Jody Stutz Papers

Title: Jody Stutz Papers

Dates: 1984-1987

Collection Number: 2004.03

Creator/Collector:

Extent: 2 cubic feet

Repository: Humboldt State University Library

Abstract: Jodi Lee Stutz, Humboldt State University 1984, was associated with the University’s literary magazine, Toyon, as Assistant Editor in 1983 and Managing Editor in 1984. After her death in 1987, Toyon created the Jodi Stutz Memorial Award in Poetry in her honor and her papers, including original literary manuscripts, were donated to the HSU Library.

Language of Material: English

Open for research by appointment.

Copyright has not been assigned to Humboldt State University. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce in any format please contact the Special Collections Librarian.

Jody Stutz Papers. Humboldt State University Library

HSU English Department faculty member David Boxer donated the collection in 2004.

Jodi Lee Stutz graduated with honors from HSU in 1984 with a B.A. in English. She was Assistant Editor of Toyon in 1983 and Managing Editor in 1984. Upon graduating from HSU, she attended CSU Long Beach (CSULB) to continue her English studies. While attending CSULB, she also taught English courses, such as English 100, as a graduate student. Jodi later moved to Minnesota where, in 1987, she was shot and killed by a stray bullet from a nearby dispute. Toyon created the Jodi Stutz Memorial Award in Poetry in her honor.

The collection consists of Jodi Stutz’s written works (creative and analytical), personal and professional correspondence, and teaching materials from her time as a graduate student. Due to her sudden death, there was no particular order in which these items were assembled when they were received. In 2012 a current Toyon editor reviewed the materials and arranged them in three series: Creative Writings and Professional Correspondence; Personal Correspondence; and Teaching Materials. The first series is a compilation of her written works, correspondence with publishers, and personal notes. The written works are primarily pieces of her creative writing (novels, novellas, short stories, poems, and plays) as well as critical essays analyzing the work of well-known authors. This series also includes exchanges between Jodi and literary journals, magazines, and publishing houses in regard to the submissions of her written works for publication. The exchanges consist of letters of interest, rejection, confirmation of the reception of a piece, and publication offers/agreements from the publishing venues, as well as letters from Jodi providing an abstract of whichever piece she was submitting for publication. In addition to her written works and letters, this series also holds Jodi’s notes on places to publish and notes on other books to possibly use for her literary analyses. The second series is a combination of her personal correspondence and teaching materials. The correspondence includes letters to Jodi from family and friends, from Jodi to family and friends, and mail between various friends of Jodi. The third series, teaching materials, is a mixture of class syllabi, assignments, handouts, student work, and student evaluations of Jodi as a teacher.