Mykola Francuzenko was a Ukrainian-American writer (under the pseudonym Mykola Virnyi), translator, theatrical director, radio journalist, and social activist. His literary output includes over 400 works, and he was a writer and broadcaster for the Ukrainian services of both Radio Liberty and the Voice of America during the Cold War. He was known for his speaking and recitation, and was considered a master of the art of the Ukrainian spoken word. His archives contain scripts, working notes, photo albums, and numerous audio tapes, some of which contain unique interview recordings, recordings of poets reading their own works, live recordings of events in the Ukrainian American community, and radio programming of the Ukrainian services of Radio Liberty and the Voice of America.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, Text, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Analog audiocassette, Polyester open reel tape, Acetate open reel tape, Motion picture film, VHS (including SVHS and VHS-C), Data disk (floppy disk), Photographic print, Text document, and Microcassette
Extent:
Approximately 130 open reel tapes and 200 analog audio cassettes, as well as radio scripts, photographs, and text documents
Ishmael Reed, African-American novelist, poet, and publisher, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 22, 1938. Reed moved with his mother to Buffalo, New York in 1942. His mother worked in various wartime industries and Reed attended public schools, graduating in 1956. He also played violin and trombone and began writing a newspaper column on jazz for the Empire Star Weekly when he was thirteen. He enrolled as an evening student at Millard Fillmore College, the night school division of the University of Buffalo, and worked as a clerk at the Buffalo public library during the day. His writing ability was quickly recognized, and he moved into the bachelor of arts program at the University of Buffalo. He withdrew in 1960 because of a "dire shortage of funds" (Gates) and a "wide gap between social classes" (Gates). To escape "the artificial social and class distinctions that he associated with American university education," (Gates) he moved to Buffalo's Talbert Mall Project. Daily exposure to systematic poverty cycles in the projects led him to political activism in the civil rights and Black Power movements.
Content types:
Performed music, Spoken word, Two-dimensional moving image, Text, and Still image
Formats:
Pressed LP disc, LaserDisc, Open reel tape (unknown material), Analog audiocassette, VHS (including SVHS and VHS-C), Betamax, Text document, Photographic print, and Microfilm
Extent:
Approximately 20 recordings, microfilm, 65 feet
Repository/Collector:
University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
The papers of Senator John J. Williams span the dates 1946- 1988, with the bulk of the collection representing the years of his career in the U.S. Senate, 1947-1970. The collection consists of nearly 150 linear feet of papers and also includes scrapbooks, books, photographs, and film and sound recordings. For the most part, the arrangement of the collection reflects the original filing series of Senator Williams's office. The collection is divided into 25 series which are organized under four record subgroups. The first three subgroups--Legislative Staff/Office Files, Constituent Correspondence and Cases, and Administrative and Personal Office Files--consist of series that document the work performed in office by Senator Williams and his staff. The subgroups reflect the functions of the Senator's work and include series typical of a congressional collection. Duties reflected in the Legislative Staff/Office Files include committee, legislative, and investigative work. The Constituent Correspondence and Cases subgroup includes materials created in response to the concerns and interests of constituents, and those filed on receipt of issue-related opinions from the general public. The Administrative and Personal Office Files reflect the management of the office and the Senator's personal schedule. The fourth subgroup, Personal, includes series of files and other formats that document the personal activities and opinions of Senator Williams. The material in these files supplements information about his Senate career in the first three subgroups. There is also material from the 1970s and about Mrs. Williams and Senator Williams's family life.
Content types:
Spoken word, Text, Still image, and Two-dimensional moving image
Formats:
Disc (unknown material), Edison dictation disc, Open reel tape (unknown material), Analog audiocassette, Motion picture film, VHS (including SVHS and VHS-C), Text document, and Photographic print
Extent:
149 boxes (149 linear ft.), 4 oversize boxes, 45 volumes of scrapbooks, 11 reels of microfilm, 6 films, 4 videotapes, 15 audio-recordings, 15 audiocassettes
Repository/Collector:
University of Delaware Library, Special Collections