Papers of Pat Parker, 1944-1998

The collection documents like of Pat Parker, an African American feminist lesbian poet. The collection contains biographical and personal materials, such as clippings and passports; as well as correspondence; writings, including both published and unpublished work by Parker; subject files; and photographs. Audiovisual material consisting of poetry readings, live performances, and interviews. Electronic records were received on 5.25 inch floppy disks. The data was retrieved and saved as text files and converted into pdfs. The electronic records include drafts of letters and writings, and a photograph. The papers were in order when received and have been arranged further by the archivist.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1944-1989 (#1.1-1.17, FD.1, Mem.1-Mem.3), contains biographical information about Parker, material related to her divorces from playwright Ed Bullins (1965) and poet Bob Parker (1971), her passports, and obituaries and articles about her death in 1989. Also included is a handmade poster of Zora Neale Hurston which asks "Ms. Parker, Would Zora be proud of your work today?" which hung in her studio. Of particular interest is Parker's five year vision proposal for future readings/speaking engagements, marketing, writing workshops, studio space, financial planning, and personal writing goals. The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1964-1989 (#1.18-8.5, E.1), consists mostly of incoming personal letters from family, fans, and friends discussing feminism, race relations, poetry, and romantic relationships. Correspondence was originally arranged by Parker alphabetically by correspondent.

Family correspondence includes love letters and daily notes from Parker's partner, Marty Dunham; letters from Parker's mother, Marie Cooks (#2.20-2.22) discussing updates on family; and letters from her sister, Shirley Cooks Jones (#4.21) about race relations, marriage, relationships, and travel. Jones is the subject of Parker's book Womanslaughter, which discusses Jones' murder by her husband in 1971.

Fans of Parker's work often sent letters with samples of their own writings for review and comment; and correspondence with friends (mostly poets and writers) includes letters about Parker's writings, invitations, and inquires about Parker's health. Of particular note are letters between Parker and Audre Lorde discussing their work and lives as African American lesbian feminists, race relations, relationships, cancer and chemotherapy; letters and poetry from Native American poet Chrystos (#2.16) discussing her and Parker's romantic relationship; and letters from Judy Grahn (#4.14) about feminism, writing, and updates on her life.

Work-related correspondence includes letters about poetry reading tours, book signings, publishing, and other literary activities. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent as per Parker's original arrangement. General alphabetical folders follow named correspondents.

Series III, WRITINGS, 1965-1988 (#8.6-13.14, 18F+B.1-18F+B.6, E.2), contains both published and unpublished works by Parker, including early poems, journals, short stories, plays, and other writings. The major themes reflected in Parker's writings are activism, feminism, friendship, injustice, lesbianism, love, homophobia, parenting, and racism. The bulk of the series consists of handwritten drafts and photocopies of poems written by Parker, some with multiple revisions, notes and edits. Of particular interest are journals with handwritten drafts of poetry written by Parker. Poetry was originally arranged by Parker individually by title.

Scrapbooks including clippings, flyers, and posters which were assembled by Parker to document her readings and other literary events. Promotional material also includes printed mementos from her readings. Miscellaneous writings include notes, ideas on original drafts of "works in progress" as identified by Parker. Of particular interest are drawings, notes and poems written during Parker's "acid trips" on LSD. This series is arranged alphabetically. Where possible, Parker's original folder titles were retained. The archivist's folder titles are identified in brackets.

Series IV, SUBJECT FILES, 1974-1989 (#13.15-17.22), contains correspondence and printed material on various topics including Bay Area writers, black lesbianism, cancer, conferences, softball, and administrative material related to poetry reading requests accepted and declined by Parker. Of particular interest are press releases and sign-up sheets related to Parker's involvement with the Black Women's Revolutionary Council, a group of revolutionary feminists aimed to educate people about the effects of racism, classism, and sexism; and uncorrected galleys of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals sent for Parker's review. Also included are letters, research, programs and flyers, from Parker's trip to Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series V, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1978-1989 (#PD.1-PD.13, E.3), contains photographs of Pat Parker, as well as images of her family and friends. Of particular interest are photographs of Parker with poets Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich. Also included are photograph albums of Parker's trip to Nairobi, Kenya in 1985, as well as publicity shots and images of Parker performing with the Varied Voices of Black Women in Washington, D.C. The series is arranged chronologically. Undated photographs are arranged alphabetically by title.

Series VI, AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL, 1976-1998 (#Phon-070.1, T-523.1-T-523.14, Vt-293.1-Vt-293.6), contains audio cassettes, videotapes, and a phonograph of poetry readings, live performances, interviews, and informal recordings that document Pat Parker's personal and professional life. Titles are largely those written on the original tape. This series is arranged into three subseries.

Subseries A, Personal, 1979-1998 (#T-523.1-T-523.5, Vt-293.1-Vt-293.4), contains audiocassettes and video recordings that document Parker's personal life and capture some of her everyday life and interests. This includes recordings of her softball games, Spanish lessons, recordings of family on answering machines and an astrology reading. Also included are relaxation tapes made to prepare her for surgery and memorials and tributes to her after her death. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Subseries B, Poetry and interviews by or with Parker, 1976-1988 (#Phon-070.1, T-523.6-T-523.8, Vt-293.5-Vt-293.6), contains audio cassettes, video tapes, and phonograph recordings of Parker's poetry readings as well as interviews conducted by or with Parker. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Subseries C, Other recordings, 1981-1986 (#T-523.9-T-523.14), contains audiocassette recordings primarily made by other people for Parker. This includes audio letters to Parker and performances by other artists which Parker collected. Also included are dictations for the Feminist Health Center. The subseries is arranged chronologically.