Lin Carter papers, 1900s-2001 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Carter, Lin, 1930-1988
Abstract:
Lin Carter (1930-1988, aka H. P. Lowcraft, Grail Undwin) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, editor, poet and critic. The Lin Carter Papers span the years 1900 to 2001 and consist mainly of documents stemming from Carter's own work as a writer and editor, other authors' manuscripts sent to Carter, unidentified writings likely being written by Carter, and personal and professional correspondence addressed to Carter (e.g. with Sprague de Camp, Roy A. Squires, et al.).
Extent:
12 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English and a few in Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.11079

Background

Scope and content:

The Lin Carter Papers span the years 1900 to 2001 and consist mainly of documents stemming from Carter's own work as a writer and editor, other authors' manuscripts sent to Carter, unidentified writings likely being written by Carter, and personal and professional correspondence addressed to Carter (e.g. with Sprague de Camp, Roy A. Squires, et al.). Included also are some legal, financial, and other official documents (e.g. Carter's first divorce and army papers, agreements with publishers, etc.), personal photographs, and some personal artifacts (wallet with ID cards, name tag of the Brotherhood of Jedi Knights, etc.). Materials on Carter's own writings include manuscripts, typescripts, notes and notebooks as well as clipped articles, sketches and other materials (e.g. with regard to the Thongor, Eric Carstairs of Zanthodon, Callisto, and Conan series; Atlantis trilogy, Wizard of Oz writings, "posthumous collaborations" on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Clark Ashton Smith's Book of Eibon, and H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and Necronomicon, planned writings and anthologies, etc.). Papers with regard to Carter's work as an editor include manuscripts, typescripts, notes, and correspondence with regard to Weird Tales, Bellantine Adult Fantasy series, Flashing Swords!, The Year's Best Fantasy Stories, Carter's Clark Ashton Smith Biography, and his research on H. P. Lovecraft (including copies and transcripts of letters, manuscripts, and official documents by the latter two). Some papers refer to Carter's memberships in the literary club the Trap Door Spiders, the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), The New Kalem Club, and the International Wizard of Oz Club. Most of the materials are in very good condition. Some of Carter's published works included in this collection are reprints by Wildside Press, dating to the 1990s and 2000s. Some pages of paper typescripts might be fragile.

Biographical / historical:

Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930–February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. Lovecraft parody) and Grail Undwin. He is best known for editing the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in the 1970s, which introduced readers to many overlooked classics of the fantasy genre. Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy in his youth and became broadly knowledgeable in the field. He was also quite active in fandom. Carter served in the United States Army (Infantry, Korea, 1951–53), after which he attended Columbia University (1953–54), during which time he attended Leonie Adams's Poetry Workshop. He was a copywriter for some years before writing full-time. He married twice, first to Judith Ellen Hershkovitz (married 1959; divorced 1960) and later to Noel Vreeland (married 1963, while they both worked for Prentice-Hall publishers; divorced 1975). He was an advertising and publishers copywriter (1957–69). From 1969 he was a freelance writer and editorial consultant. During much of his writing career he lived in Hollis, New York. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers. Carter himself was the model for the Mario Gonzalo character. He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of Heroic fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose work he anthologized in the Flashing Swords! series. In the 1970s Carter issued his own fantasy fanzine, titled Kadath, after H. P. Lovecraft's fictional setting. In 1985, he developed oral cancer leading to his death in 1988. He resided in East Orange, New Jersey in his final years, and died in nearby Montclair, New Jersey.

Acquisition information:
The Lin Carter Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from John Betancourt in 2015.
Processing information:

Processed by Sandra Niethardt and Meghan Lyon, 2016. Updated by Meghan Lyon in 2018.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2015-0154, 2016-0048, 2018-0053

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into series: Writings, Correspondence, Notes and Materials, and Personal Documents.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lin Carter Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.