Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Randall W. Ackley Papers
- Dates:
- 1970-2001
- Creators:
- Ackley, Randall
- Abstract:
- A very small selection of the papers of Randall Ackley, poet, scholar, professor of English at the University of Alaska-Juneau and Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. Ackley collected materials from key figures in Chicano and Indigenous poetry movements, including Ricardo Sánchez, Simon Ortiz, and others.
- Extent:
- .4 Linear feet (1 archives box)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Randall W. Ackley Papers. MSS 841. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Randall Ackley Papers contain a small selection of personal letters to Ackley from poets Ricardo Sánchez, Norman MacLeod, Howard McCord and others; draft copies of written work by Ackley including poems and articles; as well as draft copies of written work by a few key figures in American poetry, including Ricardo Sánchez, a seminal figure in Chicano poetry movement, Simon Ortiz, the celebrated indigenous poet and writer of Acoma Pueblo heritage, and typescript poems by Charles Bukowski.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Randall William Ackley was born on August 9, 1931. He graduated magna cum laude with an A. B. in English from the University of Minnesota in 1962, and earned his Doctoral degree in American Studies & Creative Writing from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1974. His dissertation was titled "Southwest Native American Tellers, Singers, & Writers."
Ackley taught at several universities throughout the 1960s and 70s, primarily making his academic home at the University of Alaska from 1977-1985 working in a variety of roles including Director of Arts & Sciences, Acting Dean of the Division of Humanities, Director of Planning, and Associate Professor of English. He continued at Yarmouk University in Jordan, first as a visiting Senior Fulbright Scholar from 1983-1985, then as a Visiting Associate Professor of English.
Ackley was also the statewide director of an original program for the rehabilitation of prison inmates through the study of humanities, under the auspices of the University of Alaska.
In addition to teaching and academic work, Ackley wrote poetry and many articles on the subject of Native American and Chicano culture and poetry. He was also the editor of Quetzal: A Journal of Native America from 1970-1973, and was the editor of Poetry of Aztlan: A Southwest Renaissance, an anthology project with roots in the Southwest Poets' Conference in December, 1969. Contributors included several prominent southwest poets including: Judson Crews, Norman MacLeod, Howard McCord, Simon Ortiz, Ricardo Sánchez, among others.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired 2022
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-08-23 16:12:42 -0700 .
Access and use
- Terms of access:
-
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Randall W. Ackley Papers. MSS 841. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533