Laura (Riding) Jackson and Schuyler B. Jackson collection

The collection is organized into the following series: Autobiographical Materials, Diaries, Correspondence, Literary Manuscripts, Broadcasts, Recordings and Readings, Professional Activities, Other Activities, Writings about Laura (Riding) Jackson, Writings by Others, Photographs, and Ephemera.

Autobiographical Materials span the years 1938-1977. Arranged chronologically, they consist mainly of pieces written for periodicals, entries for biographical dictionaries, and personal notes and commentaries.

Diaries are subdivided into the Laura (Riding) Jackson Diaries (1960-1980), and Schuyler B. Jackson Diaries (1964-1968). They are arranged and stored by format, rather than by date, because they were entered on notepads of greatly varying sizes. Thus the researcher needs to scan the whole list when looking for specific dates.

Correspondence spans the years 1926-1990. The letters are organized in the following three subseries: Laura (Riding) Jackson Correspondence, Schuyler B. Jackson Correspondence, and Formerly Restricted Correspondence (all access restrictions were lifted in 2016); Correspondence that was formerly restricted fell into three categories: Category (B) including: 1) Correspondence to and from Sonia Raiziss 2) Correspondence to and from the Guggenheim Foundation after 1975 3) Correspondence to and from Mrs. E. M. (Sally) Chilver 4) Correspondence to and from James Mathias after 1975 6) Correspondence to and from Mark Jacobs 7) Correspondence to and from John Nolan 8) Correspondence to and from Robert Nye, Alan Clark, Theodore Wilentz, Joan Wilentz, Elizabeth Friedmann, William Harmon, James Tyler

Category (C) They are: 1) Correspondence to and from any of the four children of Schuyler B. Jackson, namely Benjamin Schuyler Jackson, Maria Jackson Parker, Griselda Jackson Ohannessian, and Katharine Jackson McCagg 2) Correspondence to and from Katharine Townsend Jackson 3) Correspondence to and from Grace Friedberg 4) Correspondence to and from Eric and Margaret (Peggy) Rideal and Peter and Mary Oliver 5) Correspondence to and from Mrs. Jackson's brother, Robert Reichenthal (aka Robert Ritchey) 6) Correspondence to and from Mrs. Jackson's sister, Isabel Mayers, and her nephew, Richard Mayers 7) Diaries of Schuyler B. Jackson and Laura (Riding) Jackson

Category (D): 1) A group of letters, from Laura (Riding) Jackson to Joyce Wexler 2) Correspondence to and from Gertrude Stein

Each subseries is arranged into incoming and outgoing correspondence. The incoming correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order by name of correspondent, with the unidentified senders placed at the beginning of the subseries; the outgoing correspondence is in chronological order, with the undated letters at the beginning of the subseries. However, there are two exceptions. Some materials in the incoming correspondence have been kept in thematic order, as Laura (Riding) Jackson arranged them. These are the letters relating to the fruit shipping business and the incoming selected Christmas messages. The formerly restricted correspondence for each individual is housed in separate boxes, the materials being arranged into incoming and outgoing correspondence. The letters of Theodore Wilentz to and from Laura (Riding) Jackson are interfiled with those of his wife Joan.

Literary manuscripts span the years 1926-1991. The series includes works by both Laura (Riding) Jackson and Schuyler B. Jackson, with whom she worked on The Dictionary of Related Meanings and Rational Meaning. The materials are subdivided into two categories, published and unpublished manuscripts and are further subdivided by genre: Major works, Poems, Essays and commentaries, and Letters to editors. All materials are arranged in chronological order when dated, otherwise in alphabetical order. The Major Works section includes book-length projects of criticism, collaborations, translations, and pamphlets individually published; Essays and commentaries includes works published as parts of other works, such as contributions to periodicals or to collections of essays, and a variety of notes and commentaries on Laura (Riding) Jackson 's works, on others' works, and on poetry and language in general. Her notes about her own works written after publication are placed in the Unpublished works section, unless the notes themselves were published. Letters to editors of journals and magazines, written in response to book reviews of Laura (Riding) Jackson 's works, are placed among the literary manuscripts rather than in the correspondence series, as they are often literary essays in their own right.

The Major Works subdivision in the Unpublished Works section contains a variety of manuscript and typescript drafts, notes, and background materials that are sporadically dated. They have been arranged in alphabetical order by title, then within each title in the following order: background materials, manuscript drafts, typescript drafts, notes and commentaries.

Materials in the Broadcasts, Recordings, and Readings series span the years 1963-1972 and are arranged in chronological order. They include the text of the Preface of Four Unposted Letters to Catherine written in 1963 for a reading aired by BBC on July 15 and 16, 1963, revised for the occasion; notes and transcripts of a poetry reading recorded at Lamont Library, Harvard College, in January 1972; and corrections for a recording made at the Library of Congress.

Materials in the Professional Activities series span the years 1936-1976. They are arranged chronologically and include a contract stipulated by the Seizin Press and a grant application from Laura (Riding) Jackson to the Guggenheim Foundation.

Materials in the Other Activities series span the years 1973-1978 and consist of documents and correspondence relating to Mrs. Jackson's involvement in a dispute over a development project in Wabasso, Florida, where she resided.

Materials in the Writings about Laura (Riding) Jackson series span the years 1932-1990 and are subdivided into the following two sections: Biographical Pieces and Critical Reception of Laura (Riding) Jackson's Works. The latter section includes book reviews and critical essays, in addition to entries in reference works and anthologies. The book reviews are listed in chronological order of appearance in periodicals, the essays in the chronological order of publication of the works in which they are contained.

Materials in the Writings by Others series span the years 1926-1981 and include clippings from reviews and articles on language, literature, and a variety of other subjects, which Laura (Riding) Jackson found of interest and collected. They are listed in chronological order of appearance.

The Photographs series consists of fifteen black and white photographs, which span the 1920s to the 1980s. They include photographs of paintings of Laura (Riding) Jackson.

The Memorabilia series includes a number of legal documents.

The Wabasso Development Project

Box 97 (part)-98