Inventory of the Edna Edwards Interviews with Children's Authors and Illustrators

Natalie Sims
William H. Hannon Library
Loyola Marymount University
One LMU Drive, MS 8200
Los Angeles, CA 90045-8200
Phone: (310) 338-2780
Fax: (310) 338-5895
Email: special.collections@lmu.edu
URL: http://library.lmu.edu/
© 2011
Loyola Marymount University. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the Edna Edwards Interviews with Children's Authors and Illustrators

Collection number: 101

William H. Hannon Library

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
Processed by:
Natalie Sims
Date Completed:
2011
Encoded by:
Natalie Sims
© 2011 Loyola Marymount University. All rights reserved.

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.


 

Series 1: General Files. 1966-1976

Physical Description: 2 archival document boxes (1.0 linear foot)

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of Edna Edwards' correspondence with publishing agencies and both potential and actual interviewees. Edwards' original order has been maintained and the original folder titles are in parentheses.
Box 1 : 1

(Tapes-General)Correspondence with the Center for Cassette Studies, other publishers 1973-1975

Box 1 : 2

(Alexander) Lloyd Alexander 1971, 1973-1974

Box 1 : 3

(Lindgrin, Astrid) Astrid Lindgren 1970

Box 1 : 4

(Freeman, Don) Don Freeman 1970, 1975-1976

Box 1 : 5

(Hoban) Russell Hoban 1971, 1973-1974

Box 1 : 6

(Schindel, Morton) Morton Schindel 1970

Box 1 : 7

(Schulz, Charles M) Charles M. Schulz 1974

Box 1 : 8

(Peet) Bill Peet 1966-1967, 1970, 1972-1974

Box 1 : 9

(Sendak) Maurice Sendak 1973-1974

Box 1 : 10

(Sendak, Maurice) Maurice Sendak undated

Box 1 : 11

(Wildsmith) Brian Wildsmith 1970 (of the original), 1973, 1975

Box 1 : 12

(Konigsburg, Elaine) Elaine Konigsburg 1975

Box 1 : 13

(Keats) Ezra Jack Keats 1971, 1973, 1975-1976

Box 1 : 14

(Konigsburg) Elaine Konigsburg 1971-1973, 1975-1976

Box 1 : 15

(L'Engle) Madeleine L'Engle 1973, 1976

Box 1 : 16

(White, E.B.) E.B. White 1973-1974

Box 1 : 17

(Lionni) Leo Lionni 1972-1973, 1975-1976

Box 1 : 18

(Livingston) Myra Cohn Livingston 1973

Box 1 : 19

(Norton, Mary) Mary Norton 1970 (of the original), 1973-1974, 1976

Box 1 : 20

(Norton, Mary) Mary Norton undated

Box 1 : 21

(O'Dell, Scott) Scott O'Dell 1973

Box 1 : 22

(Sayers) Frances Clarke Sayers 1973

Box 1 : 23

(Bawden) Nina Bawden 1975-1976

Box 2 : 1

(Dahl, Roald) Roald Dahl 1970, 1974, 1976

Box 2 : 2

(DeJong) Meindert De Jong 1970 (of the original), 1973

Box 2 : 3

(Fadiman) Clifton Fadiman 1974

Box 2 : 4

(Farmer, Penelope) Penelope Farmer 1973

Box 2 : 5

(Fleischman) Sid Fleischman 1973-1975

Box 2 : 6

Unlabeled, correspondence with potential interviewees (1 of 2) 1970-1971

Box 2 : 7

Unlabeled, correspondence with potential interviewees (2 of 2) 1970-1971

Box 2 : 8

(Author Interviews by Edna Edwards)Interview transcriptions 1974

 

Series 2: Audio Materials. circa 1970-1975

Physical Description: 1 box (0.63 linear feet)

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of copies of the original audio materials of the collection. The Center for Cassette Studies edited and published the interviews of Madeleine L'Engle, Leo Lionni, Frances Clarke Sayers, Myra Cohn Livingston, Bill Peet, Sid Fleischman, Penelope Farmer, Brian Wildsmith, Ezra Jack Keats, Roald Dahl, Elaine Konigsburg, and Lloyd Alexander. Unedited cassette tape interviews with Nina Bawden, Maurice Sendak, Meindert De Jong, and Mary Norton were included in the original materials. These interviews have all been duplicated onto CD for researchers by the Department of Archives and Special Collections. The original audio materials are not available to researchers. The interviewer supplied the titles for the interviews found below.
Box 2 : 1

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19639B2: A Conversation with Miss L'Engle 1973 (of the original)

Box 2 : 2

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19634B1: A Writer Children Love- author, illustrator Leo Lionni; Frances Clarke Sayers- a ''first lady'' of children's literature talks with Edna Edwards undated (of the original)

Box 2 : 3

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH15099A2: Myra Cohn Livingston- the beautiful poet who writes beautiful poems for children 1973 (of the original)

Box 2 : 4

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19632A3: Picture Book World of Bill Peet; Sid Fleischman: Mr. Mysterious 1973 (of the original)

Box 2 : 5

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19630B1: Penelope Farmer- the popular British novelist talks about the craft of writing; Focus on Brian Wildsmith undated (of the original)

Box 2 : 6

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19633B4: Our Favorite Mr. Keats; Bedtime Stories to Children's Books- An interview with Roald Dahl undated (of original), 1973 (of the original)

Box 2 : 7

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19628A3: Focus on Elaine Konigsburg; Lloyd Alexander: Born Story Teller undated (of original), 1973 (of the original)

Box 2 : 8

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19641B4: Nina Bawden, Maurice Sendak Part 1 (unedited) 1975 (of the original), undated (of the original)

Box 2 : 9

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH15068B3: Maurice Sendak Part 2 (unedited), Meindert De Jong Part 1, Meindert De Jong Part 2 (unedited) undated (of the original)

Box 2 : 10

Researcher copy, 5122ML171LH19643B2: Mary Norton Part 1 (unedited), Mary Norton Part 2 (unedited) undated (of the original)