New Directions Publishing records

The records described here are from James Laughlin's home office in Norfolk, Connecticut. Here Laughlin kept his own papers as well as materials sent to him from the New York City office. For example, when a letter concerning an editorial matter was written in the New York office, a copy would be made for Laughlin's Norfolk files. Additionally, there are memoranda, correspondence, and notes between Laughlin and the members of the staff in the New York office.

Series I: Correspondence, contains correspondence between Laughlin and authors, literary agents, publishers, small presses, university libraries, book dealers, employees of ND, and his personal friends. There is also correspondence between ND authors and members of the staff of New Directions Publishing Corp. including Barbara Epler, Peggy L. Fox, Peter Glassgold, Robert MacGregor, and Griselda Ohannessian, among others. Also included are interoffice communications such as memoranda and notes, correspondence, ephemera and clippings about the correspondent, and, occasionally, photographs. If Laughlin accumulated large amount of secondary material, he created an additional file for his correspondent. These files are found in the Title and subject files series. The International writing subseries is a small section of correspondence with writers, translators, literary agents, printers, publishing companies, and bookstores that Laughlin grouped together by nationality.

Series II: Title and subject files concern authors in general and specific titles published by ND as well as other topics of interest to Laughlin. They contain correspondence, interoffice communication such as memoranda and notes, ephemera and clippings about the person or topic. There is correspondence with other publishing companies, literary agents, printers, scholars studying the author, the author's family, as well as with other authors who are involved with the creation of a New Direction's book, i.e. the translator or the author of an introduction. Title files contain materials relating to the production and/or promotion of the book.

Series III: Compositions, contains poems, essays, book reviews, fiction, drawings, and other works. The majority of the items in this series have been removed from the Correspondence and Title and subject files series. Most of these pieces were not published by New Directions. However, Laughlin often compiled material for New Directions books, and these compilations are included in this series. There are also individual poems, essays, and other works collected by Laughlin in his files that are variants of those published in New Directions books.

Series IV: Business Records, contains records relating to the non-editorial aspects of New Directions. Most of these records concern Laughlin's corporate activities, but often his personal and corporate interests were interconnected; consequently, there are personal financial records here as well.

Series V: Contracts includes contracts between authors and the New Directions Publishing Corporation for books (both published and proposed) as well as for other rights and permissions.

Series VI: Literary Agencies contains correspondence and related material exchanged between New Directions and scholars, publishers, libraries, lawyers, and rights holders concerning copyrights administered by New Directions. Included are applications for use of original material held by libraries; compositions submitted with applications and for publication; interoffice memoranda and notes; legal documents; reviews; clippings; and photographs, slides, transparencies, and negatives.