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Finding aid to the Nancy Stockwell Papers, [1956?]-2006
GLC 47
GLC 47
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Table of contents
Title: Nancy Stockwell Papers,
Date (inclusive): [1956?]-2006
Date (bulk): 1975-1998
Collection Identifier: GLC 47
Creator:
Stockwell, Nancy
Physical Description:
2 boxes, 1 oversized flat box, 1 document case
(2.5 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: The collection documents the life of Nancy Stockwell through her correspondence, subject files, diaries, and draft and printed
copies of her writings. Stockwell was an author and professional golfer. She was one of the founders of
Plexus, a San Francisco Bay Area feminist magazine. Stockwell's
Out Somewhere and Back Again contains some autobiographical material.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is open for research except for Series 5 which is closed to research until 2060 per Nancy Stockwell.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items. Copyright and literary
rights for Stockwell's published and unpublished works were bequeathed to the Kansas University Endowment Association, P.O.
Box 928, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044-0928.
[Identification of item], Nancy Stockwell Papers (GLC 47), LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library.
The Nancy Stockwell Papers were donated to The San Francisco Public Library by Deanna L. Nikodym for the Estate of Nancy Stockwell
in May 2000. 11 additional items were donated by Nikodym in April 2010.
Nancy Stockwell was born in Paola, Kansas on September 8, 1940. She was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a congenital pulmonary
disorder in 1951. In 1966 she graduated from the University of Kansas with a Master's degree in Speech/Theatre. That same
year she moved to Boston, Massachusetts and began her career as a writer. The unpublished novella "Lucky Girls" chronicles
her early days in Boston. She taught high school, was an editor at Arthur D. Little, Inc. from 1970-1973, and was a grant
writer and administrator at the Girls' Club in Lynn, Massachusetts from 1972-1973.
In 1973 Stockwell moved to Berkeley, California where she became one of the founding mothers of the journals
PLEXUS (1974-1977) and
The Bright Medusa. It is at this time that she made the acquaintance of members of the early lesbian-feminist movement. In 1977 she returned
to the east coast. In 1978
Out Somewhere and Back Again: the Kansas Stories was published. In 1979 she attended the first gay and lesbian March in Washington, DC where she was living. In 1980 she began
managing the Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. A piece of
hers was published in
A True Likeness edited by Felice Picano, Seahorse Press. In 1981 she founded The Good Earth, a landscaping and construction business (1981-1985).
In 1985 she was admitted into the Ladies Professional Golf Association and returned to the west coast.
In 1987 Stockwell became the first female golf club professional in San Francisco at Harding/Lincoln Parks. Later that year,
she was hired as head teaching professional at the Stony Run Sports Center in Denver, Pennsylvania, and opened the PRO shop
in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. In 1990 she was hired as the manager and teaching professional at Blue Skies Country Club in Yucca
Valley, California.
In 1992 Stockwell moved from the desert to Paola, Kansas due to failing health. She founded the Old Faithful Trading Company
and taught college-level sociology. In 1996 she purchased a home and moved to Kansas City, Kansas to be near KU Medical Center.
A piece of hers was published in
Best Lesbian Erotica 1996 edited by Tristan Taormino, Cleis Press. She read from "The Telling Kind" at OUTWRITE on February 25, 1996 in Boston.
In 1998 Stockwell arrived in San Diego, California in January to await a double lung transplant at UCSD Medical Center. On
September 18, 1998 she underwent successful double lung transplant surgery and was discharged from the hospital in 10 days.
In December she returned to Kansas to assist with the care of her mother who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Nancy
Stockwell died at the Kansas University Medical Center on March 13, 1999 due to complications from the lung transplants and
immuno-suppression.
The collection contains correspondence, subject files, diaries, and draft and printed copies of Stockwell’s writings. Most
of the material covers the years 1975 through 1998.
The material is arranged in five series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Subject Files; Series 3. Works; Series 4. Audiovisual
Materials; and Series 5. Diaries/Journals.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Stockwell, Nancy -- Archives
Feminism--Periodicals.
Gays--California--San Francisco--Social life and customs--20th century.
Lesbian authors--California--San Francisco--Biography.
Lesbian authors--United States--Biography.
Lesbians--California--San Francisco--Social life and customs--20th century.
San Francisco (Calif.)--Biography
Women golfers--California--San Francisco--Biography.
Women golfers--United States--Biography.