Chicago Review. Records, 1951-2006

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Literature and Poetry

The collection is open for research.

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Chicago Review. Records, [Box#, Folder#], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago

The Chicago Review is a student-run journal founded at the University of Chicago in 1946. Started to "present a contemporary standard of good writing," the journal publishes poetry, fiction, short stories, plays, translations, essays, memoirs, commentaries, interviews, book reviews, criticism, photography, and artwork. Contributors include students, poets, fiction authors, artists, photographers, professors, sociologists, historians, anthropologists, theologians, scientists, and representatives of other disciplines.

Former editor David Nicholls noted that "editors have been particularly attuned to innovation in both form and content, eager to discover new voices, and interested in how literature can address contemporary culture." The Chicago Review continually works to publish and promote writers' first or early works; examples include Philip Roth, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Philip Booth, John Hollander, Joyce Carol Oates, Andrei Codrescu, John Ashbery, Linda Pastan, Lisel Mueller, Paul Muldoon, Mary Kinzie, Thom Disch, Eavan Boland, Jared Carter, Alan Shapiro, Eleanor Wilner, Pattiann Rogers, Andrew Hudgins, and Brooks Haxton.

Though the Chicago Review has a long and acclaimed history, the most publicized incident in its history occurred in 1958. Editor Irving Rosenthal and guest poetry editor Paul Carroll published works by the "Beats" in the Spring and Fall 1958 issues, including Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Michael McClure, and most notably excerpts of Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. The Chicago Review planned to publish more excerpts of Naked Lunch in the Winter 1959 issue until a local Chicago reporter wrote an editorial called "Filthy Writing on the Midway." After discussions between Rosenthal and members of the University of Chicago administration, Rosenthal resigned his editorship on November 17, 1958, followed the next day by the resignations of other editors including Carroll, Charles Horwitz, Doris Nieder, and Barbara Pitschel. The planned Winter 1959 issue was not published, but the former editors instead founded the short-lived, but highly influential, journal Big Table, and published its entire contents as the first issue.

The Chicago Review publishes "themed" issues, including "Contemporary American Culture" (1954), "Zen Buddhism" (1958), "Existentialism and Literature" (1959), "Modern European Literature" (1962), "Anthology of Concretism" (1967), "Fantastic Art and Literature" (1969), "Anthology of Modern Japanese Poets" (1973), "Black Mountain and Since: Objectivist Writing in America" (1979), "The French New Philosophers" (1981), "From Chicago" (1995), "New Polish Writing" 2000, "Edward Dorn: American Heretic" (2004), and "A Centenary Portfolio on Louis Zukofsky" (2005). Other topics featured throughout its history include jazz, Abstract Impressionism, the Vietnam War, street theater, "superfiction" and "metafiction," language poetry, and Poesia Visiva. Many issues contain translated works from Greek, Italian, Spanish, German, French, as well as India, the Pacific Rim, and other countries and languages across the world. Some of these specialty issues, such as "Anthology of Concretism," were eventually published as books.

In addition to the journal, the Chicago Review has organized or sponsored events featuring guests such as Truman Capote, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Frost, Saul Bellow, Alan Watts, Nelson Algren, Denise Levertov, Robert Creeley, Paul Carroll, John Logan, Dennis Schmitz, and Naomi Lazard.

The Chicago Review continues to be a student-run publication hosted at the University of Chicago.

The Chicago Review Records are arranged chronologically into six series: Series I, Volumes 7-14, 1951-1961; Series II, Volumes 15-22, 1961-1970; Series III, Volumes 23-30, 1970-1978; Series IV, Volumes 32-36, 1980-1990; Series V, Volumes 39-50; and Series VI, Oversize. The Chicago Review Records documents the administrative aspect of the journal and contain correspondence, manuscripts, drafts and proofs, artwork, mailing lists, articles, invoices, orders and subscriptions, administrative material, and event ephemera. The collection does not contain material for all issues and original order and folder titles were kept whenever possible. There may be some volume/issue and editorial crossover between series based upon the original organization.

The Chicago Review is still published at the University of Chicago. Additional records, for volumes beyond what is mentioned in the guide, will be added in the future and preserved in its original organization whenever possible.

Series I, Volumes 7-14, 1951-1961, is organized into three subseries. Subseries 1, Administrative, contains invoices, purchase orders, and correspondence about advertising and distribution, as well as orders and subscriptions from sellers, individuals, and institutions. There is budget and financial material regarding fundraising, printing, and other costs. There are articles, correspondence, notes, and other documentation about events hosted or sponsored by the Chicago Review including Frank Lloyd Wright and Nelson Algren. Publicity material includes newspaper and magazine articles, fliers, and other ephemera. Also included is material about postage, university facilities, converting the journal to microform, and student associations. See Series VI for oversize material.

Subseries 2, Correspondence, contains correspondence about manuscript submissions, solicitations, copyright permissions, advertising, distribution, orders, reprints, lectures and poetry readings, and other administrative topics. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by last name and may also include correspondence with spouses, secretaries, publishers, agents, lawyers, executors, or other representatives of a person. Most correspondence is with an individual but occasionally with a publisher or other organization and may include articles, manuscripts, press releases, author biographies, or other ephemera and may have editorial comments from Chicago Review staff members. Editors are listed in the correspondence for their own submissions or personal correspondence. The folders "English Writers" and "German Expressionism Proposed Issue" contain correspondence for planned but not published issues.

Some editors and staff during this period include Samuel Allen, Samuel E. Blazer, Ann Brown, Paul Carroll, Willard Colston, Natalie Crohn, Leonard Cunix, Carl M. Dibble, Michael Fixler, John Fles, Hilary Fonger, Beverly Gross, J. Charles Horwitz, George Jackson, F.N. Karmatz, Stephanie Krauss, Conrad C. Kulawas, Charles Lanman, Arthur LeGacy, Edward Liebstone, Lachlan MacDonald, Doris Nieder, Nathalie M. Ostroot, Hyung Woong Pak, Dorothy Perlmuter, Barbara Pitschel, Katharine Pleune, Albert N. Podell, James Purdy, David Ray, Ray Roberts, Irving Rosenthal, David Rubin, Anne Schaefer, William Raymond Smith, George E. Starbuck, and Barbara Vroom.

Subseries 3, Drafts and Proofs, contains drafts, proofs, manuscripts, galleys, and artwork of issues arranged chronologically by volume/issue number. There may be correspondence related to a specific draft or proof.

Series II, Volumes 15-22, 1961-1970, is organized into three subseries. Subseries 1, Administrative, contains material about copyright permissions, advertising, and publishers. Also included are articles and ephemera about events and publicity, news releases, and subscription cards. See Series VI for oversize material.

Subseries 2, Correspondence, contains correspondence about manuscript submissions, solicitations, copyright permissions, advertising, distribution, orders, and other administrative topics. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by last name and may also include correspondence with spouses, secretaries, publishers, agents, lawyers, executors, or other representatives of a person. Most correspondence is with an individual but occasionally with a publisher or other organization and may include articles, manuscripts, press releases, author biographies, or other ephemera and may have editorial comments from Chicago Review staff members. Sometimes editors are listed in the correspondence for their own submissions or personal correspondence.

Some editors and staff during this period include Jonathan Aaron, John L. Bryant, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Michael Denneny, Harry Foster, William Freedman, John B. Goetz, Beverly Gross, A. Hiller, William Hunt, Carolyn Ives, James S. Lichon, Iven Lourie, John J. McManmon, Peter Michelson, Peter Nagourney, Hyung Woong Pak, Judith Ruskamp, Leonard Shaykin, Marilyn Weltz, and Eugene Wildman.

Subseries 3, Drafts and Proofs, contains drafts, proofs, manuscripts, galleys, and artwork of issues arranged chronologically by volume/issue number. There may be correspondence related to a specific draft or proof.

Series III, Volumes 23-30, 1970-1978, is organized into three subseries. Correspondence is arranged in the original order received; some in alphabetical order and some by volume/issue.

Subseries 1, Correspondence, Alphabetical, contains correspondence about submissions, solicitations, permissions, and contributors arranged alphabetically by last name.

Subseries 2, Correspondence, Volume/Issue, contains correspondence about submissions, solicitations, permissions, and contributors arranged chronologically by volume/issue number, then alphabetically by last name. Also included is correspondence with guest editor Joel D. Golb for Volume 29 Issue 3, the "German Language Issue."

Some editors and staff during this period include Linda Bergmann, Timothy Erwin, Donald Gecewicz, Mary Ellis Gibson, Roger Gilman, Laurie Gould, Larry Haverkamp, Nancy Lehnhardt, David Levin, Iven Lourie, Thomas Main, Mitchell Marks, Mary Carole McCarthy, Julie McGrath, Susan Moseley, Randall L. Nichols, Alina Romanowski, Judy Ruskamp, David Shields, Julie Siegel, Anne Mollegan Smith, Brian Stonehill, and Richard Vine.

Subseries 2, Drafts and Proofs, contains drafts, proofs, manuscripts, galleys, and artwork of issues arranged chronologically by volume/issue number. There may be correspondence related to a specific draft or proof. See Series VI for oversize material.

Series IV, Volumes 32-36, 1980-1990, is organized into two subseries. Subseries 1, Administrative, contains mailing lists, orders, and notes. See Series VI for oversize material.

Subseries 2, Correspondence, contains correspondence primarily about submissions, arranged alphabetically by last name. Also included is correspondence about a "Nouveaux Philosophes" issue and a correspondence log book.

Some editors and staff during this period include Michael Alper, Elizabeth Arnold, Paul Baker, Michael Donaghy, Timothy Erwin, Steve Heminger, Jane Hoogestraat, Kathryn Kraynik, Molly McQuade, Peter Michelson, David Nicholls, Robert Sitko, and Felicia Sonn.

Series V, Volumes 39-50, 1991-2006, is organized into four subseries. Correspondence is arranged in the original order received; some in alphabetical order and some by volume/issue.

Subseries 1, Administrative, contains material about advertising, funding, and permissions. There are articles and other ephemera about publicity and events. Also included are staff directory and unpublished manuscripts. See Series VI for oversize material.

Subseries 2, Correspondence, Alphabetical, contains correspondence and emails about manuscript submissions, solicitations, copyright permissions, advertising, distribution, orders, and other administrative topics arranged alphabetically by last name.

Subseries 3, Correspondence, Volume/Issue, contains correspondence and emails about manuscript submissions, solicitations, copyright permissions, advertising, distribution, orders, and other administrative topics arranged chronologically by volume/issue number, then alphabetically by last name.

Some editors and staff during this period including Sabine Haenni, Jane Hoogestraat, Devin Johnston, William Martin, Mark Morrisson, Anne Myles, David Nicholls, Andrew Rathmann, Laura Reed-Morrisson, Jennifer Sampson, Angela Sorby, Eirik Steinhoff, Andy Winston, and William Matthews.

Subseries 4, Drafts and Proofs, contains drafts, proofs, manuscripts, galleys, and artwork of issues arranged chronologically by volume/issue number. There may be correspondence related to a specific draft or proof.

Series VI, Oversize, contains newspaper articles, artwork, journal covers, fliers, and posters. The newspaper articles are about the suppression of the Winter 1959 issue and "little magazines." Fliers and posters are for concerts, poetry readings, and other events hosted or sponsored by the Chicago Review.

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