Sherley Anne Williams Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2005
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Note
Revised in 2018.
Descriptive Summary
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Sherley Anne Williams Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0493
Physical Description:
6.8 Linear feet
(17 archives boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1970-1999
Abstract: Papers of Sherley Anne Williams, distinguished novelist, poet, playwright, and professor in the Department of Literature at
the University of California, San Diego, where she taught creative writing and African-American literature.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1999.
Preferred Citation
Sherley Anne Williams Papers, MSS 493. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Biography
Williams was born in Bakersfield, California in 1944. The daughter of migrant farm workers, her family picked cotton and fruit
in the San Joaquin Valley. When she was eight years old, her father died of tuberculosis and left the family destitute. While
attending high school at Thomas Alva Edison High in Fresno, Williams realized she had a passion for language and writing.
She graduated in 1962 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at California State University, Fresno in 1966. She later attended
Fisk and Howard Universities, and was accepted at Brown University where she received her Master's degree in American Literature
in 1972.
In 1973 Williams joined the University of California, San Diego as the first African-American woman hired in the Literature
Department. She became a tenured professor in 1975 and would later serve as the chair of the department from 1977 to 1980.
In addition to her 26-year teaching career at University of California, San Diego, Williams traveled to Ghana as a Senior
Fulbright Lecturer in 1984 and had visiting professorships at the University of Southern California, Cornell University, Stanford
University and Sweet Briar College. In 1987 Williams was named the Distinguished Professor of the Year by the UC San Diego
Alumni Association.
Williams' many acclaimed writings include her first published work, a non-fiction book
Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study in Neo-Black Literature (1972); her first collection of poetry,
The Peacock Poems, published in 1975 which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award; her second collection,
Some One Sweet Angel Chile, published in 1982 was adapted into an Emmy Award winning television performance. Her most celebrated work,
Dessa Rose published in 1986, a historical novel about a female slave and the white plantation mistress who saves her from death, was
a
New York Times Notable Book and was also adapted into a screenplay. Her two children's books,
Working Cotton (1992), based on her own childhood was a Caldecott Honor Book and won the Coretta Scott King Book Award, and
Girls Together (1999), which was her last published book.
In addition to her published works, her full-length one-woman play,
Letters from a New England Negro was performed at the National Black Theatre Festival in 1991 and the Chicago International Theatre Festival in 1992. Williams
also served as the advisory editor for the
Langston Hughes Review from 1982 to 1992, and
Callaloo from 1984 to 1992.
In an interview with the publication
Black Women Writers, Williams said, "Writing for me is really a process of saying, 'Here, read this.' It reinforces the fact that I'm in touch
with somebody other than my own mind... I always wrote with the idea of being published not to just slip it away in a shoebox
somewhere. I do believe that writing is about communication."
Williams passed away July 6, 1999 and is survived by one son.
Publication Rights
Publications rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Restrictions
The recordings in the collection are restricted. Researchers must request user copies be produced.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of Sherley Anne Williams, prominent novelist, poet, playwright, and distinguished professor in the Department of Literature
at the University of California, San Diego where she taught creative writing and African-American literature. Her work was
a significant contribution to the African-American literary world and examined African-American folk culture. The collection
contains manuscript drafts of her writing, transcripts of her readings, correspondence, teaching materials, articles about
her work, publicity ephemera and a small selection of video recordings.
Arranged in ten series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS, 3) OTHER WRITINGS, 4) REVIEWS, 5) INTERVIEWS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS,
6) TEACHING MATERIALS, 7) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS 8) EVENTS, 9) MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, and 10) VIDEO RECORDINGS.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American literature -- African American authors
African Americans in literature
Williams, Sherley Anne, 1944-1999 -- Archives
CORRESPONDENCE
Scope and Content of Series
Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE: Professional and personal correspondence from friends and family, publishers, universities, and
prominent poets spanning Williams' career from 1973 until her death in 1999.
Box 1, Folder 2
Ablex Publishing Corporation
undated
Box 1, Folder 3
The Academy of American Poets
1977-1986
Box 1, Folder 4
African American Museum of Fine Arts
1992
Box 1, Folder 6
Black Women and Music
1993
Box 1, Folder 7
Briarwood Writers' Alliance, Inc.
1991-1994
Box 1, Folder 8
Brown University
1978-1992
Box 1, Folder 10
California Afro-American Museum
1993-1995
Box 1, Folder 12
Chicago State University
1995
Box 1, Folder 14
Collegiate Press
1994-1998
Box 1, Folder 15
A Companion to American Thought
1992-1993
Box 1, Folder 17
DIA Center for the Arts
1993
Box 1, Folder 19
Drew University
1991-1992
Box 1, Folder 21
Eastern Washington University
1992
Box 1, Folder 25
Flanders, Barbara Kay
1993-1995
Box 1, Folder 27
Gale Research Inc.
1987-1995
Box 1, Folder 29
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers
1987-1993
Box 1, Folder 30
Harcourt Brace Trade Publishers
1992-1999
Box 1, Folder 31
Harvard University
1991-1994
Box 1, Folder 32
Hatch Developmental Writing
1991-1999
Box 1, Folder 34
Hollins College
1993-1995
Box 1, Folder 35
Howe, Fanny
1991-1999
General note
Includes "The White Slave" summary treatment.
Box 1, Folder 37
International Theatre Festival of Chicago
1992
Box 1, Folder 39
James Madison University
1993-1994
Box 1, Folder 40
Janklow and Nesbit Associates
1988-1994
Box 2, Folder 3
Nimrod - University of Tulsa
1977
Box 2, Folder 4
North County Public Radio
1995
Box 2, Folder 5
Northern Kentucky University
1989
Box 2, Folder 7
The Oxford Mark Twain
1994-1995
Box 2, Folder 8
Oxford University Press
1994-1995
Box 2, Folder 10
Pearce, Roy Harvey
1977-1983
Box 2, Folder 12
Rabil Jr., Albert
1989-1992
Box 2, Folder 14
San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture
1990-1992
Box 2, Folder 15
San Diego Union
1985-1994
Box 2, Folder 16
Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
1983-1998
Box 2, Folder 18
Scripps College
1987-1992
Box 2, Folder 22
Stanford University
1986-1995
Box 2, Folder 23
Sweet Briar College
1992-1994
Box 2, Folder 27
University of California, Berkeley
1990-1995
Box 2, Folder 28
University of California, Irvine
1986-1991
Box 2, Folder 29
University of California, Los Angeles
1990-1994
Box 2, Folder 30
University of California Press
1993
Box 2, Folder 31
University of California, San Diego
1974-1998
Box 2, Folder 32
University of California, San Diego. Department of Literature
1975-1996
Box 2, Folder 34
University of Illinois Press
1977-1992
Box 2, Folder 35
University of Maryland, College Park
1993
Box 2, Folder 36
University of Tennessee
1992-1993
Box 2, Folder 37
University of Utah
1994-1998
Box 3, Folder 1
University of Wisconsin
1987-1997
Box 3, Folder 3
Viking Penguin Inc.
1989-1992
Box 3, Folder 4
Virginia Commonwealth University
1993-1994
Box 3, Folder 5
Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges
1992-1994
Box 3, Folder 7
Walters, Wendy W.
1993-1995
Box 3, Folder 9
Wesleyan University Press
1975-1992
Box 3, Folder 10
Wesling, Donald
1975-1987
Box 3, Folder 11
William Morrow and Company, Inc. Publishers
1978-1999
WRITINGS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 2) WRITINGS: Comprises of the bulk of the collection and includes typescript drafts, handwritten notes, and publishing
information for Williams' writings from 1975 through 1999. Notably, drafts of
The Peacock Poems (1975), a compilation of Williams' poetry;
Letters from a New England Negro which was turned into a full length drama in 1982 and include drafts of the story for later one-character productions in
1985, 1986 and 1992;
Some One Sweet Angel Chile (1982), includes drafts of the script for a television performance;
Dessa Rose, (1986) includes information on the screenplay adaptation of the book; proposal, outlines and multiple annotated drafts for
Licensed to Dream, written from 1992-1998;
Girls Together (1999), includes drafts of Williams second children's book, written from 1990-1995;
Meanwhile in Another Part of the City... a collection of stories, arranged in four parts, written between 1992 and 1998, which includes extensive annotated typescripts
and storyline notes.
Box 3, Folder 15-16
The Peacock Poems - Drafts
1975, undated
Box 3, Folder 17-24
Letters from a New England Negro: A One Character Drama
1980-1986, 1992
General note
Production script, handwritten notes and fragmented annotated drafts.
Box 4, Folder 1-5
Some One Sweet Angel Chile
1999, undated
General note
Drafts, license agreement and contract, reading copies and "A Brief History of Some One Sweet Angel Chile."
Box 4, Folder 6-10
Dessa Rose
1987
General note
Annotated fragments of drafts, consultation information regarding filming and drafts of screenplay. Final draft of screenplay,
and notes on staged reading directed by Dr. Floyd Gaffney, adapted by T. Ford.
Box 4, Folder 11-13
Licensed to Dream
1992-1998
General note
Proposal for the novel and outline with multiple drafts.
Box 5, Folder 1-2
Girls Together
1990-1995
General note
Notes and correspondence, storyline and publishing correspondence.
Meanwhile in Another Part of the City... - Drafts
Box 5, Folder 3-7
Complete sets of drafts
1992-1998
Box 5, Folder 8-9
Part I. In the Inner City
1992
Box 6, Folder 1-10
Part I. In the Inner City
1993-1998
Box 7, Folder 1-3
Part II. In the District
1992-1997
Box 7, Folder 4-7
Part III. The Tree-Line
1993-1994, undated
Box 7, Folder 8
Part IV. A Quarter of the City
1992
OTHER WRITINGS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 3) OTHER WRITINGS: Spanning Williams literary career from 1974 to 1997, includes numerous essays and short stories
that may have been intended to be included in future compilations, drafts of chapters she wrote for other works, her forward
to a publication of
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, as well as articles for the literary magazine,
Callaloo.
Box 7, Folder 9
1920-1940: American Popular Culture Becomes American
Box 7, Folder 10
Amah Ponders the Vernacular - Typescripts
1996-1997, and undated
Box 7, Folder 11
Another Try at Pearl and Amah
1998
Box 7, Folder 12
Billie's Blues: The Blues Singer as a Cultural Trope
1993
Box 7, Folder 13
Black-Eyed Susans/Midnight Birds
General note
Chapter by and about Sherley Anne Williams.
Box 7, Folder 14
Black Feminist Aesthetics; or, Hearing the Voice of Black Female Authority
Box 8, Folder 1
Black Women's Contributions to Blues Literature
Box 8, Folder 2
The Blues Roots of Contemporary Afro-American Poetry
Box 8, Folder 3
Chronicles of the Last Ice Age, Callaloo
1995
Box 8, Folder 4
Double Jeopardy: Double Trick, The Status of Black Women at the Present Time
1974
Box 8, Folder 5
The Dunbar Musical - Script
Box 8, Folder 6
Ellison's Two Heroes
1970
General note
Draft of college paper.
Box 8, Folder 7
Eulogy of Rebecca Helen Thierry
1990
Box 8, Folder 8-9
Fire Earth and Water
1975
General note
Accepted for publication as part of The Peacock Poems. Originally titled "Earth Fire Water: A Collection."
Box 8, Folder 11
Juneteenth: The Bicentennial Poem
1977
Box 8, Folder 12
Langston Hughes and the Negro Renaissance - Notes
1985
Box 8, Folder 13
Liberation Narratives - Essay draft
1997
Box 8, Folder 14-15
The Lion's History - Annotated drafts
1996
Box 9, Folder 1
The Lost Nigger Expedition - Notes
Box 9, Folder 4-5
Miss Brown's Blues - Novel draft
Box 9, Folder 6-8
Nightbirds
General note
Film adaptation of a collection of poems. Includes "Nightbirds: Almeta Speaks Presents," outline.
Box 9, Folder 9-13
No Rest in My Slumber: Critical Essays
1974-1996
General note
Table of contents and drafts.
Box 10, Folder 1
Non-fiction original drafts - In Mamma's Garden, No Rest in My Slumber: Black Speech as Poetic Diction, The Legacy of Lust
and License, Two Words on Music: Black Community, Touring Senegal, How Old White Boys Made Good, Don't Let Your Song Curb
You!
1991
Box 10, Folder 3
Papa Dick and Sister Woman, Reflections on Women in the Fiction of Richard Wright
1982
Box 10, Folder 4
Poem notes
General note
Includes "Gospel Pearls."
Box 10, Folder 5
The Quarters: Group Ethos and Historical Vision. Chapter 3
Box 10, Folder 6-7
Regular Reefer - Annotated drafts
1976
Box 10, Folder 8
The Reinvention of the Past History as Exile in the Third World Novel
Box 10, Folder 9
Remembering Professor Sterling A. Brown, 1901-1989
1989
Box 10, Folder 10
Returning to the Blues
1991
Box 11, Folder 1
Saint James Infirmary - Draft summary
Box 11, Folder 3-4
A Sense of Place: Our Hill in the City
Box 11, Folder 6
SISTA: Preliminary Discussions of the Images and Roles of Afro-American Women
General note
Outline for the anthology.
Box 11, Folder 8
Solidarity is not Silent
1991
General note
Review of Paule Marshall's "Daughters."
Box 11, Folder 9
Some Implications of Womanist Theory
1986
Box 11, Folder 10
The Stevie Wonder Up Tight: A Story of the Early Sixties
Box 11, Folder 11
Struggle in the Progressive Era 1900-1920
Box 11, Folder 13-14
Telling the Teller: Memoir and Story, The Amah Dean Project
Box 11, Folder 15-16
Their Eyes Were Watching God
General note
Copies of introduction and foreword by Williams.
Box 11, Folder 17
The Thierrys of San Diego -
Crawl Out Your Window
1987
Box 11, Folder 18
The Verified Tongue: New and Selected Poems
1992
Box 11, Folder 19
A Year on the Gold Coast - Notes and typescripts
1966
REVIEWS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 4) REVIEWS. Arranged in two subseries: A) Reviews by Williams and B) Reviews of Williams' Work.
Box 11, Folder 20
Anonymous in America: A Review of 'From Leroi Jones to Amiri Baraka' and 'Baraka the Renegade and the Mask'
1980
Box 11, Folder 21
Beloved by Toni Morrison
1987
Box 11, Folder 22
Black Detective Tropes in the Movie "Cotton Comes to Harlem"
1997-1998
Box 11, Folder 23
Blighted Hopes and Broken Dreams, review of Gloria Naylor's "The Men of Brewsters Place"
1998 April 1
Box 11, Folder 24
Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study in Neo-Black Literature
1972-1973
Box 11, Folder 25
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years, Sarah and A. Elizabeth Delany
Box 11, Folder 26
The Jazz Singer, review of film
Box 12, Folder 1
Paradise, by Toni Morrison
1998 January 15
Box 12, Folder 2
"A Review of Onwuchekwa Jamie, Langston Hughes: An Introductory to the Poetry"
1976
Box 12, Folder 3
Reviews of others' work, various
1983
Reviews of Williams' Work
Box 12, Folder 4-5
Dessa Rose
1982-1987, 1992
General note
Includes critique by Carol Schmudde, in
Masters of African-American Literature.
Box 12, Folder 6-7
Letters from a New England Negro: A One Character Drama
1980, 1986
General note
Reviews of various performances, article in Iowa Review.
Box 12, Folder 8
Some One Sweet Angel Chile
1982
Box 12, Folder 9
Reviews of Sherley Anne Williams' work
1982-1995
INTERVIEWS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 5) INTERVIEWS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: Williams spoke at many functions, participated in literary readings and was interviewed
for magazine, news articles and radio. Includes radio and interview transcripts, speeches and reading notes from 1986 to 1994.
Also includes her address given at the UC San Diego commencement in June 1993.
Box 12, Folder 10
UC San Diego commencement address
1993 June 13
Box 12, Folder 11
Endowing Our Future - Speech given at United Church of Christ
1997
Box 12, Folder 12
Interview questions regarding Dessa Rose
1998-1999
Box 12, Folder 13
Interview with Jean W. Ross, Gale-Research Company
1987 October 29
Box 12, Folder 14
Interview with Sherley Williams in San Diego Writers Monthly
1991 June 1
Box 12, Folder 15
New Vistas in Black Arts, Perpetuating Black Expressive Forms in the 80's
Box 12, Folder 16
Our Story: History Through Children's Literature, National Museum of American History
1999
Box 12, Folder 17-20
Readings and speaking engagements, Notes and contracts
1986-1987
Box 12, Folder 22
Transcript of readings performed on and broadcast by WBAI/Pacifica radio
1987 October 16
Box 12, Folder 23-24
Two Words on Music: Black Community
1992
Box 12, Folder 25
Working Cotton Book tour
1993-1994
TEACHING MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 6) TEACHING MATERIALS. Arranged in two subseries: A) Undergraduate Courses and B) Graduated Courses, Workshops & Visiting
Professorships. Includes her notes, syllabi and curriculum development for classes she taught, as well as materials portraying
her participation in developing African-American literature courses at UC San Diego.
Box 13, Folder 1-8
Literature/English 17, Afro-American Literature, and Introduction to Afro-American Literature
Box 13, Folder 9
Literature/Writing 100, Beginning Fiction
Box 13, Folder 10
Literature/General 173, The Black Detective: Contemporary Afro-American Mysteries
1997
Box 13, Folder 11-13
Literature/English 183, Black Literature and the Movies - Course material & notes
1993-1994
Box 13, Folder 14
Literature/General 187, The Bounded Space: Black Community in Black Popular Literature
1995
Box 13, Folder 15-20
Literature/Writing 8A, The Craft of Fiction - Notes
1997
Box 13, Folder 21
Literature/Society 142, Contemporary Black Literature
1975
Box 13, Folder 22
Contemporary Afro-American Literature - Notes
1991
Box 13, Folder 23-24
Contemporary Afro-American Poetry - Notes
Box 13, Folder 25-26
Literature/Society 140, Development of Afro-American Literature
1977
Box 14, Folder 1
Fiction in the Third World, and Literature/Society 22
1976
Box 14, Folder 2-5
The Harlem Renaissance: 1919-1940
Box 14, Folder 6
Introduction to Literary Criticism - Notes
1973
Box 14, Folder 9
Literature/English 182B, Modern Afro-American Literature
1983
Box 14, Folder 10
Literature/Writing 127, Non-Fiction Workshop: Writing About Literature
1998
Box 14, Folder 11
Literature/English 182, Origins of Afro-American Literature - Notes
Box 14, Folder 12
Literature/General 187, The Pan-African Historical Novel
1994
Box 14, Folder 13-15
Literature/General 130, Pan-African Literature - Notes
1990
Box 14, Folder 16-18
Literature/General 130, Pan-African Women Fiction Writers
1990
Box 14, Folder 19
English 404: Poetry Writing Workshop/Creative Writing Workshop
1982
Box 14, Folder 20
Prose Writing and Style
undated
Box 14, Folder 21
Literature/Writing 100, Short Fiction
Box 14, Folder 22
Literature/Society 21
1977
Box 14, Folder 23
Literature/Society 144
1975
Box 14, Folder 24
Literature/English 185: Themes in Afro-American Literature: "The New World" According to Conde & Morrison
1998
Box 14, Folder 25
English 90, Working Fiction - Stanford University
1995
Box 14, Folder 26
English 102, Working Fiction
1994
Box 14, Folder 27
Various lecture notes
1973-1974
Graduate Courses, Workshops and Professorships
Box 15, Folder 1
Literature/Writing 280, Imaginative Writing: Fiction - Graduate workshops
1993
Box 15, Folder 2
Black-Jewish Relations Working Group
1994
Box 15, Folder 3
Statement of Proposed Activity, for teaching at the University of Ghana
1983
Box 15, Folder 4
Visiting Professorship in India
1995
BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 7) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS: Includes copies of her bibliographies, short biographies for press releases, curriculum
vitae, news articles regarding Williams' life, death and memorial, a small selection of photographs, and early childhood stories.
Box 15, Folder 9
News articles regarding Williams' life, death and memorial
1977-1999
Box 15, Folder 10
Photographs and contact sheets
1985
EVENTS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 8) EVENTS: Includes materials relating to professional events Williams attended from 1982 to 1998, including the African-American
Women's Conference, Black Women Writers and the 'High Art' of Afro-American Letters, and other poetry panels, literary events
and book signings.
Box 15, Folder 11
African-Americans and Europe, Film Festival and Theater Program, Paris
1992 February 6-8
Box 15, Folder 12
African American Women's Conference
1993
Box 15, Folder 13
Black Women Writers and the 'High Art' of Afro-American Letters - Proposal and outline
1997
Oversize FB-471, Folder 1
Black Women Writers and the 'High Art' of Afro-American Letters - Scrapbook for event at UC San Diego
1998 May 1
General note
Keynote address by Angela Davis and readings by Sherley Anne Williams.
Box 15, Folder 14
Black Women Writers in Dialogue, Yale University
1982 April 16-18
Box 15, Folder 15
Christian Education Board meeting
1998 March 1
Box 15, Folder 16
Dessa Rose book signings
1986
Box 15, Folder 17
The Dividing Line Symposium - The Legacy of the Doctrine of "Separate But Equal" and the Future of Civil Rights in California
1996 October 1
Box 15, Folder 18
Events - Flyers and announcements
1982-1988
Box 15, Folder 19
A Panel on Poetry and the Public Sphere: Literature Colloquium
1998 October 13
Box 15, Folder 20
Performance of Letters From a New England Negro at the Oakland Ensemble Theatre
1985-1986
Box 15, Folder 21
Requests for readings
1986-1992
Box 15, Folder 22
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
1998
Box 15, Folder 23
Seminar information
1992-1996
Box 15, Folder 24
"Some Implications of Womanist Theory," presented at the African Literature Association Conference
1986 April 17
Box 16, Folder 1
Biography of Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones)
1971
Box 16, Folder 3
IAH News, Vol. 1, No. 1, Newsletter for the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, Howard University
1975
Box 16, Folder 4
Literature research grant materials
Box 16, Folder 5-7
Miscellaneous drafts, notes and manuscript reviews
Box 16, Folder 8
Notes on "The Autobiography of Miss Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines"
1970-1975
VIDEORECORDINGS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 10) VIDEO RECORDINGS: Contain VHS cassettes of Williams' readings and other events, including the Black Women Writers
Conference of 1998.
Box 16, Folder 10
Black Women Writers Conference - Angela Davis; Hazel Carby, Jane Rhodes and Jonathon Holloway
1998 May 15-17
General note
Includes 3 VHS cassettes.
Box 17, Folder 1
Sherley Anne Williams, Live Audience. Almeta Speaks Regular Reefer, KPBS Broadcast
1977 March 26
Box 17, Folder 2
Sherley Anne Williams memorial
1999 October 21
Box 17, Folder 3
Sherley Anne Williams reading - Public Works
1993
Box 17, Folder 4
Sunday Proceedings: Lisa Lowe - Provocateur, "We Wear the Hats Panel"
