James McKenzie Papers, 1945-1996

Collection Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Administrative Information

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: 1974 Writers Conference

The first series relates to the 5th Annual University of North Dakota Writer’s Conference, “City Lights in North Dakota”, which was held in March 1974. The featured authors/artists were Gregory Corso, Allan Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Peter Orlovsky. The Writer’s Conference material consists of newspaper articles in the Dakota Student and Grand Forks Herald, and an article in the North American Review about the week-long event. Also included is biographical information, correspondence, and interviews of the featured authors as well as materials from their readings. Interviews with Ginsberg, Orlovsky, and McClure were published in The Beat Journey, while an interview by McKenzie of Gary Snyder was published in The Beat Diary.

Box 1

Folder 1: Newspaper Clippings: 1974, undated

Folder 2: "Katzenjammer Kids Up North" by Leo J. Hertzel, North American Review: Summer 1974

Folder 3: Gregory Corso Reading: March 1974

Folder 4: Lawrence Ferlinghetti Biography: October 1973

Folder 5: Lawrence Ferlinghetti Interview

Folder 6: Lawrence Ferlinghetti Correspondence: February-November 1974

Folder 7: Lawrence Ferlinghetti Reading: March 1974

Folder 8: Drafts of Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky Interview by James McKenzie: March 22, 1974 (published in The Beat Journey)

Folder 9: Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky Reading and Materials: March 1974

Folder 10: Allen Ginsberg Correspondence: 1975

Folder 11: Kenneth Rexroth Correspondence (about interview): August 5, 1974

Folder 12: Gary Snyder and Michael McClure Reading: March 1974

Folder 13: Draft of Michael McClure Interview by Mick McAllister: March 1974 (published in The Beat Journey)

Folder 14: Draft of Gary Snyder Interview and Related Materials (published in The Beat Diary)

Folder 15: Gary Snyder Correspondence: 1977

Folder 16: Madeline Gleason Biographical Information

Folder 17: Madeline Gleason Correspondence: August and September 1975

Folder 18: Madeline Gleason Interview

Folder 19: "City Lights Book": 1974-1975

Series 2: Dr. Daniel Q. Posin

The second series regards Dr. Daniel Q. Posin, a physicist, educator, and anti-nuclear peace activist. He was dismissed from the North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University) in 1955 due to his anti-nuclear perspective and teachings.

Box 1

Folder 20: Writings, 1948-1989

Item 1: "What Should We Do to Win the Cold War with Russia?" Town Meeting, 1948

Item 2: "A Scientist Looks at the Problem of Peace." North Dakota State Engineer. 1948

Item 3: "The Atomic Problem Today." Text of Speech Delivered at Buhn's Park, Maple Lake, Minnesota. 1955

Item 4: "Remembering Einstein." After Einstein. 1979.

Item 5: The Courage to Grow Old: Forty-One Prominent Men and Women Reflect on Growing Old, with the Wisdom and Experience That Comes From a Rich and Varied Life. Edited by Phillip Berman. 1989

Folder 21: Media Coverage, 1947-1990

Item 1: "Comments...by Don C. Matchan." Valley City Times. 1947

Item 2: "Physicist to Speak Here Monday." Oak Ridge Mail (Tennessee). 1948

Item 3: Book Review Excepts for Mendeleyev: the Story of a Great Scientist by Posin. 1948-1949

Item 4: "Space Man" by Betty Prevender. Today (National Catholic Magazine). 1959

Item 5: "Out of This World" by Richard Shepard. New York Times. 1959

Item 6: "The Cautious Daredevil" by Robert Anderson. Chicago Daily Tribune TV Week. 1959

Item 7: "Dr. Dan Q. Posin Acts on Concern." San Francisco State University Info. 1974

Item 8: "Professor Tackles Physics with Football" by John Borrome. Golden Gater. 1990

Folder 22: Text of Posin Speech in Grand Forks, 1949

Folder 23: North Dakota Agricultural College/State Board of Higher Education, 1948-1957, 1989-1990, undated

Folder 24: "Academic Freedom and Tenure: North Dakota Agricultural College." Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors. 1956

Folder 25: Correspondence with and regarding Albert Einstein, 1945-1979

Folder 26: Correspondence to/from Posin to McKenzie, 1989-1992, 2003

Folder 27: "DQP's Idea File"

Folder 28: McKenzie's Notes (red notebook)

Folder 29: "My Notes on Interview Tapes with DQP (Tapes Returned to Him"

Folder 30: "Daniel Posin 'In the Village': North Dakota's First Antinuclear Peace Activist"  by McKenzie, 1990

Series 3: Thomas McGrath

The third series regards Thomas McGrath, a prominent poet in the 20th Century. McGrath was a North Dakota native who graduated from UND in 1939. He attended the UND Writers Conference several times.

Box 1

Folder 31: "Conversations with Thomas McGrath"

Folder 32: Interview with McGrath by McKenzie, 1985

Folder 33: "AA" (Interview with McGrath)

Folder 34: "IP" (Interview with McGrath)

Folder 35: "Moorehead, 1977" (Interview with McGrath)

Folder 36: "MV" (Interview with McGrath)

Folder 37: Untitled writing about McGrath, written by McKenzie

Series 4: Miscellaneous

Box 1

Folder 38: "Funeral." by McKenzie. North Country. 1973 (2 copies)

Folder 39: "Pole Vaulting in Top Hats: a Public Conversation with John Barth, William Gass, and Ishmael Reed." by McKenzie. Modern Fiction Studies. 1976

Folder 40: "A Response to Smith and Westbrook's Critique of Bly's 'Old Boards.'" Presentation by McKenzie. Western Literature Association Annual Meeting. 1983.

Consists solely of the conference schedule

Folder 41: "Nuclear Weapons of Grand Forks: an Interpretative Catalog." by McKenzie. Peace Issues: University of North Dakota Center for Peace Studies.

Folder 42: Correspondence with U.S. Senator Kent Conrad, 1988-1989

Folder 43: Correspondence with Jon Hassler, 1993-1996

Folder 44: Outstanding Faculty Award Nomination, 1986-1987

Folder 45: Belcourt Undergraduate Extended Degree Program, 1985-1986

Folder 46: Greater Grand Forks Communiversity, 1981-1991

Folder 47: "Rochester NY Social Justice Speech."  Text of Presentation by Dr. John Salter at "Liberation: a Christian Imperative" event. December 14, 1991