John Seelye Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS Group 320

Scope and Content

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The John Seelye Collection consists of the correspondence, writings, and manuscripts of John Seelye. The collection dates from 1960-2006. The bulk of the materials span from 1979-2006 when John Seelye worked for Penguin Group as the general editor for the Penguin American Library series, which was devoted to publishing classics from American literature. The collection is divided into four series described below.

Series I consists of correspondence from 1960-2005 that are placed in alphabetical order by individual, followed by alphabetical order by subject. Prominent correspondents include Houston Baker, Baker, James Beard, Sacvan Bercovitch, Edwin Cady, Leon Edel, Leslie Fiedler, Eric Foner, Boris Ford, Ed Fussell, William Gaddis, Sandra Gilbert, Gerald Graff, Doris Grumbach, Edward Hoagland, Alfred Kazin, Alison Lurie, Elaine Showalter, Richard Slotkin, and Stanley Weintraub. Letters are arranged chronologically within each named folder.

Series II consists of Seelye's Penguin papers that are arranged chronologically by subject file as dictated by original order. The papers include book proposals and edits, meeting notes, company memos, marketing information, editor contracts, correspondences, and other Penguin related documents from 1978-2006.

Series III is comprised of materials related to Seelye's career as a published author. Documents include correspondence, contracts, reviews, reader reports, and manuscripts with dates that range from 1960-2006. Titles included are: The Iridescent Scabbard: Melville's Ironic Mode, Melville: The Ironic Diagram (1970), The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1970), The Kid (1972), Dirty Tricks: Or, Nick Noxin's Natural Nobility (1974), Mark Twain in the Movies (1977), Prophetic Waters: The River in Early American Life and Literature (1977), Beautiful Machine: Rivers and the Republican Plan, 1755-1825 (1991), Memory's Nation: The Place of Plymouth Rock (1998), Stories of the Old West: Tales of the Mining Camp, Cavalry Troop, and Cattle Ranch (2000), and Jane Eyre's American Daughters (2005).

Series IV includes materials related to the Florida Center for the Study of Children's Literature (Center for Children's Literature and Culture) and the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature at the University of Florida (UF). Documents range from 1966-1994 and include correspondence, program and grant proposals, meeting notes, UF Children's Literature director reports, steering committee memos, fundraising and fellowship information, and other related materials. Series V includes personal materials including John Seelye's funeral program.

Dates

Creation: 1960-2015
Creation: Majority of material found within 1979-2006

Creator

Seelye, John, 1931-2015. (Person)

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

John Seelye is a scholar and professor of American Literature. He received his BA from Wesleyan in 1953 and his PhD from Claremont Graduate School in 1961. He began his teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley and went on to teach at the University of Connecticut, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Florida.

In 1979 Seelye became the general editor of the Penguin American Library. In this capacity, he helped choose important literary works to be republished by Penguin Group that included introductions and notes on the texts provided by prominent literary scholars.

John Seelye was instrumental in the establishment of the Florida Center for the Study of Children's Literature (Center for Children's Literature and Culture) at the University of Florida in 1986. Professors John Seelye and Jack Zipes were the original Co-Directors of the program. John Seelye passed away on April 20, 2015.

Extent

4.5 Linear feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection includes the writings, research, and correspondence of Professor John Seelye. As a scholar of American literature, Seelye wrote academic books as well as fiction. He also served as an editor for the Penguin American Library from 1979-2006. The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence between Seelye and various authors and academics in his capacity as an editor for Penguin.

Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence (1960-2005) Incoming and outgoing correspondence ordered alphabetically by individual are placed in the front, followed by alphabetical correspondence by subject. Letters are in chronological order within each folder.

Series II: Penguin Subject Files (1979-2006) Papers are arranged according to original order in chronological subject files.

Series III: Book Publication Materials (1960-2006) Folders are ordered chronologically by publication date.

Series IV: The Florida Center for the Study of Children's Literature (1966-1994) Folders are arranged in the original order of chronological subject files. Series V: Personal Papers (2015) - John Seelye's funeral program.