James Leslie Woodress papers, 1941-1976

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Summary

Creator:
Woodress, James Leslie
Abstract:
Professor of American literature at the University of California, Davis. The James Leslie Woodress Papers span the years from 1941 to 1976. The collection (2.4 linear feet) consists mainly of professional papers including correspondence with colleagues and literary figures, editors and publishers, copyright holders, libraries, and others regarding the production of a number of Woodress' published works on the history of American literature.
Extent:
2.4 Linear Feet
1112 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.01410

Background

Scope and content:

The James Leslie Woodress Papers span the years from 1941 to 1976. The collection consists mainly of professional papers, including correspondence with colleagues and literary figures, editors and publishers, copyright holders, libraries, and others regarding the production of a number of Woodress' published works, including Booth Tarkington: Gentleman from Indiana,Dissertations in American Literature,Eight American Authors,Essays Mostly on Periodical Publishing in America: A Collection in Honor of Clarence Gohdes,Howells and Italy,A Yankee's Odyssey: The Life of Joel Barlow, and "Voices from America's Past," a historical pamphlets series. Among the significant correspondents are Ashbel G. Brice and John Menapace of the Duke University Press, Elizabeth Blackert and Robert F. Wilson of McGraw-Hill, and scholars such as Walter Blair, Hugh Holman, Jay B. Hubbell, Lewis Leary, Floyd Stovall, and Willard Thorp. Background notes and drafts of publication materials are also contained in the collection. The collection is divided into seven series, corresponding to Woodress' published works and arranged in alphabetical order by title: Booth Tarkington, Dissertations in American Literature, Eight American Authors, Essays Mostly on Periodical Publishing in America, Howells and Italy, Voices from America's Past, and Yankee's Odyssey. These series are described fully below. Acquired as part of the Jay B. Hubbell Center for American Literary Historiography.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology List
Date Event
1916 July 7
Born Webster Groves, Missouri
1938
A.B., Amherst College
1938-1940
Assistant News Editor for station KWK, St. Louis, Missouri
1940-1943
Radio writer for United Press Association
1943
M.A., New York University
1943-1946
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
1946
Enrolled at Duke University
1947-1949
Assistant in Duke's English Department
1949-1950
Instructor at Grinnell College, Grinell, Iowa
1950
Received Ph.D. from Duke University; doctoral thesis was on novelist William Dean Howells
1950-1958
Appointed as Assistant, then Associate Professor at Butler University
1952
Howells and Italy published
1955
Booth Tarkington, Gentleman from Indiana published
1957
Publication of Dissertations in American literature, 1891-1955
1958
A Yankee’s Odyssey: The Life of Joel Barlow published
1958-1961
Associate Professor, San Fernando Valley State University
1958-1963
Chair of English Department, San Fernando Valley State University
1961
Became Full Professor, San Fernando Valley State University
1961-1965
Served as Secretary of the American Literature Section of the Modern Language Association of America
1962-1963
Fulbright Lecturer, France
1963
Appointed Dean of the School of Letters and Science at San Fernando Valley State University; founded American Literary Scholarship, annual review of the year in American literary studies, published by Duke Press
1965-1966
Fulbright Lecturer, Italy
1966
Appointed Professor on the English Department faculty, University of California at Davis
1968
Publication of Dissertations in American Literature, 1891-1966
1970-1974
Appointed Chair of English Department, UC Davis
1972
Eight American Authors published
1973
Publication of Essays Mostly on Periodical Publishing in America: A Collection in Honor of Clarence Gohdes
Acquisition information:
The James Leslie Woodress Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1976, 1988, and 1997.
Processing information:

Processed by Aaron Thornburg, April 2009

Encoded by Aaron Thornburg, April 2009

Accession from 1976 and accessions 89-012 and 1997-0080 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
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.

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

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.

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], James Leslie Woodress Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University