Les K. Wright papers and Bear History Project files

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 7656

Abstract

Documentation of a gay subculture revolving around burly, hairy men, or "bears." Includes newsletters, flyers, and correspondence from bear clubs, printouts from related electronic discussion lists, and material related to the writing and publication of THE BEAR BOOK, which Wright edited. Also, Wright's journals, personal memorabilia, and correspondence, including extensive correspondence with friend Billie Aul. Collection also includes many videorecordings relating to bears.

Dates

1959-2010.

Creator

Wright, Les K. (Person)
Aul, Billie. (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Extent

36.4 cubic feet. (36.7 cubic feet.)

4 volumes. (4 volumes.)

Additional Description

SERIES LIST

Series I. Journals and Personal Memorabilia Boxes 2-3, 15-16, 37-49

This series contains documents from Wright's childhood through the time of the first donation in 2000. A school records book contains yearly photos of him and information about his teachers and classes from elementary through high school. There are additional mementos from high school, his senior year of high school spent in Germany, his years at the State University of New York at Albany, and his graduate work in comparative literature at the University of California- Berkeley, followed by files on his student loan payments. A draft of his dissertation, "The Chiasmic War: AIDS, Writing, and Gay Community in the US" is found here, as well as his dossier submitted for tenure review at Mount Ida College. The series includes his personal journals from 1970 to 1989, medical files from 1958 to 1995, files about receiving government assistance (welfare and Supplemental Security Income), mementos from places he lived and visited, and some family genealogy.

This series also contains a brown vinyl scrapbook in which he kept newspaper clipping and keepsakes from his youth through adulthood, 1966-1984. The scrapbook shows his early academic successes, Rotary award, and high school achievements and his later political affiliations and involvements. For instance, his membership cards for the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force are included. This scrapbook posed a preservation challenge due to its adhesives and plastics. To preserve a record of the way everything was originally laid out, we photocopied the contents onto acid-free paper. This copy is available in Box 2, folder 32. We removed items that were intact enough and not fused to the pages and are storing them in separate acid-free envelopes.

Series II. Publications and Academic Work Boxes 3-4, 17-21, 26, 31, 36, 50-52

Publications contains Wright's files from his various writing projects on German literature, German gay history, US gay politics, gay literature, and the bear gay subculture. Included are numerous articles, his dissertation prospectus, and comments by Jim Jones and Billie Aul on the dissertation drafts. As part of his dissertation research, he also collected some files on gay communities in the Netherlands and other European countries. There are manuscripts from The Bear Book I and II, reviews, and correspondence with contributors. Additionally, there are research notes on the history of the Castro as a gay ghetto, utopia, and neighborhood, along with notes/correspondence regarding research into the lives of long-term HIV/AIDS survivors for the "Surviving Soul Murder" project (book?). Non-bear related conference materials where Wright led workshops are also included. There are also a large number of movie and book reviews written by Wright.

Subseries: Dissertation Materials Castro History Project Surviving Soul Murder Conferences/Workshops Reviews Published and Unpublished Articles Academic Courses Tenure Manuscript

Series III. Correspondence Boxes 4-8, 21, 23-26, 36, 53

This series spans from 1968-2000 and is arranged alphabetically within the groups in which the material was received. Correspondents are many and include the Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California (GLHSNC), and a file of "Letters to Editors". The series also includes files of Wright's letters to Billie Aul and Ken Ratcliffe.

Series IV. Bear History Project Boxes 3-4, 9-14, 21-22, 28-35, 54, 56-61

Newsletters and files on Bear clubs around the world (US, UK, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Switzerland), their events and publications, and printouts of an electronic mailing list for Bears from 1993 to 2000. There are also 2 scrapbooks compiled by Wright on the Monty Bear group in Fitchburg, MA, including photographs of events, flyers advertising events, and other miscellany. Also here are issues 1 to 17 of Bearskin Bend Lodge and issues 1 to 8 of the Bear History Project Newsletter.

Series V. Nashoba Institute Boxes 22, 27, 55

Les Wright founded the Nashoba Institute, a non-profit think tank focused on non-hegemonic masculinities. Board documents and correspondence reflect the activities and ideas of the Institute.

Series VI. Audiovisual and Computer Media Boxes 14, 31,

This series contains interviews and programs on Bear themes on audio and video cassettes and computer disks with Wright's writing, correspondence, mailing lists and other files

RELATED MATERIALS

Collecting program: Human Sexuality Collection.

SEPARATED MATERIAL

The following materials have been separated from the collection. Some may have been cataloged individually:

Diary of a Thought Criminal 1996 book, signed by author Mark I. Chester "For Les, to a fellow traveller. 10/13/96", HSX TR676 .C52 + c.2

100 Percent Beef. issue 1-7 (2002-2003:May); issue 12-16 (2004); issue 17-19 (2005:Jan, March, May);issue 31 (2007); issue 40-43 (2008)

A Bear's Life. Issue 1 (2005: Summer); issue 11 (2008: Spring); issue 19 (2010: Spring)

AIDS The Literacy Response. By Emmanuel S.Nelson (1992)

American Bear. Issue 1-39 (1994-2000:Oct./Nov.); issue 40-43,45 (2000/2001:Dec./Jan.-June/July,Oct./Nov.); issue 46-66 (2001/2002:Dec./Jan.-2005:Apr./May); issue 69 (2005:Oct./Nov.)

American Grizzly. Issue 7 (1999:Aug.-Oct.)

Amsterdam in je kontzak. Edited by Erik Marcus and Paul Verstraeten. (1985)

Artweek v.32:issue 4 (John Rand artwork featured on page 22)

Bear. v.2:no.6 (1988); no.10-11 (1989-90); no.14-44 (1990-1997); no.46-63 (1997-2000); no.64 (2001:Apr.);no.65 (2009: Feb.);no.67 (2009:May-July)

Bear Cookin' The Original Guide to Bear Comfort Foods. By PJ Gray-Stanley Hunter. (2003)

Bear Fax. no.1-6 (1990) Bears in the raw. By Paul D. Cain and Luke Mauerman (2019)

Bear like me. By Jonathan Cohen. (2003)

Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions. By Ron Jackson Suresha. (2002)

Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions Revised Edition. By Ron Jackson Suresha. (2002)

Bearhug Quarterly. v.2:no.2-4 (1992:June - 1993:April)

Bears Prowl. no.1 (1990)

Big Ad. no.52 (1997:Jun.-Aug.)

Big Men's Quarterly Issue 6 April 2005 (John Rand photography featured on pages 41-47) Blood of the goddess. By William Schindler (2020)

Bristlecone Peak. By Dave Brown. (1998)

Bulk Male. v.1:no.1-3 (1991); v.2:no.1-3 (1992); v.3:no.4-5 (1993:July/Aug.-Sept./Oct.); v.4:no.1 (1994:Jan./Feb.)

Canadian Male. no.1 (1996:Nov.); no.3 (1997:Mar.) Capturing our diversity : 3 decades of pride : photography from film to digital by activist-photographer. By Ron WIlliams (2020?) Carnal sacraments : an historical novel of the future. By Perry Brass (2007)

Contemporary gay american novelist. By Emmanuel S. Nelson. (1993)

Chiron Rising. Issue 58 (1993)

Classic Bear. Issues 1-2 (1996-1997)

Daddy Bear. 1994:Jan.,Apr./May-June/July,Sept./Oct.; 1995:Feb.,Apr./May; v.2:no.3-6 (1995:June/July-Dec./Jan.); v.3:no.1-2 (1996:Feb./Mar.-[Apr./May])

Das Graphische werk von the graphic work of Lovis Corinth. By Karl Schwarz. (1985)

Der Barenkult Das Tier im Mann!. By Rainer Horman und Jim Baker (Hrsg.). (2004)

Digital Photographer August 2001 (John Rand featured on pages 86-89)

Digital Photographer November 2002 (John Rand featured on pages 66-70)

Digital Photographer November 2003 (John Rand featured on pages 86-89)

Encyclopedia of Homosexuality.vol 1, vol 2 By Wayne R.Dynes. (1990)

European Journal of Cultural studies. v.1:no 1 (January 1998)

Faeries Bears and Leathermen. By Peter Hennen. (2008)

Gay and Lesbian Biography. By Michael J. Tyrkus. (1997)

Gay Histories and Cultures. By George E. Haggerty. (2000)

Gay men write about hometowns where they belong. By John Preston. (1991)

Getting it on online:Cyberspace, Gay Male Sexuality and Emboided Identity. By John Edward Campbell. (2004) God's dog : memories, confessions, dreams & revelations of a modern mystic. By William Schindler (2016) Queer kinship : race, sex, belonging, form. Tyler Bradway and Elizabeth Freeman, editors (2022) Guide for the modern bear : field study of bears in the wild. By Travis Smith and Chris Bale (2012)

Heavy Duty. Issue 8-10 (1998)

Husky. v.1:no.1,3 (1991); v.3:no.3 (1996)

Journal of Homosexuality. Vol 46,no 1/2. (2003)

Köln & Düsselsorf von hinten: Lese- und Reisebuch für Schwule, Gays und anderen Freunde. Edited by Michael Zgonjanin. (1985)

Lou Sullivan : daring to be a man among men. By Brice D. Smith (2017)

Loving Mountains, Loving Men. By Jeff Mann. (2005) Memories of a gay Catholic boyhood : coming of age in the sixties. By John D'Emilio (2022)

More Bear Cookin'. PJ Gray. (2005)

Moving On. By Dann Hazel. (1999)

Mud Mania magazine. Rio Nido, California.

Now UK No. 16 March 2000 Of beards and men : the revealing history of facial hair. By Christopher Oldstone-Moore (2016)

One Thousand Beards, A cultural History of Facial Hair. By Allan Peterkin. (2001)

Out in the workplace. By Richard A.Rasi, D.Min. Lourdes Rodriguez-Nogues, Ed.d. (1995) Out there : stories of private desires, horror, and the afterlife. By Perry Brass (1994)

Pinups no. 5 (2008:March)

Queering the canon. By Christoph Lorey, John L.Plews. (1998)

Queer sites, gay urban histories since 1600. By David Higgs. (1999) San Francisco's native "sissy" son. By Ron Williams (2013)

Serenity: challenging the fear of AIDS, from despair to hope. By Paul Reed. (1987)

Song of the Loon. By Richard Amory. (1966)

Spartacus...guide for gay men. 1995/1996 edition

Sugar Bear's Den. v.1:issue 1-4,7 (1996:Nov./Dec.-1997:May/June,1997:Nov./Dec.); v.2 (1996); v.3:issue 2-5 (1999:Mar./Apr.-Nov./Dec.); v.4:issue 1-2 (2000:Jan./Feb.-May/June)

Syphilis as AIDS. By Robert Ben Mitchell. (1990)

Tales from the Bear Cult. By Mark Hemry. (2001)

The Bear and his sons. By James M. Taggart. (1997)

The Bear Book. By Les Wright. (1997)

The Bear Book II. By Les Wright. (2001)

The Bear Handbook. By Ray Kampf. (2000)

The Butch manual. By Clark Henley. (1982)

The Leatherman's Handbook. By Larry Towsend. (1972) The life and times of the legendary Larry Townsend. By Jack Fritscher (2021) The kinda fella I am : stories. By Raymond Luczak (2018)

The Naked Bear. By John Bierhorst. (1987)

The Sacred Paw. By Paul Shepard, Barrry Sanders. (1985) Trees. By Sylvia Barnard (2012) Twentieth century leatherman : an argument, a history, a love story. By Drew D. Kramer (2021)

You don't have to die: unraveling the AIDS myth. By Leon Chaitow. (1994)

Young and hairy. By David Butt. (1999)

Physical Description

Newsletters, flyers, journals, personal memorabilia, correspondence, and videorecordings.

General

Contact Information:: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524 rareref@cornell.edu http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:: Melissa KuypersAndrea Hektor
Date completed:: January 2001
EAD encoding:: Andrea Hektor, December 2003Sarah Keen, December 2008Sara McDermott, February 2010Lara Blas, December 2010Mark Collins, April 2011
Date modified:: Marcie Farwell, October 2018