Descriptive Summary
Scope and Content of Collection
Biography
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Restrictions
Digital Content
Descriptive Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Holly Prado Papers
Creator:
Prado, Holly
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0597
Physical Description:
22 Linear feet
(55 archives boxes, 3 oversize folders)
Physical Description:
6.2 GB
of digital files
Date (inclusive): 1890-2019
Abstract: The Holly Prado Papers include material spanning the career of poet Holly Prado, from examples of early efforts written in
her youth in the 1950s, through her professional work in the 2010s. Prado's personal journals, dating from 1960 - 2019, make
up the largest portion of the collection. Influenced by Jungian psychology, Prado has described journals an important tool
for "nourishing" her writing. The second largest group of material consists of drafts of poetry, prose, and talks and lectures.
The collection also includes correspondence, photographs, artwork, audiovisual recordings, and publication materials from
Cahuenga Press.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Holly Prado Papers include material spanning the career of poet Holly Prado, from examples of early efforts written in
her youth in the 1950s, through her professional work in the 2010s. Prado's personal journals, dating from 1960 - 2019, make
up the largest portion of the collection. Influenced by Jungian psychology, Prado has described journals an important tool
for "nourishing" her writing. The second largest group of material consists of drafts of poetry, prose, and talks and lectures.
The collection also includes correspondence, photographs, artwork, audiovisual recordings, and publication materials from
Cahuenga Press.
Accessions Processed in 2006
Arranged in nine series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) NOTES, 5) READINGS, 6) TEACHING MATERIALS,
7) CONFERENCES, 8) JOURNALS, 9) WRITINGS BY OTHERS & MISCELLANEOUS.
Accessions Processed in 2008, 2022
Arranged in nine series: 10) BIOGRAPHICAL, 11) CORRESPONDENCE, 12) WRITINGS, 13) READINGS AND LECTURES, 14) JOURNALS, 15)
CAHUENGA PRESS, 16) PHOTOGRAPHS, 17) ARTWORK, and 18) AUDIOVISUAL RECORDINGS.
Biography
Holly Prado was born Holly Kay Johnson on May 2, 1938 in Lincoln, Nebraska. She attended Grand Rapids Junior College and Albion
College, where she was awarded a bachelor of arts with honors in 1960. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles, where she
remained to become an active, influential member of the Southern California literary community as a poet, educator, and regular
participant in live poetry readings and literary events. She began writing as Holly Prado during her marriage to George Prado
(1967-1975) and continued using that name after her marriage to actor and poet Harry Northup in 1990. She has also used the
names Holly Schwartz and Holly Prado Northup.
Prado became involved in poetry and literary education for all age groups in the mid-1960s. She taught English at John Marshall
High School in Los Angeles (1965-1972), participated in a Poetry in the Schools Program sponsored by the Department of Labor
and the National Endowment for the Arts (1973-1974), and has taught numerous writing workshops offered through a variety of
schools and organizations. Prado was hired as a faculty member for the University of Southern California Master of Professional
Writing Program in 1973.
Prado began writing for publication while still in college, but attributes a 1970 writing workshop taught by Alvaro Cardona-Hine
with helping her develop her mature style. Prado's first published collection was
Nothing Breaks Off at the Edge (1976). Her other published collections include
Specific Mysteries (1990),
Esperanza: Poems for Orpheus (1998),
These Mirrors Prove It: Selected Poems and Prose, 1970-2003 (2005),
Oh, Salt/Oh, Desiring hand (2013), and
Weather: A Poem/A Chronicle (2019). Her poetry has also appeared in various anthologies, poetry journals, and magazines such as
Ms. and
Rolling Stone. In addition to poetry, Prado has contributed essays and reviews to several periodicals, notably the
Los Angeles Times Book Review, and published two books of prose,
Feasts (1976) and
Gardens (1985). Prado became a founding member of the Cahuenga Press Poets Publishing Cooperative in 1989 with James Cushing, Phoebe
MacAdams, Bill Mohr, Cecilia Woloch, and Harry Northup.
Prado's work is often noted for her use of a mythic voice and references to classical myths and mysteries. In the introduction
to her collection
Greatest Hits (2000), she described the work in
Specific Mysteries and
Word Rituals (released as a spoken word recording in 1993) as "ceremonies making words sacred." Jungian psychology has also had a significant
influence on Prado's work, especially her enthusiasm for keeping personal journals. In the literary journal
Chrysalis (no. 7, 1979) she discussed personal journaling as an important tool for keeping in touch with the unconscious, developing
intuitiveness, and exploring emotional states without self-censoring, as well as a means of "nourishing" writing intended
for publication. Her personal journals record thoughts, experiences, and dreams and sometimes include drawings, photographs,
or ephemera.
Holly Prado and Harry Northup shared a home on Mariposa Avenue in East Hollywood for more than thirty years. In July 2017
an electrical fire in the apartment destroyed their study along with their computer and much of their correspondence, records,
and artwork. A box of Prado's family photographs, slightly singed and smoke damaged, survived the fire. Prado and Northup
relocated to housing on the Motion Picture and Television Fund campus in Woodland Hills. Holly Prado died on June 14, 2019
in Los Angeles, California.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Preferred Citation
Holly Prado Papers, MSS 597. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2002, 2006-2019.
Restrictions
Original audiovisual and digital media are restricted; listening/viewing copies may be available for researchers.
Digital Content
The collection contains a small number of individually described digital files.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century
Poetry -- Congresses
Poetry -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
Prado, Holly -- Archives
Northup, Harry E.
Woman's Words Conference