Lewis MacAdams papers, 1944-2014

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Summary

Creators:
MacAdams , Lewis
Abstract:
Lewis MacAdams is a Los Angeles-based poet, journalist, and filmmaker, and has authored over 20 books of poems and stories. Collection materials include MacAdams' monographs; environmental and cultural journalism; film projects; correspondence with poets and artists; files related to the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR); performance materials from the San Francisco and Los Angeles poetry and arts scenes; publications from MacAdams' library, and personal memorabilia, as well as countless drafts and poetry fragments. MacAdams' work embraces performance art and political activism on behalf of local and national causes, and includes files related to the founding of FoLAR. His writings about the river, politics, culture, and crime have been published in Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, and the L.A. Weekly.
Extent:
53.2 Linear Feet (121 boxes, 5 half boxes, 2 flat boxes, 2 flat boxes oversize, 1 telescoping box)
Language:
Collection materials are primarily in English, with some writing, correspondence, and performance materials in Spanish, Italian, French, and German.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lewis MacAdams papers (Collection 2289). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection materials include MacAdams' writings such as monographs, journalism, and film projects, correspondence with poets and artists, files related to the Friends of the Los Angeles River, performance materials and fliers from the Los Angeles poetry and art scenes, publications from MacAdams' library, and memorabilia. Materials also include interviews and transcripts for his book The Birth of The Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant-Garde about the cultural history of the idea of cool, and materials related to his unpublished biography of Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner. This collection contains scripts for television and film projects, including material related to his documentary What Happened to Kerouac? and other video projects in collaboration with EZTV founder John Dorr, as well as a near-complete run of WET magazine, for which MacAdams was editor from 1980-82. Audiovisual materials include interviews by MacAdams, television and movie projects, and performances.

Biographical / historical:

Lewis MacAdams is a poet, journalist, and filmmaker whose work embraces performance art and political activism. Born October 12, 1944 and raised in Dallas, Texas, MacAdams earned a B.A. in English from Princeton in 1966 and a Master's degree from State University of New York, Buffalo in 1968. He participated in the poetry and performance scenes in Bolinas and San Francisco and was director of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University from 1975-1978. After moving to Los Angeles, MacAdams concentrated on poetry and journalism as well as film and television projects, including a collaboration with EZTV founder John Dorr and the Lannan Foundation on a video series that featured readings by poets. He also wrote and performed with avant-garde artists like The Dark Bob and others in the Los Angeles performance scene. MacAdams founded Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) in 1986, which he describes as a "40-year art work" that aims to harness creative energies which engage politics, magic, and imagination "to bring the Los Angeles River, one of the most degraded rivers on earth, back to life." MacAdams has been married twice and has four children.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Lewis MacAdams, 2015.
Processing information:

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

Processed by Kelly Besser with assistance from Jade Finlinson, Gaku Uchino, and Rebecca Bucher, and supervision from Megan Hahn Fraser, 2017.

Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged in the following series based on preservation of the existing order and the imposition of an intellectual order:

  • 1. Writing by MacAdams
  • 2. Correspondence
  • 3. FoLAR files
  • 4. Performance materials
  • 5. Publications
  • 6. Memorabilia

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audiovisual materials. For information about the access status of the material that you are looking for, refer to the Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed audiovisual materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lewis MacAdams papers (Collection 2289). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website