Terri de la Peña papers, 1985-1996

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Peña, Terri de la , 1947
Abstract:
Terri de la Peña is a novelist, short story writer, and children's book author whose writings deal with complex issues of identity, homophobia, assimilation and resistance focusing on the lives of Chicana lesbians. This collection contains materials related to the creation, dissemination, publication and revision of both fictional and nonfictional works by Terri de la Peña. The bulk of the collection is comprised of drafts of her first novel, Margins, also considered to be the first Chicana lesbian novel. The collection also includes correspondence, contractual information, promotional materials, drafts and notes.
Extent:
7.5 linear feet (15 document boxes)
Language:
and Materials are in English, with some Spanish words and phrases interspersed in the records.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Terri de la Pena papers, (Collection 1960). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials related to the creation, dissemination, publication and revision of both fictional and nonfictional works by Terri de la Peña. The bulk of the collection is made up of drafts of her first novel, Margins, also considered to be the first Chicana lesbian novel. The collection also includes correspondence, contractual information, promotional materials, drafts and notes.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Theresa de la Peña was born on February 20, 1947 in Santa Monica, California. She is a fifth-generation Californian. Her father, Joaquin de la Peña, was a tire repair foreman while her mother, Juanita Escobedo, owned a beauty shop. De la Peña was educated in Santa Monica parochial schools and at Santa Monica Community College. She is a self-taught writer. She wrote her first novel, Margins, while employed as an academic affairs assistant with the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. The majority of her work is in short story form although she also wrote several novels; she was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction for her 1999 novel Faults. Her narratives revolve around the myriad cultural and social issues facing Chicana lesbians such as a search for identity, cultural assimilation, class consciousness, historical awareness, internal and external racism, homophobia, and visibility.

Date Event
1989 Finding Courage: Writings by women
1989 The Original Coming Out Stories
1990 Lesbian Bedtime Stories Two
1991 Blood Whispers: L.A. Writers on AIDS
1991 Margins
1992 A is for the Americas (Children's book co-written with Cynthia Chin-Lee and Enrique O. Sanchez)
1993 Happy Endings: Lesbian Writers Talk about their Lives and Work
1994 Out of the Class Closet: Lesbians Speak
1994 Latin Satins
1994 Chicana Blues
1994 Lavender Mansions: 40 Contemporary Lesbian and Gay Short Stories
1994 Another Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing by Women
1996 Night Bites: Vampire Stories by Women
1996 Lesbian Friendships: For Ourselves and Each Other
1996 Off the Rag: Lesbians Writing on Menopause
1999 Faults: A Novel
1999 Night Shade: Gothic Tales by Women
2002 At Home on This Earth: Two Centuries of U.S. Women's Nature Writing
2003 Tortilleras: Hispanic and U.S. Latina Lesbian Expression
2008 The Chicano/Latino Literary Prize: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Fiction, Poetry and Drama
Acquisition information:

Gift of Terri de la Peña, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, and 2013.

This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) , and the UCLA Library .

Processing information:

Processed by Stacy Wood, 2011. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Sabrina Ponce in 2017.

Arrangement:

Materials arranged into the following series:

  • Series 1: Margins
  • Series 2: Latin Satins
  • Series 3: Other works
  • Series 4: Promotional materials and publications

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. 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:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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], Terri de la Pena papers, (Collection 1960). 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