Guide to the Greenfield Review Press records, 1966-1987

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2017

Collection Overview

Title:	Greenfield Review Press records
Date range:	1966-1987
Creator:	Greenfield Review Press.
Extent:	21 Linear feet
Abstract:	The Greenfield Review Press Papers contain materials related to the publication of The Greenfield Review, COSMEP Prison Project Newsletter, Prison Writing Review, and various other single author works and anthologies published by the Greenfield Review Press. The collection also contains author files that include published and unpublished poetry and prose manuscripts along with extensive correspondence that features a variety of black American and black African poets, Canadian, Chicano, West Indies/Caribbean, Arab American, American Indian and Asian American poets, as well as many incarcerated authors.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	MS.2016.006

Scope & content

The collection is divided into four series. Series 1 and Series 2 include materials related to the Greenfield Review Press and its publishing activities. Series 3 and Series 4 contain materials related to the COSMEP Prison Project as well as its variety of prison outreach programs, including both the publication of single works and anthologies by incarcerated writers and the distribution of third-party literary materials to prisons.

Series 1: The Greenfield Review Press Publication Files (1970-1985) The majority of Series 1 is made up of files detailing the publication history of The Greenfield Review, beginning with issue 1 (1970) and continuing through volume 13, numbers 1 and 2 (1985). Included in these files are correspondence with printers, authors, and other presses, author submissions and typed manuscripts, production notes, galley and page proofs, as well as artwork and photography. Also included in this series are files on other works of primarily poetry published by the Greenfield Review Press during the period from 1970 to 1985, including The Light from Another Country: Poetry from American Prisons; Aftermath: An Anthology of poems in English from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean; Breaking Silence: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American Poets; Songs from Earth on Turtle’s Back: Contemporary American Indian Poetry; and Words from the House of the Dead: An Anthology of Prison Writings from Soledad. Also included are files on volumes by Kofi Anyidoho, Alvin Aubert, Mei Berssenbrugge, Stephen Todd Booker, Ossie Onuora Enekwe, Sandra Maria Esteves, Janet Campbell Hale, Linda Hogan, Geraldine Kudaka, Gary Kizer, Mark McCloskey, Tanure Ojaide, Leslie Silko, Ronald Tanaka, Barry Targan, and Ron Welburn. These files contain production notes, correspondence, promotional materials, manuscripts, galley and page proofs, newspaper clippings, as well as photographs and original artwork.

Series 2: The Greenfield Review Press Author Files (1966-1984) Series 2 is organized alphabetically into individual author files relating to the publication of single-author monographs by The Greenfield Review Press. These files contain correspondence between the press and the author, published and unpublished manuscripts, marketing materials, legal agreements, galley and page proofs, photographs, original artwork, and sometimes the printed work.

Series 3: COSMEP and Prison Writing Review publication (1973-1985) The first part of series 3 contains materials relating to the publication of the COSMEP Prison Project Newsletter, beginning with volume 1, number 1 in 1976. This newsletter was renamed The Prison Writing Review beginning with volume 7, number 1 in 1983. The series contains materials up to and including volume 9, number 1 published in 1985. The files contain copies of each newsletter, correspondence regarding the newsletter, submissions, photographs, and galley and page proofs. The series also contains grant applications and materials related to money received by the COSMEP Prison Project, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, which were used to fund the project and its outreach activities, including writing workshops held inside of prisons.

The second part of series 3 contains correspondence with publishers, prisoners, and government agencies regarding the COSMEP Prison Project, especially its mailings of literary materials to individual prisons. This material is organized by date.

Series 4: Prison writer author files (1973-1986) Series 4 is composed of individual author files for incarcerated writers arranged alphabetically. These files contain materials both related to the COSMEP Prison Project, as well as materials that were collected from small third-party publishers by Joseph Bruchac. The files primarily feature correspondence between Bruchac and individual incarcerated writers, but they also include printed works, published and unpublished manuscripts, and newspaper clippings. Of particular note is an extensive collection of published and unpublished materials by the Maine poet James Lewisohn. Also well documented are the works of William Aberg, Pancho Aguila, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Nick DiSpoldo, Michael Hogan, Michael Knoll, J.J. Maloney, John P. Minarik, George Mosby Jr., John Natkie, and Paul Shiplett.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Aberg, William, 1957-
• Aguila, Pancho, 1945-
• Anyidoho, Kofi
• Aubert, Alvin
• Baca, Jimmy Santiago, 1952-
• Berssenbrugge, Mei-mei, 1947-
• Booker, Stephen Todd, 1953-
• Bruchac, Carol
• Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-
• DiSpoldo, Nick
• Enekwe, Ossie Onuora, 1942-
• Esteves, Sandra Maria, 1948-
• Hale, Janet Campbell
• Hogan, Linda
• Hogan, Michael, 1943-
• Kizer, Gary Allan
• Knoll, Michael
• Kudaka, Geraldine, 1951-
• Maloney, Joseph John
• McCloskey, John Mark
• Minarik, John Paul, 1947-
• Mosby, George, 1950-
• Natkie, John L.
• Ojaide, Tanure, 1948-
• Shiplett, Paul D.
• Silko, Leslie Marmon, 1948-
• Tanaka, Ronald Philip
• Targan, Barry, 1932-
• Welburn, Ron, 1944-

Subject Topics

• African American authors
• African literature (English)
• American literature--Arab American authors
• American literature--Mexican American authors
• American poetry--African American authors
• American poetry--Asian American authors
• American poetry--Indian authors
• Indians of North America--Languages--Writing
• Poetry in prisons
• Prisons--Poetry
• Prisoners as authors
• Prisoners' writings

Document Types

• Correspondence--United States--20th century
• Fiction--United States--20th century
• Essays--United States--20th century
• Proofs--United States--20th century

Subject Topics

• Language and Literature

Arrangement

This collection is organized in four series.

• Series 1: The Greenfield Review
• Series 2: Author Files
• Series 3: COSMEP and Prison Writing Review publication
• Series 4: Prison writer author files

Administrative history

The Greenfield Review Press was founded in Greenfield, NY by Joseph and Carol Bruchac in 1970. It published the The Greenfield Review, a cross-cultural magazine that focused mainly on poetry, beginning in 1970 and running until 1987. During this time it served as a home for a great diversity of voices by publishing poetry issues devoted to black American and black African poets, as well as Canadian, Chicano, West Indies/Caribbean, Arab American, American Indian, and Asian American poets. These last two schools of poetry had gained a wider audience and great critical attention from mid-1970s to mid-1980s. The Greenfield Review published these poets at a time when they began to find individual voices and identification in a larger American community. In this way, the 1970s are a unique period of discovery for each of these groups. The press published a variety of works from different poets and writers up until its last known work in 2005.

The Greenfield Review Press was also a major publisher of American prison writing by incarcerated persons. The publisher’s first book of prisoner poetry was a collection of inmate poems smuggled out of Soledad Prison in 1971. Consequently, the press published a number of anthologies as well as single-author works penned by American inmates, while also becoming involved with both the distribution of literary materials to prisons and the promotion of writing workshops within prisons. To this end, Joseph Bruchac founded The COSMEP Prison Project Newsletter, which subsequently became The Prison Writing Review, both to distribute the work of inmates and to promote writing programs in prisons through workshops and poetry-related programs, including newspapers and prison-edited literary magazines. This publication existed from 1970 until 1984.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Greenfield Review Press records, Ms.2016.006, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	This collection was purchased by Brown University Library in 1989.
Processing information:	Unmarked galleys and page proofs of the published version of the Greenfield Review Press were not retained.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Sandra Minke and Nicholas Friesner.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2017-12-05
Revisions:	2017 November This collection was rehoused into archival folders and the materials arranged into chronological and alphabetical order as needed.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

---