Nichols Writings, 1959-2004 and undated

Extent:
14 boxes
Scope and content:

Divided into subseries housing Articles, Book Manuscripts, and Writings by Others. The Articles Subseries primarily consists of published articles written by Nichols, notably the "Homosexual Citizen" (written with Lige Clarke) and "Homosexual Anarchist" columns written for Screw. Copies of the serial works "The Calamus Chronicles" (originally "The Tomcat Chronicles," which became the basis for his 2004 book The Tomcat Chronicles) and the fictional Drop the Soap are in this subseries; numerous articles written for print and online publications, among them Gay Today and the mainstream Florida Today are included as well. Various articles, poems, and diary entries, some unpublished, make up the rest of the subseries. The Book Manuscript Subseries consists of various drafts of major works by Nichols. His memoir of his life and work with Lige Clarke, first drafted after Clarke's death in 1975 (and variously called Elijah and The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me) are housed in this subseries, as are many iterations of his unpublished autobiography (at different times titled Evolution of a Friend, With the Love of Comrades, and The Guardian Dragon of Hoo Hoo Park). Other works found in this subseries are his unpublished work on transvestite and transexual identity Sissies and his published works I Have More Fun With You Than Anybody (with Lige Clarke), The Gay Agenda, The Tomcat Chronicles, and sections of Welcome to Fire Island. Drafts of Nichols' anthology works The Lavender Manifesto and Onan, Onan Uber Alles complete the writings subseries. The Writings by Others Subseries contains drafts of works sent to Nichols, particularly sections of Tiger, Tiger by Louis Campbell (published as Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer). Works by Vern Bullough, James T. Sears, and Leo Skir are also housed in this series. Organized alphabetically by predominant title.

Separated material:

[Some items removed to Oversize Material.]

Contents

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Collection restrictions:

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Consent forms signed by individuals whose interviews or images were recorded for possible use in publications are sometimes filed with other records relevant to that publication; oftentimes, however, permissions may have been filed in the Research Permissions Subseries box in the Research and Writings Series, or have not been located in the collection. Researchers wishing to publish information on individuals represented in the Sears Papers must have in hand the consent forms, or obtain permission from the individuals.

Original audiovisual materials are closed to use. Use of these materials requires production of listening or viewing copies.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Use & permissions:

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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