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Finding aid of the Oreste F. Pucciani Papers
Coll2008-059
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Table of contents
Title: Oreste F. Pucciani papers
Dates: circa
1890-1998.
Bulk Dates: 1950-1985.
Collection number: Coll2008-059
Creator:
Pucciani, Oreste F.,
1916-1999
Collection Size: 10 archive cartons + 1 archive
half-carton. 4.3 linear feet.
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: This collection contains materials relating
primarily to the private life of Oreste Pucciani (1916-1999), UCLA Professor of
French and Sartre scholar, documenting in particular his relationship with his
long-time lover, Rudi Gernreich, and his close friends, art director Jacques
Faure (1926-1986), poet Stanley Kuniholm (1912-1984), and Lionel Mailles (born
1951). The bulk of Pucciani's personal writings consists of erotic short stories
written most probably between 1975 and 1980. The bulk of the materials relating
to Rudi Gernreich consists of condolence letters to Pucciani after Gernreich's
death, together with a small number of cards and letters addressed to
Gernreich, letters to Pucciani from Gernreich's mother, and a videocassette
recording of a talk given by Pucciani on his late partner in 1993. The bulk of
the materials relating to Faure, Kuniholm, and Mailles consists of letters
received by Pucciani; however, the Mailles files include copies of letters,
poems, and essays addressed by Pucciani to Mailles. The materials received from
Kuniholm include a large number of poems, short stories, and essays documenting
the poet's creative processes. The collection also contains a small number of
subject files, publications, and miscellaneous memorabilia and
ephemera.
Languages: Languages represented in
the collection: French
English
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Oreste F. Pucciani papers, Coll2008-059, ONE National Gay and Lesbian
Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Circumstances of acquisition unknown.
Formerly boxes 103-338, 103-339, 103-345, and 103-349. Collection
processed by Michael P. Palmer,
November 4, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Oreste Francesco Pucciani was born in Cleveland on April 7, 1916, the
son of a candy manufacturer. He attended the Cleveland public schools and
graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Adelbert College, Western
Reserve University (now Case Western University) in 1939. He took his doctorate
in Romance languages from Harvard in 1943. In 1946-47, Pucciani studied in
France and Italy on a Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, meeting Sartre and his
companion Simone de Beauvoir. Returning to the United States in 1947, Pucciani
lectured at Harvard, before joining the faculty of the University of California
Los Angeles as an Assistant Professor of French in 1948. He was became an
Associate Professor in 1954, and a full Professor in 1960. He was chairman of
the French department from 1961 to 1966, and became emeritus in 1979.
Pucciani's scholarly interests were diverse. His doctoral dissertation
was devoted to the reception of Walt Whitman in France. The
French Theater since 1930 (1954) remains a
useful anthology of French theater in the years between the world wars. He also
published a well regarded translation of Racine's masterpiece
Phédre in 1961. But Pucciani is best known
as an interpreter of the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, and pioneered in
teaching courses on Sartre at UCLA before the philosopher's works were
translated into English.
In addition to his work on Sartre, Pucciani was well known as a theorist
on methods of language acquisition. He had studied with Emile B. de Sauzé at
Western Reserve in the 1930s, and was an ardent champion of Sauzé's "direct
method" of language teaching, in which all instruction, including explanations
of grammar and vocabulary, is given in the target language. In the late 1950s,
Pucciani pioneered in adapting the direct method (still little known outside
the Cleveland public schools) to the UCLA French Department's language program.
The highly successful and influential textbook,
Langue et Langage, published by Pucciani and
Jacqueline Hamel in 1967, described the department's experience with the
direct method, and revealed the advantages of immediate and total immersion in
a foreign tongue.
For his services to French language and culture, Pucciani was awarded
the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1965.
Pucciani was the long-time lover of fashion designer Rudi Gernreich. In
1988, after Gernreich's death, he established the ACLU Rudi Gernreich-Oreste
Pucciani Endowment Fund to support the fight for GLBT rights.
He died in Los Angeles on April 28, 1999.
Source:
1999, University of California: In Memoriam,
http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb267nb0r3&brand=calisphere
(accessed November 2, 2008).
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection contains materials relating primarily to the private
life of UCLA Professor of French and Sartre scholar Oreste Pucciani,
documenting in particular his relationship with his long-time lover, Rudi
Gernreich, and several of his close friends. The collection is arranged in the
following series: 1. Oreste Pucciani; 2. Rudi Gernreich; 3. Friends; 4. Subject
Files; 5. Publications; 6 Audio Visual; and 7. Miscellanea. The bulk of
Pucciani's writings consists of erotic short stories written most probably between
1975 and 1980. The writings also include a number of poems, possibly
translations of works by Stanley Kuniholm. The bulk of the materials relating
to Rudi Gernreich consists of condolence letters to Pucciani after Gernreich's
death. Other materials include a small number of cards and letters addressed to
Gernreich, and letters to Pucciani from Gernreich's mother. The Friends Series
documents in particular Pucciani's relationship with three men, Jacques Faure,
Stanley Kuniholm, and Lionel Mailles. The bulk of the materials consists of
letters received by Pucciani; however, the Mailles files include copies of
letters, poems, and essays addressed by Pucciani to Mailles. The materials
received from Kuniholm include a large number of poems, short stories, and
essays. The collection also contains a small number of subject files,
publications, a videocassette recording of a talk given by Pucciani on Rudi
Gernreich in 1993, and miscellaneous memorabilia and ephemera.
- Series 1. Oreste Pucciani
- Series 2. Rudi Gernreich
- Series 3. Friends
-
- Subseries 3.1. Jacques Faure
- Subseries 3.2. Stanley Kuniholm
- Subseries 3.3. Lionel Mailles
- Subseries 3.4. Other Correspondents
- Series 4. Subject Files
- Series 5. Publications
- Series 6. Audio Visual
- Series 7. Miscellanea
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Designers
Fashion designers
Faure, Jacques, 1926-1986
Gay erotic literature
Gay men's writings, American
Gay men's writings, French
Gays' writings, American
Gays' writings, French
Gernreich, Rudi,
1922-1985
Kuniholm, Stanley,
1912-1984
Mailles, Lionel, 1951-
Poets, American--20th century
Poets, French--20th century
Poetry
Pucciani, Oreste F.,
1916-1999
Short stories
Additional papers of Oreste Pucciani constitute the Oreste Pucciani
Papers (Collection 585), Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.