2 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 3

Correspondence--Art, 1992


Box 4 Folder 4 to 5

Drafts--General, 1989, (2 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 6 to 8

Drafts--General, undated, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 1 to 8

Drafts--General, undated, (8 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 9

"Arcade,", undated


Box 5 Folder 10

"Cover Set,", undated


Box 5 Folder 11 to 13

"Double Entry,", undated, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 14 to 16

"Lives of the Saints,", undated, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 17 to 19

"Moving Pictures,", undated, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 20

"The Music Man,", undated


Box 5 Folder 21 to 23

"Natural History Part II,", undated, (3 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 24

"Sister Brown,", undated


Box 5 Folder 25

"The Spinster's Tale,", undated


Box 5 Folder 26

"Statues,", undated


Box 6 Folder 1

Galleys--Annotated, 1992


Box 6 Folder 2

Illustrations, undated


Box 6 Folder 3

Manuscript--Full, undated


Box 6 Folder 4

Mechanicals--Art, undated


Box 6 Folder 5

Notebook, undated


Box 6 Folder 6

Notes--Handwritten, undated


Box 6 Folder 7

Research, undated


Lover's Almanac


Box 7 Folder 1

Corrections, undated


Box 7 Folder 2

Correspondence, 1994-1997


Box 7 Folder 3

Layout--Design, undated


Box 7 Folder 4 to 5

Manuscript--Full, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 7 Folder 6

Publicity, 1998


Box 10

Miscellaneous Galleys and Drafts

Series III: Journalism, 1983-2001

Reviews, essays, and draft material for Howard's uncollected criticism, including Howard's foreword for the 1990 reissue of Mrs. Dalloway and introductory material for Howard's 1977 collection Seven American Women Writers of the Twentieth Century. Of particular note are 14 handwritten notebooks including research for essays, interviews, and lecture material. The materials are arranged alphabetically.


Box 7 Folder 7 to 8

Correspondence, 1976-1994


Box 7 Folder 9 to 16

Essays--General, 1979-2001, (8 Folders)


Box 7 Folder 17

"Bachelor and the Baby,", 1994


Box 8 Folder 1

"Fashion Plates,", undated


Box 8 Folder 2

"You are There,", undated


Box 8 Folder 3

Essays--Corrections, undated


Box 8 Folder 4

Lectures, undated


Box 8 Folder 5 to 10

Notebooks, undated (14 in 6 Folders), undated


Box 8 Folder 11

Notes--Handwritten, undated


Box 8 Folder 12

Research, undated


Box 8 Folder 13 to 16

Reviews, 1982-1998, (4 Folders)

Series IV: Personal Material, 1964-2001

This series contains correspondence, notes, and teaching material from Howard's time as a visitng professor at Columbia and Yale, as well as notes on various political causes that she supported during this period. Of particular interest are a set of handwritten journal entries, dated 1964, that provide insight to the beginning of her novelistic career. The materials are arranged alphabetically.


Box 9 Folder 1 to 2

Correspondence, 1977-2001, (2 Folders)


Box 9 Folder 3

Correspondence--Teaching, 1998


Box 9 Folder 4

Diary--Handwritten, 1968


Box 9 Folder 5

Notebooks--Teaching, undated (2), undated


Box 9 Folder 6

Personal--Ephemera, 1970-1992


Box 9 Folder 7

Poems, 1964-1994


Box 9 Folder 8

Plays, undated


Box 9 Folder 9

Publicity, 1978-1992


Box 9 Folder 10

Notebooks--Teaching, undated (2), undated


Box 9 Folder 11 to 12

Research--Activism, 1997-1999, (2 Folders)

Series V: Printed Material


Box 11

Journals and Published Books