Library announces 10 new special collections now available to researchers

Beinecke Library reports that in the first three months of 2025, staff have processed 10 new collections, which are now discoverable in Archives at Yale. 

These new collections—along with numerous additions to 17 collections already processed, including the Kent State, Cave Canem, and Rebecca West collections—are now open to researchers, thanks to the efforts of staff members in the Archival Description Unit and in the Accessioning, Acquisitions, and Collections Control Unit (AACCU).

 
The Apple correspondence files contains correspondence documenting the publication of Apple magazine, edited and published by David Curry, and related papers. 

The La Brèche records consists of printed editions and related production material for issues 1, 2, 4, and 6 of La Brèche: Action surréaliste, published 1961–64. There are manuscripts and typescript articles, poems, stories, photographs, collages, drawings, and correspondence by authors and artists René Alleau, Philippe Audoin, Robert Benayoun, Micheline Bounoure, André Breton, Adrien Dax, Pierre Dhainaut , Maurice de Gandillac, Julien Gracq, Jean Schuster, Jean-Claude Silbermann, and Toyen. Of special note are drawings by Marianne van Hirtum and Endre Roszda, a photograph by Pierre Molinier, collages by Robert Benayoun, and a colorful autograph letter and envelope from Roberto Matta.

The Danny Fields papers contain correspondence, writings, scrapbooks, photographs, business papers, personal papers, interviews, printed material, audiovisual material, and computer media documenting the life and career of Danny Fields—a music promoter and manager (notably, of the Ramones) who was associated with Andy Warhol’s Factory circle. Also documented is his work as a writer and editor of the books Dream On: Livin’ on the Edge with Steven Tyler & Aerosmith and Linda McCartney: A Portrait and of the magazines Datebook, Hits, and Rock Scene, and others.

The Dick Gallup papers consist of the American poet’s writings, diaries, notebooks, teaching and administrative files, and personal papers that document Gallup’s personal and professional activities. Most range in date from the late 1950s to the 1980s. Also included is his correspondence with Bill Berkson, Ted Berrigan, Joe Brainard, Michael Brownstein, Tom Clark, Andrei Codrescu, Jack Collom, Alfred Corn, Theodore Enslin, Clayton Eshleman, Larry Fagin, Allen Ginsberg, Bobby Louise Hawkins, Anselm Hollo, Joanne Kyger, Ron Padgett, Ed Sanders, Tom Veitch, Anne Waldman, and Lewis Warsh. 

The Jean Genet papers document the creative process, literary career, and political and social activism of French author Jean Genet. The collection, spanning 1940 to 1988, contains manuscript material of published and unpublished literary works—including screenplays and essays—and political writings, correspondence, personal papers, and other documents. Genet began writing novels during his periods of incarceration, and these works form a vital part of his literary legacy.

The John Levin collection of political activism for the Progressive Labor Party documents Levin’s activities with the Marxist-Leninist Progressive Labor Party (PLP)—primarily in California’s San Francisco Bay Area from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. The papers consist of his correspondence, notebooks, writing drafts, print publications, and collected third-party publications related to his interests and activities in the anti–Vietnam War student movement, the labor movement, and Black Liberation Movement, including his participation in the San Francisco State University strike (SF State Strike), 1968–69. It also includes research related to Levin’s co-edit of You Say You Want a Revolution: SDS, PL, and Adventures in Building a Worker-Student Alliance. Included are Levin’s notes, news clippings, internal party records, and political print ephemera (fliers, leaflets, pamphlets) from the PLP, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and other groups. Also included are photographs and SF State Strike-related digital audiovisual files.

The Michael Petree collection of Restau Press contains writings, proofs, and correspondence relating to Restau Press, which published a single issue of Restau: A Journal of Passage in 1970. Writings include journal submissions and poetry by John Wieners, Janine Pommy-Vega, Gerrit Lansing, and Jackson Mac Low. These records contain drafts of the journal and a corrected typescript of “Spring and Autumn Annals: A Celebration of the Season” by Diane di Prima.

The PAJ Records and Bonnie Marranca papers contain two sections. The first focuses on the editorial processes related to the production Performing Arts Journal/PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art  and of PAJ Publications titles. The second section focuses on the personal papers of Bonnie Marranca, co-founder and, for four decades, editor-in-chief of PAJ. Marranca’s papers include correspondence with notable artists, lecture notes, drafts of scholarly articles, recorded interviews, and a collection of print ephemera related to theater and performing arts events.

The Sandra Berrigan papers contain the writer-poet’s personal and literary correspondence, along with realia related to her life and work. The correspondence captures Berrigan’s many decades-long friendships with poets and artists in and around the second generation of the New York School of poets, including Joe Brainard, Dick Gallup, Maureen Owen, Ron Padgett, and Anne Waldman. Also included are letters exchanged with her former husband, the poet Ted Berrigan, written during her early marriage, when her parents had her committed to the Jackson Memorial Hospital mental ward. Also included are drafts of Ted Berrigan’s book Dear Sandy, Hello and three poetry quilts she made with fragments of poetry from friends.

The Winifred Welles papers contain materials related to the author’s poetry and fiction: early drafts, manuscripts, transcripts, and correspondence with early 20th-century writers Lawrence Gilman, H. L. Mencken, Christopher Morley, and Louise Townsend Nicholl. Included is a draft of an unfinished manuscript about Emily Dickinson, completed by the author Laura Benét after Welles died.

—Deborah Cannarella

Images: Issues 1, 2, and 4 of “La Brèche” in custom case by bookbinder Pierre Mercier and materials from the La Brèche collection, including a drawing by Marianne van Hirtum; manuscript of Genet’s first novel, “Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs,” custom bound in a volume with matching case created by bookbinder Renaud Vernier, shown closed and open. Photos by Sandrine Guérin

This article is adapted from the quarterly report issued by Mary Caldera, associate director for Archival Description, on the newly processed archival collections at Beinecke Library. These staff members in the AACCU and in the Archival Description Unit were responsible for the processing of these materials: Robert Bartels, Stephanie Bredbenner, Rosemary K. J. Davis, Quin DeLaRosa, Daniel Duncan, Tina Evans, Jim Fisher, Michael Forstrom, Leigh Golden, Matthew Gorham, Sandrine Guérin, Monika Lehman, Janet Lopes, Elizabeth Nosari, Kolbe Resnick, Elise Riley, and Michael Rush. Staff members in the AACCU and in Preservation and Conservation helped to make these materials available for research.