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Subseries I: Book Publications , 1948-2007

 Sub-Series

Scope and Content

From the Collection: J. Michael Lennon’s collection of Norman Mailer’s Publication Research, 1948-2024, is arranged into eight series: Series I: Publications, 1948-2024; Series II: Speeches and Interviews, 1962-2006; Series III: Unpublished Works, c. 1945-2004; Series IV: Family and Peer Publications, 1978-2007; Series V: Correspondences, 1947-2007; Series VI: Norman Mailer’s Legacy, 1970-2023; Series VII: Personal papers and photographs, c. 1948-2011; and Series VIII: Objects, c. 1990s - c. 2005. Each series is further divided into corresponding subseries and subsubseries to aid in the research process.

The collection contains a wide range of materials from Norman Mailer’s writing process such as draft typescripts (short publications and novel length); handwritten draft pages; film typescript; notebooks and notepads; novel dictation (recording and typescript); galley copy typescript; galley copy color plates; research books; periodicals; and online publications (original and xerox/fax copy); handwritten notes; edits; and highlights; research notecards; research post-it notes; unused research; non-specified research; file folder compilations of research; publication legal contracts and typescript (signed and unsigned); book publication cover creations; editorial comments; book publications; publication press; book reviews; interviews; print periodical publications; online publications; best seller lists; speech typescript; lecture materials and research; unpublished draft typescript; original and xerox copy artwork; artwork in art pads; bound sketchbook collections; email correspondences; letter correspondences; handwritten correspondences; birthday cards; postcards; greeting cards; thank you notes; fan mail; request letters; legal letters; pamphlets; fliers; informational typescript; booklets; brochures; health booklets; medical paperwork; phone logs; film reel; sound reel; promotional adverts; membership cards; certificates; floppy discs; CDs; videocassettes; photographs; color transparencies; selling aid typescript; print press release; invitations; travel arrangement receipts; educational typescript; floor plans; credit cards; membership cards; business cars; maps; rubles; playing cards; pocket book; letterhead and envelopes; postcards; comic pages; book slip covers; schedules; paperweights; glass objects; wooden objects; metal objects; and posters.

The collection provides insight on Norman Mailer’s research and drafting process, publication history, and literary legacy spanning the arc of his career from 1948-2007, as well as posthumous acclaim up to 2024. The collection also provides insight on Mailer’s personal relationships both professionally and personally, along with the writing careers of family members and peers.

Dates

  • 1948-2007

Access:

Open for research, with the exception of restricted folders 73.7., 73.8.; 73.9.; 74.4.; 74.5.; 74.6.; 74.7.; 74.8.; 74.9.; 74.10.; 74.11.; 74.12.; 74.13.; 74.14.; 75.14.; 76.7.; 76.8.; 77.31.; 80.8.; 81.11.; 82.1.; 82.5.; 84.8.



Specific folders within this collection have been digitized for research purposes only. If you wish to reprint unpublished materials within the collection, you must first obtain permission from the Mailer Estate. Please contact the Wilkes University Archives for more information.

Extent

From the Collection: 94 boxes ( (85 letter size boxes; 4 legal boxes; 2 object boxes; 3 oversized boxes) 43.03 linear feet. )

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Subseries I: Book Publications, 1948-2007

Subseries I: Book Publications, 1948-2007, is arranged in alphabetical order by Publication title and contains different parts of Norman Mailer’s process in drafting, editing, research and publishing. The scope of the materials includes original and photocopied typescript, handwritten pages and edits, book excerpts for research, photographs, galley copies, correspondences, publication rights, film rights, book cover designs, interviews, magazine and newspaper press.

The publications are as follows: An American Dream (Dial, 1965; previously serialized in Esquire); Armies of the Night (New American Library, 1968); Cannibals and Christians (Dial, 1966); The Castle in the Forest (Random House, January 31, 2007; working title “Adolf Hitler’s Phantom”); Death for the Ladies (And Other Disasters) (Putnam, 1962); The Deer Park (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1955); The Deer Park: A Play (Dell Publishing Company, 1967); The Executioner’s Song (Little, Brown and Company, 1979); The Gospel According to the Son (Random House, 1997); Harlot’s Ghost (Random House, 1991); Modest Gifts: Poems and Drawings (Random House, 2003; includes sketchbook collection “Talking Heads: Cartoons”); The Naked and the Dead (Rinehart, 1948); Oswald’s Tale: An American Mystery (Random House, 1995); Portrait of Picasso as a Young Man: An Interpretive Biography (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995); The Spooky Art (Random House, 2003); The Time of Our Time (Random House, 1998); Tough Guys Don’t Dance (Random House, 1984; includes Tough Guys Don’t Dance film adaptation, 1987); Why Are We in Vietnam? (Putnam, 1967); Why Are We at War? (Random House, 2003).

Within this subseries, each book title is further organized into subsubseries to aid researchers in consulting Mailer’s research and writing process depending on specific publication titles.

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository

Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)