Finding Aid to the Marvin X Papers, 1965-2006, bulk 1993-2006
Finding Aid written by Marjorie Bryer
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2006
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Marvin X Papers, 1965-2006, bulk 1993-2006
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2006/217
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Marjorie Bryer
- Date Completed:
-
January 2007
© 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Marvin X papers
Date (inclusive): 1965-2006,
Date (bulk): bulk 1993-2006
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2006/217
Creators :
Marvin X, 1944-
Extent:
Number of containers: 8 cartons, 1 box
Linear feet: 10.2
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The Marvin X Papers document the life and work of playwright, poet, essayist, and activist Marvin X during the nineties and
the first decade of the 21st Century. The papers include correspondence; Marvin X's writings; materials related to the Recovery
Theatre; works by his children and colleagues; and resource files. Correspondence includes letters, cards, and e-mails; correspondents
include Amiri Baraka and other prominent African-American intellectuals. Marvin X's writings include notebooks, drafts, and
manuscripts of poetry, novels, plays, essays, and planned anthologies. Documents from the Recovery Theatre include organizational
and financial records and promotional material. Writings by others include essays, scripts, and academic papers by his three
daughters. Resource files include academic articles, e-mails, flyers, news clippings and programs that contextualize and
document Marvin X's involvement as an activist, intellectual, and literary figure in the African American community in the
Bay Area in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Photographs include snapshots of family, friends, colleagues, and productions
at the Recovery Theatre.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted toresearch
and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Marvin X Papers, BANC MSS 2006/217, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Separated Material
Printed materials, including poetry broadsides, have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library. Videotapes
and DVDs/sound recordings have been transferred to the Microforms Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
X, Marvin, 1944-
African American poets
African American dramatists
African American scholars
African Americans--California
Black Arts movement
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Marvin X Papers were purchased by The Bancroft Library in 2006.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed at the container level by Marjorie Bryer in 2006.
Biographical Information
Poet, playwright and essayist Marvin X was born Marvin E. Jackmon on May 29, 1944 in Fowler, California. He grew up in Fresno
and Oakland, in an activist household. X attended Oakland City College (Merritt College), where he was introduced to Black
Nationalism and became friends with future Black Panther founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. X earned a B.A. and M.A.
in English from San Francisco State University and emerged as an important voice in the Black Arts Movement (BAM), the artistic
arm of the Black Power movement, in the mid-to-late Sixties. X wrote for many of the BAM's key journals. He also co-founded,
with playwright Ed Bullins and others, two of BAM's premier West Coast headquarters and venues - Oakland's Black House and
San Francisco's Black Arts/West Theatre. In 1967, X joined the Nation of Islam and became known as El Muhajir. In the eighties,
he organized the Melvin Black Forum on Human Rights and the first Annual All Black Men's Conference. He also served as an
aide to former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver and attempted to create the Marvin X Center for the Study of World Religions.
In 1999, X founded San Francisco's Recovery Theatre. His production of "One Day in the Life," the play he wrote about his
drug addiction and recovery, became the longest-running African-American drama in Northern California. In 2004, in celebration
of Black History Month, X produced the San Francisco Tenderloin Book Fair (also known as the San Francisco Black Radical Book
Fair) and University of Poetry. X has taught Black Studies, drama, creative writing, journalism, English and Arabic at a
variety of California universities and colleges. He continues to work as an activist, educator, writer, and producer.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the container level.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Marvin X Papers document the life and work of playwright, poet, essayist, and activist Marvin X in the nineties and the
first decade of the 21st Century. The papers include correspondence; Marvin X's writings; materials related to the Recovery
Theatre; works by his children and colleagues; photographs; and resource files. Correspondence includes letters, cards and
e-mails; correspondents include Amiri Baraka and other prominent African-American intellectuals. Marvin X's writings include
notebooks, drafts and manuscripts of poetry, novels, plays, essays, and planned anthologies. Documents from the Recovery
Theatre include organizational and financial records and promotional material. Writings by others include essays, scripts,
and academic papers by his three daughters. Resource files include academic articles, e-mails, flyers, news clippings, and
programs that contextualize and document Marvin X's involvement as an activist, intellectual, and literary figure in the African
American community in the Bay Area in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Photographs include snapshots of family, friends,
colleagues, and productions at the Recovery Theatre.
Series 1
Correspondence
1974,
1977,
circa 1998-2005
Physical Description:
Carton 1
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Correspondents include Amiri Baraka and other prominent African-American
intellectuals; subjects include the 2004 San Francisco Tenderloin Book Fair and University of Poetry, Black Bird Press, and
the Recovery Theatre.
Carton 1, Folder 4
Letters #4 - Black Radical Book Fair (San Francisco Tenderloin Book Fair)
circa 2000-2004
Series 2
Writings
circa 1993-2006
Physical Description:
Cartons 1-6
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of notebooks, fragments, typescripts, manuscripts, page proofs, drafts, production notes, grant materials, and publicity
materials. Includes poetry, drama, essays, novels, the literary journal
Chickenbones, broadside poems, his autobiography,
Somethin' Proper, and his long-running play about addiction and recovery,
One Day in the Life.
Carton 1-3
Notebooks - #1-60
circa 1993-2006
Carton 3
Production Notes
circa 2001
Carton 3
Writings/Notes - #1-6
circa 1993-2006
Carton 3
Chickenbones: A Journal and Broadside Poems
circa 1995-2005
Carton 4
In the Crazy House Called America: Essays - Drafts and Page Proofs
2002
Carton 4
Somethin' Proper: The Life and Times of a North American African Poet - Drafts and Page Proofs
1994-1998
Carton 4
Muslim American Literature (Printed Texts, Compiled for an Anthology)
undated
Carton 4
One Day in the Life (A Drama of Addiction and Recovery) - Draft
1996
Carton 4
"In the Name of Love: A Poetic Drama" - Typescript
1999
Carton 4
"Book Project #4: Fables Parables" - Manuscript and Typescript
1999,
undated
Carton 5
Abstract for a Publishing Grant
2006
Carton 5
In the Crazy House - Drafts (#1 and Final)
2002
Carton 5
Love and War: Poems - Corrected Page Proofs
1995
Carton 5
"Why Don't You Say You Love Me" (Poem) - Manuscript (Photocopy)
2005
Carton 5
Mama Said: A Novel (Photocopied Manuscript) and Manuscript (Books 1-3)
circa 2006
Carton 5
"Marvin X: 5 Plays" (
Flowers for the Trashman,
Take Care of Business,
Blackbird,
One Day in the Life, and
Sargeant Santa)
circa 1965,
1997,
2002,
undated
Carton 5
Sweet Tea, Dirty Rice: Poems - Manuscript and Typescript
undated
Carton 5
Toward Radical Spirituality - Parts 1 and 2, Manuscript
2005
Carton 6
"Marvin X: A Critical Look into the Mouth of a Poet" (A Collection of Essays About and Reviews of Marvin X)
undated
Carton 6
Up from Ignorance: Essays (Manuscript and Typescript)
circa 2003-2006
Carton 6
In Sha' Allah: A Personal History of Black Muslims in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area - Typescript
circa 2003
Carton 6
Press Releases
circa 1998
Carton 6
Promotion (Includes Playbills)
circa 1997-1998
Series 3
Recovery Theatre
circa 1998-2004
Physical Description:
Carton 6
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of materials related to the San Francisco Tenderloin Book Fair and University of Poetry, organizational records,
grant applications, financial records, and programs, playbills and promotional materials for
Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness and
One Day in the Life.
Carton 6
Recovery Theatre #1 - Black Book Fair
2004
Carton 6
Recovery Theatre #2-#10
circa 1998-2004
Carton 6
Programs, Playbills and Promotional Materials
1998,
2000-2001
Series 4
Writings by Others
2003,
undated
Physical Description:
Carton 7
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of manuscripts by Marvin X's three daughters, Amira Jackmon, Muhammida El Muhajir and Nefertitti Rhodes and a film
script based on Marvin X's play,
Flowers for the Trashman.
Carton 7
Amira Jackmon - "Notes from San Diego" and "Reparations for African Americans: A Distributive Justice Model"
2003,
undated
Carton 7
Muhammida El Muhajir -
Color Lines and
Around the Way Girl
undated
Carton 7
Nefertitti Rhodes - "This Is His Love"
undated
Carton 7
Mel Stewert [Stewart?] - "Flowers for the Trashman, a Film Script"
undated
Series 5
Resource Files
circa 1993-2006
Physical Description:
Cartons 7-8
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of approximately 26 folders organized by Marvin X as "Articles, Leaflets" and "Ephemera." These consist of news
clippings, academic articles, programs, brochures, e-mails, flyers, ephemera, and Xeroxed photographs. These materials document
Marvin X's involvement as an activist, intellectual, and literary figure in the African American community in the Bay Area
and cover a broad range of topics, including the Black Panther Party, African American writers, African American politics,
the Black Arts Movement and African liberation movements.
Carton 7-8
Articles, Leaflets
circa 1993-2006
Carton 8
Marvin X - Ephemera
circa 1999-2002
Carton 8
Marvin X - Literary Biography
circa 2001-2003
Series 6
Photographs
circa 1993-2006
Physical Description:
Box 1
Arrangement
Arranged in order received.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of snapshots and Xeroxed copies of photographs of family, friends, and colleagues, as well as photos of productions
at the Recovery Theatre and
Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness.
Box 1
Family Photos
circa 1993-2006
Box 1
Recovery Theatre
circa 1998-2004
Box 1
Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness
circa 2001
Box 1
Black Radical Photos
circa 1993-2006
