Finding aid to the Lynn Lonidier Papers, 1958-1993
Finding aid prepared by David Hatfield Sparks
James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4400
info@sfpl.org
1996
Title: Lynn Lonidier Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1958-1993
Date (bulk): 1967-1993
Collection Identifier: GLC 1
Creator:
Lonidier, Lynn
Physical Description:
9 cartons + 1 oversized box
(9.0 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: The papers include correspondence, manuscripts, drafts, research materials and notes, financial and publishing documents,
and photographs that relate to Lonidier's career as a teacher, writer/poet, and lesbian-feminist activist. It also includes
objects used in two of her performance pieces.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
Access
The collection is open for research, with photographs available for viewing during Photo Desk hours: Tuesday: 1-5; Thursday:
1-5; Saturday: 10-12, 1-5.
Publication Rights
Copyright retained by Fred Lonidier.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lynn Lonidier Papers (GLC 1), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
The Lynn Lonidier Papers were donated to The San Francisco Public Library by Fred Lonidier in 1995.
Biographical note
Lynn Lonidier was born in Lakeview, Oregon on April 22, 1937. Often describing herself as a "card-carrying anarchafeminist,"
Lonidier was a teacher, author and multimedia and theater performance artist. As a West Coast writer, she was active in the
San Francisco literary scene, especially within the lesbian/feminist community, during the 1970s until the time of her death
in 1993. Also a musician, she studied composition and collaborated with Pauline Oliveros at the University of California at
San Diego. She also attended San Francisco State University where, as a cellist, she majored in performance. She also received
a M. A. in Media/Education in 1975 from the University of Washington at Seattle.
While teaching public school in Northern California in the 1960s, Lonidier participated in the "Poet in the Schools" program.
She also helped coordinate the Pegasus Program, sponsored by San Francisco State University, that encouraged public school
students to write poetry and publish, under Lonidier's direction, numerous chapbooks. In the mid-1960s, Lonidier helped to
design a new series in this program that emphasized the use of audiovisual equipment and techniques in the student creation
and performance of poetry and "light show-happenings." She was also interested in encouraging the writing of bilingual poetry,
especially Spanish/English, to children in San Francisco's Mission District. During the 1970s and 1980s, she also taught,
and lectured on feminist topics in writing and multimedia performance in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, especially
at the San Francisco Women's Building, of which she was a "Founding Mother." She was also a "light-optics artist" in 1969
for the Electric Circus in New York City and also worked in the same capacity at the 1970 World's Fair, held in Japan. This
kind of "multimedia" aspect, reflected in the combination of poetry, film, animation, two and three dimensional visual arts
and music, in a theatrical or "performance art" setting, characterizes her approach to her life work reflected in this collection.
Lonidier was the recipient of a California Arts Councils grant, a member of the Mission Alliance for a Popular Culture. She
was associated with the Feminist Writers Guild as well as other Bay Area based writers' organizations and projects, such as
the Lavender Rose Collective founded by Judy Grahn. She performed, read, and lectured extensively throughout San Francisco
and the Bay Area at such venues as the Women's Building, Intersection for the Arts, Mission Cultural Center, Small Press Traffic
as well as many other San Francisco cultural spaces and cafes. She also participated in the 1988 National Poetry Week Festival
held in San Francisco. In the early 1990s, she also attended the International Women Writers Conference held in Argentina.
Lonidier's published collections of poetry include
Clitoris Lost: A Woman's Version of the Creation Myth (1989),
The Female Freeway (1970),
A Lesbian Estate (1977),
Po Tree (1967), and
Woman Explorer (1979). Published broadsides include
A Jellyfish Swim (1972);
Christmas Kitty in Bilingualand, or, What I Did This Year (1986),
For Sale: Girl Poet Cheap (1977). She was also published in numerous important poetry journals including
The Ladder and the
San Francsico Review and poetry collections including
She Rises Like the Sun (1989) edited by Janine Canan. Lonidier was also the author of several unpublished novels, plays, and multimedia/theater
works which are found in this collection.
Although her work is eclectic, reflecting an interest in eroticism, satire, surrealism as well as politics and popular culture,
she considered her poetry mentors to be Robert Duncan and Jerome Rothenberg. Her work, however, consistently presents a lesbian
and feminist consciousness and experience, that enriches lesbian literature, especially in its irreverent postmoderism. Lonidier's
friends and colleagues included Karen Brodine, Jess Collins (Robert Duncan's long-time companion), Robert Gluck, Barbara Grier,
Judy Grahn, Noni Howard, Pauline Oliveros, and Betty Wong. Lonidier died in San Francisco on May 18, 1993.
Scope and Contents
The Lynn Lonidier Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, drafts, research materials and notes, financial and publishing
documents, and photographs that relate to her career as a teacher, writer, and lesbian feminist activist. Materials related
to her personal life and relationships are not numerous in this collection.
The creative works, found in Series 1. Works, consist of manuscripts (often including multiple annotated and corrected drafts)
of poems, short stories, novels, multimedia theater works, including works for live performance, television and film. Also
found in this series is correspondence, notices of public performances, and forthcoming publications. This series is divided
into three Subseries: 1A. Poetry and Prose; 1B. Multimedia and Theater Pieces; and 1C. Works by Others. While drafts of poems,
novels, and short prose dominate the Works series, also present are numerous creative notes and outlines for plots of proposed
fiction, poetry and other genres, such as opera. Nonfiction works include book reviews and essays. Notes for and partial drafts
of works are often interfiled with manuscripts and also found in other series such as Subject Files and Personal Papers.
Correspondence with friends, literary agents, and publishers is not numerous in this collection and is found throughout the
collection. Within the Personal Papers series, however, is found correspondence related to Lonidier's publishing and writing
career. Correspondence with Ilse Kornreich, found in Subseries 1C. Works by Others, is of a more personal nature. Letters
present do reflect Lonidier's literary career and mutual influence women writers, artists, and organizations had on Lonidier's
personal life and career. Significant correspondents include: Karen Brodine, Barbara Grier, George Hitchcock, Noni Howard,
Ilse Kornreich, Paul Mariah, Pauline Oliveros, Jane Rule, and Betty Wong. A list of correspondents can be found at the end
of this finding aid.
Series 2. Subject Files reflect Lonidier's varied research interests including feminist theory and politics, the environment,
education, lesbian and transgender experience and culture, occult and ancient cultures (Egyptian and Mayan), writing and publishing.
Series 3. Teaching Materials consists of a variety of educational material from Lonidier's student and teaching career. Series
4. Personal Papers focuses on her academic, publishing, performance and writing career. Documents found here include publishing
and financial records as well as manuscripts and research notes for Lonidier's Master's exam and thesis. Also found here are
other class notes and creative drafts originating from her educational experience and include the work of Pauline Oliveros.
Business or publishing records include such items as daybooks of publishing addresses, submission records, maps, travel guides,
personal and publicity photographs. Some general finances including records and photographs of her personal possessions are
also found in this series. Series 5. Printed Matter includes printed materials that consist of the numerous magazines, journals,
newspapers in which Lonidier's work was published. Also present are several pamphlets and booklets that explicate the types
of audiovisual equipment which she used when performing her theater pieces.
There are two additional cartons of materials, props, and objects used in the multimedia/theater performance pieces. These
include "The Dolls' Piece" props found in carton 8 and "The Jar Piece" props found in carton 9. The Lonidier papers represent
aspects of her work and life from early in her career to her death in 1993. Beyond the study of Lonidier and her writings
during part of the most prolific times of her life, this collection also provides insight into the process of writing and
publishing of women and lesbian writers, especially in San Francisco and California, in the last half of the twentieth century.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in five series: Series 1. Works; Series 2. Subject Files; Series 3. School and Teaching Materials;
Series 4. Personal Papers; and Series 5. Printed Matter.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Lonidier, Lynn--Archives
Oliveros, Pauline, 1932-
American poetry--Women authors.
Feminism--Poetry.
Feminist fiction.
Gays--California--San Francisco--Social life and customs--20th century.
Lesbian feminists--California--San Francisco.
Lesbian poets.|2henn
Lesbians--Poetry.
Performance artists--California--San Francisco
Teachers--California--San Francisco.
Series 1
Works,
1959-1993, undated
Physical Description:
4.25 cubic feet
Scope and Contents
The Works series is divided in three subseries: Subseries 1A–Poetry and Prose; Subseries 1B–Multimedia and Theater Pieces;
and Subseries 1C–Works by others. It consists of drafts (original and carbon copy) proofs of poems, short stories, screenplays,
novels, book reviews, speeches, as well as scripts or instructions for performance of multimedia theater pieces and includes
numerous corrected and annotated versions. The manuscripts found here, both holograph and typescript, represent drafts, modified
with corrections, annotations, and inserts as well as complete drafts that Lonidier described as "original" and "master" copies.
The folders often contain numerous manuscripts and/or related notes, proposals, and correspondence. Many of the drafts of
poems are written verso (reverse side) of other incomplete manuscripts by Lonidier or various printed materials (some generated
by the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay and feminist communities). This series contains both published and unpublished material,
which are identified whenever possible. Also found here is correspondence that relates to the publication of materials or
Lonidier's writing process.
Arrangement note
This series is alphabetically arranged by published titles or Lonidier's folder headings.
Subseries 1A
Poetry and Prose,
1959-1991, n.d.
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of drafts, annotated and corrected typescripts, notebooks, notes, book reviews, plays or dramatic
treatments, poems, novels, and other short creative prose works. Also found here are files that contain creative, biographic,
or career-oriented notes, drafts of works, and proposals for future work in various formats (holograph, typescript, photocopy)
and stages of preparation (whole pages and page fragments). Lonidier's poetry collections and chapbooks, that often include
front matter and publicity materials, in this series include
A Lesbian Estate, 1977. Manuscripts for early poetry collections ("Sigrid") and individual poems, 1959-1964 as well as similar later materials,
such as "My Newest Poetry 1990-1991," are also found here. There are also numerous drafts of unfinished collections of poems
found in folders labeled by "working title." These include "Pocho Poems," "Partita and Other Poems," "2nd Landmark Poem,"
"Unfinished Seattle Poetry," and "The Making of a Mayan." Also found here are folders, such as that labeled "Pop Poems," that
include a variety of materials (newspaper clippings of ads and other visual materials) often clipped together with drafts
of poems. Two folders of proofs for poems are also found in this collection. Also found here is an unbound copy of
Poetry from Violence (1976), edited by Lonidier, accompanied by folder of related materials and a copy of her 1970 chapbook,
The Female Freeway.
Manuscripts of Lonidier's unpublished novels found here include:
The Banana Lady (1984, 1986),
Candy's Cane (revised 1970),
The Hanged Man (undated),
The Nursery (undated),
Phantom of the Organ (undated),
Sacrificial Lambs [1976], and A Very Faerie Tale [1986]. Many of these materials are accompanied by numerous holographic fragments, revisions,
critical notes and related correspondence. Manuscripts of short prose found in this series include drafts of four short stories
tentatively entitled "Lesbian Dreams," the drafts and newspaper clipping of a book reviews of
The Once and Future Goddess by Elinor Gadon (1990), and
Young Robert Duncan (1973) by Ekbert Faas as well as various versions of an essay, "The Facts Are, The Poem Is." Journals and notebooks created
by Lonidier are present in this series and include "Surfaces On" and "Journal of Myself: The Land of Quintana Roo." Other
bound journals and notebooks that include notes, drafts of poems and materials related to Lonidier's writing career are found
in Subject Files and Personal Papers.
Box 1, Folder 1
Artists Liberation Front For What?—Typescript, pp. 1-8; also includes newspaper clipping,
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Attic (Excerpt from The The)—Typescript with corrections (3pp.),
undated
The Banana Lady,
1975-1993, undated
Physical Description:
4.0 folders
Box 1, Folder 3
"Master" typescript, pp. 1-142,
1984-1993
Box 1, Folder 4
"Master" typescript, pp. 143-192; includes synopsis and "eliminated pages,"
1984-1993
Box 1, Folder 5
Editing notes and revisions; includes critique and correspondence, 1975; also includes "The Berkeley Novel" by Raymond Rice,
1975, undated
Box 1, Folder 6
Photocopy, pp. 3-192, title page numbered #9,
undated
Box 1, Folder 7
Bette Davis Dream—Carbon copy draft (4 pp.),
undated
Box 1, Folder 8
Birds of Permanent Residence—Typescript with printers marks and corrections; includes unbound print copy, pp. 46-52,
undated
Box 1, Folder 9
[Book Review]
The Once and Future Goddess—Corrected typescript, pp. 1-3 and newspaper clipping,
1990
Box 1, Folder 10
["Broken Dolls" by Jennifer Onstott]—Introduction and editing notes by Lonidier—typescript and photocopy; also includes clippings
and correspondence,
1978
Candy's Cane,
1979, undated
Physical Description:
4.0 folders
Box 1, Folder 11
Revised draft—Typescript with annotations, corrections, pp. 1-120 and various chapter drafts, pp. A-G, 41-46,
undated
Box 1, Folder 12
Revised draft—Carbon copy with annotations, corrections, pp. 1-117; also includes "old revised copy,"
undated
Box 1, Folder 13
Revised—draft with corrections and notes,
November 1979
Box 1, Folder 14
Revised version—Photocopy, pp.1-116,
undated
Box 1, Folder 15
Clitoris Lost—Publicity and front matter, includes photographs, slides, and correspondence,
1989
Oversized Box 1
Computer poem with Fred Lonidier,
undated
Box 1, Folder 17
Continuo—Typescript with correction, pp. 1-17, 19, 20 and two final p. 19's; also includes a second annotated typescript draft
version,
undated
Box 1, Folder 18
A Dream of Mask—Typescript with annotations, pp. 1-5,
undated
Box 1, Folder 19
The Facts Are, The Poem Is—Typescripts and photocopies includes three versions of essay; also includes untitled manuscript
(2 pp.),
undated
Box 1, Folder 20
The Female Freeway—Self-published chapbook (cover consists of a large hand-glued photograph of Lonidier),
1970
Box 1, Folder 21
Feminist Articles—The Coming Together of Multifarious Women—Typescript, pp. 1-5; You Can Write Better With Leather Breasts
Than You Can With Lead Ears—Typescript, pp. 1-5; also includes a book review of
Woman on the Edge of Time, and a typed transcription of a journal entry piece by Betty and Shirley Wong (2pp.),
undated
Box 1, Folder 22
Film as a Dream of a Poem for Women—Typescripts (2), pp. 1-4,
undated
Box 1, Folder 23
Flight Cap with Detachable Goggles—Typescript with corrections, pp. 1-28, includes two carbon copies, one edited in 1989,
1989
Box 1, Folder 24
For Sale: Girl Poet Cheap—Broadsheet of poem with advertising,
1977
Box 1, Folders 25-26
The Hanged Man (Revised draft, pp.1-235),
undated
Box 1, Folder 27
Headley and the Headhunters—Typescript, pp. 1-10,
undated
Box 1, Folder 28
Higher Learning—Collected poems, typescript; includes multiple copies, pp. 1-34,
undated
Box 1, Folder 29
I Always Wanted—Typescript (two versions) with corrections, pp. 1-8,
undated
Box 1, Folder 30
In the Air Milk Pain—Typescript draft, pp. 1-16,
undated
Box 1, Folder 31
Japanese Horror Tale—Typescript draft, pp. 1-5 and photocopy, pp. 70-75,
undated
Box 1, Folder 32
Journal of Myself: The Land of Quintana Roo—Bound journal; also includes inserted notes, clippings and programs,
[ca. 1975]
Box 1, Folder 33
[Journal, Untitled]—Bound journal concerning Mexico and South America,
undated
Box 1, Folder 34
A Lesbian Compendium—Typescript and holograph notes, includes photocopy with corrections,
[ca. 1984]
Box 1, Folder 35
Lesbian Dreams—I Always Wanted; Elephant Mystery; Stint in the Antarctic; Sampler—Typescripts and photocopies,
undated
Box 1, Folder 36
Typescript with corrections and annotations,
1970-1973
Box 1, Folder 37
Critical response to John Jacob's review; includes correspondence,
1978
Box 1, Folder 38
Little Girl, Little Girl (story and play)—Typescript, corrected and annotated, and photocopies; also includes a second version
for play or film script,
undated
Box 1, Folder 39
The Losers—Typescript of poems with corrections, pp. 1-5,
undated
Box 1, Folder 40
The Making of a Mayan—Typescript with corrections and notes; includes chapter entitled Sky Pilot Messages,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Marty McNary From Seneca Missouri—Typescript with illustrations, pp. 1-20,
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Mayan poetry, Unfinished—Typescript with corrections and notes,
undated
Box 2, Folder 3
The Miss Cruthers Story—Typescript, pp. 1-22; second version with annotations and corrections, pp. 1-23; also includes miscellaneous
notes and untitled typescripts,
undated
Box 2, Folder 4
Multimammia—Typescript, pp. 1-15 and photocopy,
undated
Box 2, Folder 5
Mutations (Poems, Nuclear Fallout, Fell Upon)—Typescript with holographic inserts,
undated
Box 2, Folder 6
My Newest Poetry 1990-1991—Gretel and Gretel (2 pp.); Camilla on a Couch, with introductory notes (3 pp.); Greta Garbo Leaves
California..., pp. 1-5; and I was a Teenage Lesbian, Age Thirty-Five—typescripts with holograph notes, annotations and corrections,
1990-1991
Box 2, Folder 7
[Notes]—Miscellaneous creative holograph and typescript notes,
undated
Box 2, Folder 8
Novel About Work—Miscellaneous drafts and research notes for novel; includes a note from Karen Brodine [see Sacrificial Lambs],
undated
Box 2, Folder 9
[Novel Excerpts]—Typescripts with corrections and proposed changes for The Banana Lady, A Very Faerie Tale, The Phantom of
the Organ and "master" of Banana Lady,
undated
Box 2, Folder 10
[Novel Excerpts]—Typescript with annotations and corrections, pp. 66-269; includes leaflets for Lonidier performance,
undated
Box 2, Folder 11
Novel Notes—Typescript and holograph drafts and fragments for proposed and current novels,
undated
The Nursery,
undated
Physical Description:
3.0 folders
Box 2, Folders 12-13
Carbon Copy draft with corrections, pp. 1-321,
undated
Box 2, Folder 14
The Nursery: Novel Notes—Miscellaneous notes from a spiral bound teacher's plan book,
undated
Box 2, Folder 15
Ordinary Oranges/Pop Poems—Typescript with holograph corrections, annotations and additional notes,
undated
Box 2, Folder 16
Partita: A Collection of Verse in Progress—Typescript with holograph corrections in non-sequential numbering pp. i-vi, xv,
x, vii, viii,
undated
Box 2, Folder 17
Partita and Other Poems—Annotated typescript on 5x8" paper,
undated
Box 2, Folder 18
People Feeling Loving Bell Jars ["Letter to a Lover"]—Typescript of chapbook with annotations and corrections,
undated
Phantom of the Organ,
1985, 1990
Physical Description:
7.0 folders
Box 2, Folders 19-20
"Master, in order and complete,"—Typescript with corrections, pp. 1-340,
1985, 1990
Box 2, Folders 21-22
Draft with corrections, pp. 1-340,
1990
Box 2, Folder 23-24
Second copy, pp. 1-340,
1990
Box 2, Folder 25
Revised drafts of chapters and notes,
undated
Box 2, Folder 26
Pocho Poems: La Language Bandida (Spanish Immersión—Bilingual poems for a proposed chapbook—Typescript with annotations, corrections,
and additional notes; also includes Christmas Kitty en Bilingualand, broadsheet with illustrations,
undated
Box 3, Folder 1
Poems—Typescript with corrections and annotations,
June 1960-April 1964
Box 3, Folder 2
[Poetry Drafts and Notes]—The Murals—holograph draft; From the Lost Land of Quintana Roo—Typescript and photocopy; also includes
miscellaneous holograph and mimeograph drafts of poems and creative notes,
undated
Poetry From Violence,
1976
Oversized Box 1
Unbound copy of chapbook edited by Lynn Lonidier, et al.,
1976
Box 3, Folder 4
[Notes]—Miscellaneous creative holograph and typescript notes, 1976; includes list of poems; draft of "Dream;" "The King of
Oxidental" with a note to "Dear B."; also includes an annotated draft of Owed to Joy typed verso of a flyer for a benefit
for Poetry from Violence; and "Love Poem" typed verso of a business letter dated July 16, 1976,
1976
Box 3, Folder 5
Poetry Projects—Poets are Sometimes such Pricks—Typescript verso of A Little Detective Work; also includes miscellaneous notes
and drafts of poems,
undated
Box 3, Folders 6-7
Poetry Proofs—Printed pages from unidentified chapbook,
undated
Box 3, Folder 8
Pop Poems—Holograph and typescript drafts and notes poems clipped to related magazine advertisements,
undated
Box 3, Folder 9
Portrait of the Long Boys—Photocopy of miscellaneous poems and notes, some verso of other typescripts drafts,
undated
Box 3, Folder 10
Quartet grotesque with coda—Typescripts (2) with corrections and annotations, pp. 1-15,
undated
Box 3, Folder 11
Quipu Diary by Quintana Roo—Carbon and photocopy with corrections and annotations,
undated
Sacrificial Lambs,
1976, undated
Physical Description:
7.0 folders
Box 3, Folder 12
"Original" Typescript, pp. 1-192,
undated
Box 3, Folders 13-14
Typescript draft with corrections and annotations, pp. 1-199; some pages verso of other untitled drafts of works, as well
as newsletters and political posters; also includes correspondence,
1976
Box 3, Folder 15
Typescript draft and carbon copy with corrections, pp. 1-90, 2-20, 2-11,
undated
Box 3, Folder 16
Photocopy draft, pp. 1-208,
undated
Box 3, Folder 17
Photocopy draft with critical annotations,
undated
Box 3, Folder 18
Photocopy with annotations on title page,
undated
Box 3, Folder 19
The Saint Hanging in the…—Typescript with corrections and annotations, pp. 1-12, includes photocopy,
undated
Box 3, Folder 20
Sampler—Typescript with corrections and annotations and two carbon copies,
undated
Box 3, Folder 21
Saturdays Clockwork—Typescript with corrections and annotations, pp. 1-2,
undated
Box 3, Folder 22
Schubert [poetry notebook]—Typescript with corrections; includes miscellaneous holographic notes,
undated
Box 3, Folder 23
Seattle Poetry, Untitled—Typescript with miscellaneous holographic notes,
undated
Box 3, Folder 24
2nd Landmark Poem—Holographic creative notes for poems, verso of photocopies of other poems and leaflets,
[ca. 1990]
Box 3, Folder 25
Sigrid (Poems Starting January 1959)—Drafts of poems for a chapbook; typed copies of reviews, and correspondence,
1959, 1961, undated
Box 3, Folder 26
Sigrid—Typescript draft of chapbook, pp. 1-64,
undated
Box 3, Folder 27
Stint in the Antarctic—Underlined draft copy (pp. 159-165) and photocopy, pp. 1-6,
undated
Box 3, Folder 28
Surfaces On [poetry notebook]—Carbon copy with corrections, pages use non-sequential numbering,
undated
Box 3, Folder 29
[Two Stories]—Teacher Have Dirty Minds, typescript, pp. 6-10; Elmer and the Shell, typescript, pp. 11-13,
undated
A Very Faerie Tale,
1985-1993
Physical Description:
8.0 folders
Box 3, Folder 30
"Master, in progress, 1985"—Typescript draft with annotations and corrections, pp. 1-162 and pp. 163-275,
1985
Box 3, Folder 31, Box 4, Folder 1
Typescript draft with corrections and annotations,
undated
Physical Description:
2.0 folders
Box 4, Folders 2-3
Earlier version—annotated typescript and photocopy, pages numbered non-sequentially,
undated
Box 4, Folder 4
[Revisions and notes, ca. 1987]—includes photocopy excerpt, pp. 180-258 and correspondence (1986),
1986-1987
Box 4, Folder 5
[Three Revisions]—Miscellaneous pages with holographic notes; includes photocopy dated January 1990,
1990, undated
Box 4, Folder 6
[Excerpt]—Typescript; includes correspondence,
1993
Box 4, Folder 7
When a Poet Writes Prose [book review of
Young Robert Duncan]—Typescript and corrected photocopy; includes correspondence, 1984; also includes program of Lonidier's reading/lecture at
Intersection, October 15, no year,
1984, undated
Box 4, Folder 8
Why I Orange Love Thee—Collected poems, photocopy, pp. 1-8 (p. 4 missing),
undated
Box 4, Folder 9
The Woman Sex Partner Enterprise—Annotated carbon copy of draft, undated; includes a log of poetry submissions sent to England,
undated
Box 4, Folder 10
Words Poem—Holograph draft, pp. 1-2, verso of annotated and corrected typescript of untitled work,
undated
Subseries 1B
Multimedia and Theater Pieces,
1967-1974, undated
Scope and Contents
This subseries includes drafts of screenplays or scripts (including outlines), for mostly unpublished performance art works
or dramas. Such scripts, which Lonidier usually calls "scores," are often a set of instruction for the performance as well
as the sequence of various props and events of the work. Also found here are drafts for television projects and film as well
as music and opera, including a partial music manuscript and text for an untitled opera, the script for "The Rhyme of the
Age-ed Mariness" and "The Flying Symphony: A Theater Piece for the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic." Also found here are the
notes, scripts, and objects, and other materials used in "The Dolls' Playette," some versions of which is called "The Dolls:
A Theater Piece." Included with this performance piece are instructions and stage directions, here called "How to Do the Doll
Piece" and "Opaque Sequences" as well as various materials listed in the score. These include such items as slides, photographs,
cut-out images from magazines, color gels (used for lights), and objects--such as Barbie dolls. Also found in this series
are similar types of materials, including glass jars, color gels, and scripts, for "The Jar Piece." The many other multimedia/theater
pieces found in this collection usually consist of only drafts of "scores" and lack other material and objects for performance.
Box 4, Folder 11
Alain Robbe Grillet is Alive and Living Well in NYC: A Performance Manifesto—Typescript with annotations and corrections;
includes miscellaneous notes,
undated
Alchemy Opera
1974, undated
Physical Description:
3.0 folders
Box 4, Folder 12
[Script]—Typescript and photocopy, 1974; includes notes and critique by "Ray;" also includes a sketch,
1974, undated
Box 4, Folder 13
A Play—Photocopy of draft, pp. 1-37,
1974
Box 4, Folder 14
Incomplete draft, pp. 1-11, 23, 37; includes two carbon copies pp. 1-37; also includes holographic notes and sketches,
undated
Box 4, Folder 15
[Animated Film, Untitled]—Film tape on reel, text/notes on index cards, sketches and transparencies and a small bound children's
cartoon book,
undated
Box 4, Folder 16
Anomaly: A Lonidier Production, 1973—Television typescript with annotations; also includes another script titled A Glimpse
of the Finite: A Theater Piece Dedicated to McLuhan,
1973
Box 4, Folder 17
Archeological Expedition #2—Typescript with corrections and annotations,
[1970]
Box 4, Folder 18
Carl Frost and Robert Sandbag: A Theater Piece for Dead Poets and Live Audience—Typescript draft, pp. 1-11 with illustrations
and photocopy,
undated
Box 4, Folder 19
Coming and Going—Typescript of film proposal,
undated
Box 4, Folder 20
Diego Rivera—Typescript of "tape score" with readers; includes poetry and photographic slides for performance,
undated
Box 4, Folder 21
The Doppelganger's Stomp: A Theater Piece for All Blonde Cello Players Named Lin-Lynn-Lynne—Typescript draft, pp. 1-4 with
illustrations and photocopy,
[1971]
The Dolls [1972, also called The Dolls' Playette],
[1972]
Box 4, Folder 22
The Dolls: A Theater Piece—Typescript, pp. 1-8; The Dolls' Playette, Typescript, pp. 12-28 and Women's Building program, San
Francisco,
[1972]
Box 4, Folder 23
How to Do the Doll Piece and Opaque Sequences—Typescript of instructions/stage directions with holographic notes; also includes
miscellaneous poems and annotated photocopies,
[1972]
Box 4, Folder 24
The Dolls' Playette—Photocopy of draft with illustrations used in performance,
[1972]
Box 4, Folder 25
The Dolls' Slides—Two boxes of photographic slides,
[1972]
Box 8
[Objects for performance],
[1972]
General note
Inventory of props for "The Dolls' Piece." Some pieces mentioned in instructions, others pictured in slides: Artificial roses;
Barbie heads (3); Batman with separate head (Plastic bottle figure); Beer tabs; Birth control pills container, punched-out;
Black doll (small); Blue and red bow; Broken pottery female figure labeled "Hotel Del Mar;" Coke bottle and nipple; Contraceptive
foam applicator; Different sized pills; "Foam machine"—plastic tube with pad; Four clothes pins; Hair combs, bobby pins, razor
blade; Heart shaped valentine; Ken or male figure; Large and small garter fastener; Large doll's leg; Nude picture playing
cards; Nylon stocking; Plastic water guns (2); Red gel; Rubber potato bug, creepy-crawler; Sachet bag, cosmetic purse with
lettering; Six food dye bottles (small); Small bottle of prescription medicine; Small rope; The Ravager; Tiny Mite troll doll
(2) with capsule; Troll doll; Two headless woman figures.
Box 4, Folder 26
The Flying Symphony: A Theater Piece for the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic—Signed typescript verso of untitled essay, pp.
1-4,
undated
Box 4, Folder 27
The Goatee—Typescript, pp. 1-6,
undated
Box 4, Folder 28
I Ching Projections—Holograph and typescript stage directions with corrections and annotations, 1 p.; includes Commode, typescript
of draft (1 p.); also includes notes of I Ching divination readings,
undated
Box 4, Folder 29
Interference—Typescript draft,
1974
Box 4, Folder 30
Typescript draft, pp. 1-4; includes photocopy and mimeograph copy with annotations,
[1967]
Box 9
Props used in performance,
[1967]
General note
Inventory of props for "The Jar Piece": Color Gels; Electronic music tape by Pauline Oliveros (Stereo 7-½ ips)—Not Found;
Glass bottles, jars, glasses—2 broken, 4 brown, 2 green, 16 clear; Cardboard sheets; Plastic refractors (headlight, transparent
dish, tail light lamps); Reproductions of Michelangelo's Delphic Sibyl and Jesus on cardboard; Sheet of acetate--Not Found.
Box 4, Folder 31
Additional props—Reproductions of Michelangelo's Sibyl on cover of bound book (
Horizon, vol. 4, no. 2, January, 1962) and another reproduction of Jesus on cardboard,
1962
Box 4, Folder 32
Joy Journey and How to Make a Projector Obscura—Photocopies of drafts,
undated
Box 4, Folder 33
King Kong Meets English Teachers—Typescript,
undated
Box 4, Folder 34
A Little Bit O'Gorilla In Your Mirror, Lady—Typescript, pp. 1-17,
undated
Box 4, Folder 35
Maxfield Parrish Slideshow, Body Art—Holographic score/stage directions with transparencies; includes images and material
collected from print sources and poster of advertisement,
undated
Box 4, Folder 36
[Opera]—Untitled holographic music manuscript (4 pp.) and incomplete typescript with annotations and corrections, pp. 1-8
(2 pages numbered 8),
undated
Box 4, Folder 37
Opera Notes—Holograph script and research notes; includes notes on The Rime of the Age-ed Mariness,
undated
Box 4, Folder 38
Owed to Oakland [1971]—Annotated typescript of score/instructions, pp. A-B and draft of narration [1971], pp. 1-6; also includes
annotated version for Seattle, Washington, pp. 1-6 and photocopy,
[1971]
Box 4, Folder 39
Playlight—Typescript, 1 p.,
undated
Box 4, Folder 40
Play/Pantomime (Original)—Typescript, pp. 1-12,
undated
Box 4, Folder 41
Preview of Dying Alchemist—Holographic draft (1 p.) and notes,
undated
Box 4, Folder 42
Rhyme of the Age-ed Mariness—Typescript; includes annotated version titled The Rhyme of the Age-ed Mariness: A Lesbian-Ecological
Opera, pp. 1-16 and additional annotated pages 13-16,
undated
Box 4, Folder 43
Script for Manually Operated Slide Projector—Typescript draft,
undated
Box 4, Folder 44
The Supreme Beam—Typescript score with stage directions,
undated
Box 4, Folder 45
A Symphony You Can Turn On—Three typescript versions with corrections,
undated
Box 4, Folder 46
Theater Pieces by Lynn Lonidier—Typescript of partial inventory, includes notes on first performances and dates (1 p.),
undated
Box 4, Folder 47
T.V. Project, A Look at Infinity—A Glimpse of the Finite: A Theater Piece for Television—Corrected typescript, pp. 1-9; includes
poetry by Jean Lyons and notes,
undated
Box 4, Folder 48
[Untitled]—Draft with instructions/stage directions for performance; also includes photographs mounted on heavy cardboard,
undated
Box 4, Folder 49
[Untitled]—Holographic notes and transparencies,
undated
Subseries 1C
Works by Others,
1974-1992, undated
Scope and Contents
In this subseries is found the poetry of several writers including that of Sonja Franeta and Ilse Kornreich. The materials
related to Ilse Kornreich include personal correspondence, 1990-1992, undated as well as biographical material concerning
this Argentinean lesbian writer/activist. The correspondence with Ilse Kornreich is of a more intimate nature. Also found
here are materials relating to the work of Jim Melchert, 1975 and Betty Wong, a San Francisco writer, musician, and friend
of Lonidier. Included in this series are signed broadsheets of poems by Robert Duncan and James Broughton as well as poems
by Karen Brodine and Noni Howard.
Box 4, Folder 50
Karen Brodine—"Out of Necessity"—photocopy of draft of poem,
undated
Box 4, Folder 51
Robert Duncan—Signed broadsheet of poem, undated; also includes broadsheet of poem, "Remembering the Great Bear: A Star Turn
for Robert Duncan," 1988 by James Broughton,
1988, undated
Box 4, Folder 52
Sonja Franeta—Miscellaneous drafts of poems,typescript,
1990, undated
Box 4, Folder 53
Noni Howard—photocopy draft of poem,
[1981?]
Box 4, Folder 54
Ilse Kornreich—Annotated and corrected holograph and typescript translations of Kornreich's poetry and unbound chapbook, Luna
en la Vereda,
undated
Box 5, Folder 1
Correspondence, Outgoing—includes holographic notes,
1990-1992, undated
Box 5, Folder 2
Correspondence, Incoming,
August 1990-January 1991, undated
Box 5, Folder 3
Interview by Charlotte Bunch, recorded, transcribed, and edited by Lonidier; also includes annotated flyer,
1991
Box 5, Folder 4
Poetry translated by Sonja Franeta—Typescript drafts of poems and personal notes; also includes printed chapbook, Lavender
Rose Collection #1 (1990),
1990, undated
Box 5, Folder 5
Betty Wong—Miscellaneous typescripts, photocopies, and notes relating to the work of Betty Wong and Jim Melchert, 1975; includes
research material for sound production techniques; also includes
Introduction to Ananda Marga and printed materials from The Electric Circus,
1975
Series 2
Subject Files,
1971-1990, undated
Physical Description:
0.5 cubic feet
Scope and Contents
This series includes personal notebooks and travel journals that consist of lists of names and addresses, brochures, maps,
and other travel documents. Other materials include photographs and research articles with accompanying notes. This series
reflects Lonidier's varied research interests including feminist theory and politics, the environment, education, lesbian
and transgender experience and culture, occult and ancient cultures (Egyptian and Mayan), writing and publishing. This series
also contains some research and creative notes that might constitute rough drafts of poetry and prose.
Arrangement note
Arranged alphabetically using Lonidier's folder headings as well as by subject content, the latter of which is marked by square
brackets [ ].
Box 5, Folder 6
[Art and music]—Miscellaneous notes and research articles,
undated
Box 5, Folder 7
[Crete and Greek drama and music]—Research notes and articles,
undated
Box 5, Folder 8
Dreams, Alchemy, and Occult—Research notes and articles; also includes correspondence and newspaper clippings,
1970-1980
Box 5, Folder 9
[Egypt]—Research notes in a bound journal,
undated
Box 5, Folder 10
Getting Published—Research articles and notes,
undated
Box 5, Folder 11
Mexico Trip and San Francisco Murals—Maps and research notes and articles,
[ca. 1975]
Box 5, Folders 12-13
[Multimedia Research]—Research notes (some verso of others drafts of works) and articles; includes bibliographies and programs
from performances,
1971-1978, undated
Box 5, Folder 14
[Opera]—Research notes, articles, and programs,
[ca. 1987]
Box 5, Folder 15
[Philosophy, Politics]—Research notes, articles, newspaper clippings and correspondence,
undated
Box 5, Folder 16
Poets—Research article,
1983
Box 5, Folder 17
Sex Minorities—Research notes and articles,
undated
Box 5, Folder 18
[Women's and Lesbian Publishing]—Miscellaneous notes and references; includes printed matter and holographic notes,
undated
Series 3
School and Teaching Materials,
1961-1978, undated
Physical Description:
15.0 folders
(0.5 cubic feet)
Scope and Contents
This series consists of a variety of educational material from Lonidier's teaching career. Several folders represent Lonidier's
focus in feminist and women's studies, and includes notes for classes in multimedia performance as well as research on women
writers. Also found here are drafts of proposals for women's studies at San Francisco State University. The majority of materials
found in this series are those generated from her teaching poetry and multimedia performance to school children in the Pegasus
Program, an affiliate of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. Lonidier worked within this program, as well
as the broader based "Poets in the Schools" program from the mid-1960s. Materials found in this series include notes and drafts
of the children's poems and drawings as well as instructional materials and class plans. Also found here are printed collections
of children's poetry created during the program at individual schools, including
Blue Door I, II, III; and
A Scrawny Cry #3 Spring, 1967.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by published titles or Lonidier's folder headings.
Box 5, Folder 19
Feminist Teaching—Notes and proposal for Women's Studies; also includes research materials on feminism and women writers and
teaching documents
[1961-1973]
Box 5, Folder 20
Light, Creativity, and Media—Holographic notes for a class,
undated
Box 5, Folder 21
My Women's Classes—Holographic notes and newspaper clippings. Pegasus Program (Various school children's poems, drawings,
and printed chapbooks),
undated
Box 5, Folder 22
"Blue Door" I, II, III—Chapbooks of children's poems edited by Lonidier,
undated
Box 5, Folder 23
Chapbooks created at Woodside and Cragmont Elementary Schools; also includes lecture plans and notes,
[ca. 1967], undated
Box 5, Folder 24
Collected children's poems and miscellaneous materials,
1967, undated
Box 5, Folder 25
Drafts of children's poetry, instructional materials, and leaflets,
1968, 1978, undated
Box 5, Folders 26-30
Miscellaneous holographic poems, drawings and chapbooks,
1966-1967, undated
Box 6, Folders 1-2
Miscellaneous holographic poems, drawings and chapbooks,
[ca. 1966-1967], undated
Box 6, Folder 3
A Scrawny Cry #3, printed chapbook,
Spring 1967
Series 4
Personal Papers,
1971-1993
Physical Description:
18.0 folders
(0.75 cubic feet)
Scope and Contents
This series concerns Londidier's academic, writing, performance, and publishing career. Found here are business documents,
such as financial records, royalty statements, and correspondence, that document the financial, legal and business aspects
of Lonidier's writing career. This series also contains general business documents, including photographs, of her personal
finances and possessions as well as daybooks of business and publishing records. The daybooks list consignments of books to
retail stores and also include addresses, dates, and logs of submissions of work.
Correspondence found here includes two folders of outgoing and incoming correspondence, 1977-1993 and one folder of correspondence
from Walker and Cole Literary Agents, 1984-1987. Other correspondence found in this collection can be found throughout the
collection and has been maintained in Lonidier's original order. The majority of the correspondents include colleagues, literary
agents, publishers and distributors. Significant correspondents include: Karen Brodine, Barbara Grier, George Hitchcock, Noni
Howard, Paul Mariah, Pauline Oliveros, Jane Rule, and Betty Wong. These letters, while not numerous, help to provide insight
into Lonidier's process of writing and publishing.
Also found here are creative and scholarly materials from Lonidier's academic career. Materials for her Master's exam include
a draft of the exam as well as the abstract and bibliography for her thesis. Also found in the Master's materials is a short
prose piece, "Journal of a Bird in Stopover." Related scholarly and creative class materials are included here, such as the
folder labeled "William Irmchus' Rhetoric Class." The folder titled [Pauline Oliveros], with whom she studied music composition
and performance techniques at the University of California at San Diego, includes copies of Oliveros works as well as collaborative
pieces with Lonidier and other class members. This series also includes photographs, one unidentified and two others of Lonidier,
including one which shows her undergoing a female to male gender transformation.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject content, format (proposals, photograph), or Lonidier's folder headings.
Box 6, Folder 4
[Book proposal packets]—Typescript and photocopy excerpts from novels sent to Spectrum Press and Second Chance Press; also
includes correspondence,
1993
Box 6, Folder 5
[Business Records]—Receipts and sales tax materials, including information from Paul Mariah, some written verso of poetry
drafts,
1989, undated
Correspondence (business and publishing),
1975-1993, undated
Box 6, Folder 6
Incoming,
1977-1993, undated
Box 6, Folder 7
Outgoing,
1975-1989, undated
Box 6, Folder 8
Walker and Cole Literary Agents,
1984-1986
Box 6, Folder 9
[Daybook]—Business records and notes; includes clippings of reviews and log of consignments and readings,
ca. 1989
Box 6, Folder 10
[Daybook]—Consignments, addresses, and accounts,
ca. 1988-1989
Box 6, Folder 11
[Daybook]—Publishers addresses, log of submissions and miscellaneous business records,
1971-1986, undated
Box 6, Folder 12
Typescript draft of exam; also includes abstract and bibliography for thesis,
[ca. 1975]
Box 6, Folder 13
Journal of a Bird in Stopover—Typescript, pp. 1-8 (pp. 5-6 missing),
1973
Box 6, Folder 14
Research and study materials on education,
undated
Box 6, Folder 15
Memorials—Miscellaneous materials, flyers, clippings and correspondence concerning the memorial services for Karen Brodine,
Robert Duncan, and Lynn Lonidier,
1987-1988,1993
Box 6, Folder 16
[Pauline Oliveros]—Miscellaneous typescript and photocopies of multimedia scores/texts; includes collaborations by Lonidier
and Pauline Oliveros; also includes programs, leaflets and class instructions for group/class performance of theater pieces,
undated
Box 6, Folder 17
[Resume and Possessions]—draft, notes and photographs,
undated
Box 6, Folder 18
Photographs—Personal and publicity black and white photographs,
undated
Box 6, Folder 19
Print and Desktop Publishing—Miscellaneous printed matter and notes from a course,
undated
Box 6, Folder 20
William Irmchus's Rhetoric Class—Miscellaneous annotated and corrected typescripts and photocopies of writing assignments
including "Poet in Search of a Prose," pp. 1-18; also includes notes and class materials,
1971, 1974, undated
Box 6, Folder 21
[Women's Building, San Francisco]—Miscellaneous holographic and typed notes verso of poetry drafts, leaflets, and newsletters,
Series 5
Printed Matter,
1958-1988, undated
Physical Description:
1.0 cubic feet
Scope and Contents
This series includes printed examples, several of which are annotated, of the numerous magazines, journals, newspapers in
which Lonidier's work was published. Such materials represent Lonidier's various interests in Bay Area and women's writing,
membership in organizations, and performances attended. These materials include:
Beyond Baroque,
Everywoman,
The Furies: Lesbian Feminist Monthly,
Goodbye to All That, a 1970s women's newspaper from San Diego, and
The Ladder as well as numerous other important literary and feminist publications. Also present are numerous pamphlets and booklets
that explicate the types of audio-visual equipment Lonidier used in performance. In addition several flyers and posters of
literary and other artistic events are found in this series.
Arrangement
Material is not arranged.
Box 7
Miscellaneous audio-visual equipment pamphlets, warrantee cards and notes,
undated
Box 7
Miscellaneous publications collected, many of which include poetry of Lonidier,
1958-1988, undated
Agin, Dan (Spectrum Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Aporia--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group Inc.--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Barber, William--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Bereano, Nancy K. (Firebrand Books)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Berkeley Publishing Group, The--See Box 1 / Folder 5
Boojamra, Lee (Rising Tide Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Booklegger Publishing--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Brodine, Karen--See Box 2 / Folder 8
Canan, Janine--See Box 4 / Folder 4
Carona, Alvaro (Hine Coastlines Literary Magazines)--See Box 3 / Folder 25
Cease, Julie (Seal Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Cole, Joyce K. (Cole and Walker Literary Agents)--See Box 6 / Folder 8
Coor, Michael (to Voltaire Brodine)--See Box 6 / Folder 15
Cowan, Liza (White Mare Archive)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Denneny, Michael (St. Martin's Press)--See Box 4 / Folder 6
Foley, Jack--See Box 6 / Folder 15
Franeta, Sonja--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Gardiner, Linda (
The Women's Review of Books)--See Box 4 / Folder 7
Gates, Karen (
Aunt Edna's Reading List)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Gilbert, T. Nelson (W. M. Publications)--See Box 5 / Folder 19
Gill, Elaine Goldman (The Crossing Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Grier, Barbara (Naiad Press)--See Box 1 / Folder 15; and --See Box 6 / Folder 6
Gross, Marilyn (Distribution Sixteen)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Hamill, Sam--See Box 6 / Folder 6
L'Heureux, John (Stanford University)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Hitchcock, George (
San Francisco Review)--See Box 3 / Folder 25
Jafek, Bev--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Jamison, Cheryl Alters (Western States Arts Foundation)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Mariah, Paul--See Box 6 / Folder 6
McNail, Stanley (
The Galley Sail Review)--See Box 3 / Folder 25
Nadell, Bonnie (Frederick Hill Associates)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Nicola, James (
Thirteenth Moon)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Oliveros, Pauline--See Box 6 / Folder 15
Painted Bride Quarterly Press, The--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Patty, Ann (Poseidon Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Peterson, Robert (Contact)--See Box 3 / Folder 25
Quartey, A Eddie--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Rice, Raymond O.--See Box 1 / Folder 5
Roszak, Betty and Ted--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Rule, Jane--See Box 6 / Folder 15
Schrader, Steven (Cane Hill Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Shepard, Judith (Permanent Press/Second Chance Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Simon and Schuster, Inc.--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Spinsters/Aunt Lute--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Walker, Jayne L.--See Box 6 / Folder 8
Waters, Chocolate--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Witherspoon, Kimberly--See Box 6 / Folder 6
Wong, Nellie--See Box 6 / Folder 15
Zahava, Irene (The Crossing Press)--See Box 6 / Folder 6