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Villarreal (José Antonio) Papers
MSS.1974.11.01
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Archives & Special Collections, Santa Clara University Library
Title: José Antonio Villarreal Papers
creator:
Villarreal, José Antonio
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.1974.11.01
Identifier/Call Number: 85
Physical Description:
10.1 linear feet
(22 boxes)
Date: 1950-2010 (bulk 1959-1984)
Abstract: The José Antonio Villarreal Papers, 1950-2010 (bulk 1959-1984), document the personal and professional life of José Antonio
Villarreal. Villarreal became well known for his book
Pocho, which was first published in 1959 and is considered a landmark in Chicano literature. Included in the collection are manuscripts
and proofs of
Pocho,
The Fifth Horseman, and
Clemente Chacon; an early manuscript and precursor to the book
Pocho, entitled
Our Little Life; shorter works by Villarreal; personal and professional correspondence with literary agents, publishers, academic institutions,
friends and family members; writings about Villarreal, his publications, and Chicano literature; publicity materials; and
personalia. The collection is arranged into five series: Series I. Correspondence, 1953-1991, and undated; Series II. Writings
by Villarreal, 1959-1992, and undated; Series III. Printed Materials, 1959-1995; Series IV. Personalia, 1950-2010; and Series
V. Audiovisual Materials, 1975, and undated.
Physical Location: This collection is located in Santa Clara University Library's Archives & Special Collections.
Language of Material: English, some Spanish
The collection is open for research.
Materials in the Department of Archives & Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Santa Clara University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Santa Clara University does not assume any responsibility for
infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.
The José Antonio Villarreal Papers, MSS.1974.11.01, Santa Clara University Library Archives & Special Collections.
Guide created by Shannon Hartman in 2014. Guide encoded by Shannon Hartman in 2015. Folder-level descriptive information added
by Mia Hope in 2018.
José Antonio Villarreal (1924-2010) was born in Los Angeles on July 30, 1924 to José Heladio (a Mexican revolutionary) and
Felícitaz Ramírez Villarreal. In 1921, Villarreal's parents moved to the United States from Mexico and found work as migrant
farm laborers in California. At age six, Villarreal's family settled in Santa Clara, and he spent the remainder of his childhood
there. After graduating high school in 1942, Villarreal served three years in the Navy during World War II. In 1950, he earned
a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Villarreal married Barbara Gentles in 1953,
and they had three children: Ian, Kelly, and Caleb. To support his family while pursuing a writing career, Villarreal held
numerous positions ranging from public relations to bus driver to speech writer. After the second edition of
Pocho was published in 1970, Villarreal began to receive guest lectureships and teaching positions at various universities, including
the Pan American University, the University of Colorado, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Santa Clara,
and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Villarreal is best known for his debut novel,
Pocho, considered a landmark in Chicano literature. First published by Doubleday in 1959,
Pocho tells the story of a second-generation Mexican-American growing up between cultures in California, and is the first novel
written by a Chicano to be released by a major publisher in the United States. At the time, the book received little attention
and quickly went out of print. However, in 1970, at the height of the Chicano Movement, Anchor published a paperback edition
of
Pocho, bringing Villarreal both recognition in academic circles and criticism from some members of the burgeoning Chicano Movement.
Often considered to be one of the founding fathers of Chicano Literature in the United States, Villarreal did not consider
himself a Chicano writer but an American writer whose work fell into a sub-genre of American literature. His second novel,
The Fifth Horseman, a historical novel about the events leading up to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, was published by Doubleday in 1974.
Pocho and
The Fifth Horseman were meant to be part of a tetralogy following three generations of a Mexican-American family, but the series was never completed.
Villarreal's third novel,
Clemente Chacon, departed from the tetralogy and was published by Bilingual Press in 1984. Villarreal also wrote several articles and short
stories, many appearing in anthologies, magazines, and newspapers.
In 1973, Villarreal returned to Mexico, becoming a Mexican citizen, though he would eventually return to the United States.
Over the next several years, Villarreal worked as a broadcaster, a free-lance writer, and an instructor at several colleges
and universities in Mexico and the United States. Villarreal passed away in northern California on January 13, 2010.
Bibliography
Jiménez, Francisco. "An interview with José Antonio Villarreal."
Bilingual Review 3.1 (1976): 66-72. Print.
"José Antonio Villarreal."
Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
"José Antonio Villarreal."
Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. Gale Research, 1996. Reproduced in
Biography Resource Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2003.
Vallejos, Tomás. "José Antonio Villarreal."
Chicano Writers: First Series. Ed. Francisco A. Lomeli and Carl R. Shirley. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 82.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California's oldest operating
institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original
21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank
until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law
were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and
Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty
tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence
halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the
undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for
generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.
Bibliography
Santa Clara University. "About SCU – History." www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)
McKevitt, Gerald, S.J.
The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.
The collection is arranged into five series: Series I. Correspondence, 1953-1991, and undated; Series II. Writings by Villarreal,
1959-1992, and undated; Series III. Printed Materials, 1959-1995; Series IV. Personalia, 1950-2010; and Series V. Audiovisual
Materials, 1975, and undated.
Scope and Content of Collection
The José Antonio Villarreal Papers, 1950-2010 (bulk 1959-1984), document the personal and professional life of José Antonio
Villarreal. Villarreal became well known for his book
Pocho, which was first published in 1959 and is considered a landmark in Chicano literature. The bulk of the collection consists
of drafts, original research materials, outlines, proofs and typescripts of Villarreal's published books and an early manuscript
and precursor to the book
Pocho, entitled
Our Little Life. Also included are articles, short stories, and poetry written by Villarreal, some of which were published in anthologies,
magazines, and newspapers. The correspondence series is comprised of a substantial amount of correspondence with editors at
Doubleday & Company and literary agents at Paul R. Reynolds; personal and professional correspondence with family, friends,
colleagues, and students; literary correspondence related to permissions, personal appearances, and publication; correspondence
with numerous academic institutions; and letters describing his views on Chicano literature and the Chicano Movement. There
are critiques of
Pocho; interviews and articles about Villarreal; reviews of his major publications; and publicity materials related to his writings
and speaking engagements. Small samplings of personalia and sound recordings are also included.
Note: Reel-to-reel recordings are not available for playback at this time.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Mexican Americans -- California -- History
Chicano movement
Chicano literature (English)
American literature -- 20th century
Santa Clara College (Calif.)
University of Santa Clara (Calif.)
Santa Clara University (Calif.)