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Inventory of the Edna Edwards Interviews with Children's Authors and Illustrators
101  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Edna Edwards Interviews with Children's Authors and Illustrators
    Dates: 1966-1976
    Collection number: 101
    Creator: Edwards, Edna
    Collection Size: 3 boxes (1.63 linear feet)
    Repository: Loyola Marymount University. William H. Hannon Library. Department of Archives and Special Collections.
    Los Angeles, California 90045-2659
    Abstract: This collection consists of textual and audio materials documenting Edna Edwards' interviews with children's literature authors and illustrators. The interviews were conducted in the early 1970s. Some of the interviews were published, while others remain unedited on cassette tape.
    Physical location: Collection stored on site. Appointment is necessary to consult the collection.
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Access

    The collection is open for research by appointment with no restrictions under the conditions of the access policy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To schedule an appointment, please call the Department of Archives and Special Collections at 310-338-5710, or email the department: Special.Collections@lmu.edu. As a preservation measure, researchers must use the reference copies of the original audio materials.

    Publication Rights

    Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Edna Edwards Interviews with Children's Authors and Illustrators, Collection 101, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Bryan Edwards. Accession number: 2011.4.

    Biography

    Edna Edwards grew up in Kentucky and went to school in Tennessee at Carson-Newman College. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1951. She worked as a librarian for Kenwick Elementary School in Fayette County, Kentucky. She received her masters degree in education from UCLA in 1961. Beginning in 1961, Edwards worked as a librarian for Horace Mann Elementary School in Beverly Hills, California. She took a sabbatical leave for a semester during the 1970-1971 school year. In May 1970, she sent letters to about twenty-five authors and illustrators of children's books requesting their participation in making taped interviews. Edwards traveled throughout the United States and Europe to conduct the interviews, usually at the interviewees home. She struggled to find a publisher for the interviews. In 1973, the Center for Cassette Studies in Hollywood, California agreed to publish the tapes. The interviewees included Lloyd Alexander, Nina Bawden, Roald Dahl, Meindert De Jong, Penelope Farmer, Sid Fleischman, Ezra Jack Keats, Elaine Konigsburg, Madeleine L'Engle, Leo Lionni, Myra Cohn Livingston, Mary Norton, Bill Peet, Frances Clarke Sayers, Maurice Sendak, and Brian Wildsmith.
    The above information was compiled from materials within the collection.
    May 1970 Edna Edwards sends letters to authors and illustrators requesting interviews.
    June 1970 Interview conducted with Sid Fleischman.
    July 10, 1970 Interview conducted with Roald Dahl.
    July 21, 1970 Interview conducted with Myra Cohn Livingston.
    September 2, 1970 Interview conducted with Bill Peet.
    November 9, 1970 Interview conducted with Maurice Sendak.
    November 10, 1970 Interview conducted with Ezra Jack Keats.
    November 12, 1970 Interview conducted with Madeleine L'Engle.
    November 14, 1970 Interview conducted with Meindert De Jong.
    November 15, 1970 Interview conducted with Elaine Konigsburg.
    December 5, 1970 Interview conducted with Frances Clarke Sayers.
    February 1971 Interview conducted with Lloyd Alexander.
    July 1973 Interview conducted with Brian Wildsmith.
      Interview conducted with Mary Norton.
      Interview conducted with Leo Lionni.
    August 29, 1973 Interview conducted with Penelope Farmer.
    July 23, 1975 Interview conducted with Nina Bawden.

    Scope and Content Note

    This collection consists of correspondence, notes, recorded interviews on cassette tape and CD, and transcripts of the interviews Edna Edwards conducted with notable children's authors and illustrators. Correspondence includes information about scheduling the interviews, as well as personal exchanges and examples of the interviewees' work.
    The collection includes correspondence with authors who declined an interview, including Ray Bradbury, Charles Schulz, E.B. White, Beverly Cleary, Eleanor Cameron, Felix Hoffmann, Joseph Krumgold, Robert McCloskey, and T.S. Geisel.
    Notable items: signed brochures from Bill Peet, including a poster of his illustrations; an illustrated holiday letter and a card from Bill and Margaret Peet; signed brochures from Elaine Konigsburg; an illustrated holiday letter from Hugh and Madeleine (L'Engle) Franklin.

    Arrangement

    This collection consists of two series. The first series consists of Edna Edwards' files related to the interview project. The second series consists of copies of the original audio material of the collection.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Edwards, Edna.
    Sayers, Frances Clarke, 1897-.
    Alexander, Lloyd.
    Peet, Bill.
    Sendak, Maurice.
    Wildsmith, Brian.
    Konigsburg, E. L.
    Keats, Ezra Jack.
    L'Engle, Madeleine.
    Lionni, Leo, 1910-1999.
    Livingston, Myra Cohn.
    Norton, Mary.
    Bawden, Nina, 1925-.
    Dahl, Roald.
    De Jong, Meindert, 1906-1991.
    Farmer, Penelope, 1939-.
    Fleischman, Sid, 1920-2010.
    Center for Cassette Studies.
    Novelists, English--20th century--Interviews.
    Novelists, American--20th century--Interviews.
    Poets, American--20th century--Interviews.
    Illustrators--Interviews--Juvenile literature.
    Authors--20th century--Interviews.
    Children's literature--Authorship.
    Children--Books and reading.
    Children's poetry--Authorship.
    Children's literature, American--History and criticism.
    Librarians--United States--Interviews.