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Willamette Writers Guild Records

 Collection
Identifier: A-046

Scope and Contents note

The Willamette Writers Guild records were created by Joyce Salisbury between the years of 1975 and 1986. Included are administrative records, information about writers, materials related to WWG events, and newsletters or publicity materials for the WWG. In addition to organizing smaller lectures, the WWG hosted “Writing & Publishing: A Colloquium,” which was a three day colloquium on writing and publishing held February 15th through 17th, 1977.

Dates

  • Creation: 1976-1986

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use note

There are no use restrictions.

Historical Note

The Willamette Writers Conference was formed in 1976 by writers and literature instructors from Lane Community College, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Linn-Benton Community College, Willamette University, and Chemeketa Community College. The Guild wanted to offer high quality community events to foster interest in the literary arts and humanities. The Willamette Writers Conference became the Willamette Writers Guild in 1977.

The Guild sponsored programs with poets W.S. Merwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Hugo, John Ashbery, and Oregon poet-laureate William Stafford; the science fiction team of Kate Wilhelm and Damon Knight; philosopher/novelist William Gass; screenwriter Paul Schrader; and fiction editor Gordon Lish.

The Guild was funded largely by grants from agencies and foundations. The instructors contributed their time, and each college provided financial support and use of college facilities. The group was set up as a three-year consortium program; at the end of the period of formal stewardship, the Guild looked into establishing a non-profit organization and offering programs on a more informal basis. However, the group faded after 1979.

Biographical Note

Joyce Salisbury was an instructor in the English, Foreign Language & Speech Department at Lane Community College, 1972-2000.

Extent

3 Containers (1-3: document boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Records of the Willamette Writers Guild, including correspondence, project and topic files, poems, and biographical information on poets and writers. Collected by Joyce Salisbury.

Arrangement note

The collection is divided into four series.

1. Administrative, 1976-1978

2. Writer Information, 1976-1986

3. Events, 1976-1983

4. Publicity & Newsletters, 1975-1979

Custodial History note

Joyce Salisbury created these records during her tenure at Lane Community College. She left them in her office when she retired in 2000. They were discovered by Jeff Harrison, who sent them to Archives in 2002.

Related Archival Materials note

Willamette Writers Conference - schedule for the workshop, Eloise and William McGraw papers, Ax 243, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Processing Information note

These records were processed by archivist Tiah Edmunson-Morton in 2005 following the guidelines for minimal processing. The records are stored in boxes in the order they were received by the Archives. This arrangement is reflected in the box and folder listing in the description section. The collection was intellectually rearranged into four series and this arrangement is reflected in the series and folder descriptions which are in alphabetical order.

Title
Guide to Willamette Writers Guild Records 1976-1986
Author
Tiah Edmunson-Morton
Date
2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Lane Community College Archives Repository

Contact:
4000 East 30th Avenue
Eugene OR 97405 US