Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

Ardis Press was an independent publishing house in Ann Arbor founded by Carl and Ellendea Proffer in 1971 that was dedicated to the printing of Russian literature. The publishing house was known both for their English translations of previously untranslated works, as well as Russian printings of 20th Century Russian and Soviet authors. Additionally, they would print the works of contemporary Russian authors as well as anthologies and literary criticisms. Ardis operated from 1971-2002 when it was sold to Overlook Press. The majority of the materials in this collection are from the 1970s-1990s. Noteworthy pieces of this collection include the Russian anthology Metropol, the Russian Literature Triquarterly, and correspondence and manuscripts from a variety of Russian authors, including: Lev Kopelev, Vladimir Nabokov, Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, Joseph Brodsky, and Sasha Sokolov.

Materials have been divided into seven series. 1. Author/Name Files: This series includes correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper articles, contracts, and publishing materials for Russian authors and translators. Materials are arranged by author's last name.

2. Collected Works/Corporate Authors: This series includes correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper articles, and publishing materials from corporate authors or anthologies of works. Materials are arranged by corporate name or anthology name.

3. Business Records: This series includes materials related to the operation of Ardis Press. It will have three sub-series: Publicity, Company Information, and Author Personnel.The Publicity sub-series includes will have three further sub-series: Reviews, Articles/Exhibit Info, and Marketing/Advertising. Reviews are arranged by author's last name, and both Articles/Exhibit Info and Marketing are arranged by subject. The Company Information sub-series includes sales information and records about Ardis. It is arranged by subject. The Author Personnel series includes three further sub-series: Royalties, Contracts, and Rights. The Royalties series has correspondence, invoices, and documentation for author's royalty statements. It is arranged by author's last name. The Contracts series includes contracts and documentation between authors and Ardis and is arranged alphabetically. The Rights series has documentation, invoices and correspondence regarding copyright and use permissions. It is arranged by subject.

4. Media: This series includes photographs, negatives, slides, audio, and visual materials from Ardis and its employees, authors and their families, Russia and the Soviet Union, and various interviews. Materials are arranged into two sub-series: Photographs + Albums, and Video + Audio. Materials are arranged by media type.

5. Artwork: This series includes artwork from Russian artists, some used for book covers. Materials are arranged by artist last name.

6. Carl and Ellendea Proffer Personal Papers: This series includes documentation, correspondence, awards and programs related to Carl and Ellendea Proffer. Materials are arranged by subject.

7. Non-Ardis Materials: This series includes documents, booklets, and posters from Russian sources but that are not related to Ardis. Materials are arranged by subject.

The Ari J. Kane Papers (1976-2016) document the activities of the sex and gender studies therapist, educator, and advocate Ari J. Kane, who founded Fantasia Fair and the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies (OIGS). The collection contains personal materials such as correspondence, research materials, educational presentations created by Kane, and other miscellaneous materials from Kane's involvement in the LGBT community. Included in the collection are organizational correspondence and records relating to the Outreach Institute of Gender Studies and the Educational Institute for Sex and Gender Diversity. Also included are event programs, planning information, workshop materials, member lists, and correspondence from events and programs such as Fantasia Fair, the Gender Attitude Reassessment Program, GAYLA, and various professional organizations' annual meetings. The collection contains photographs from Kane's participation in events, parties, and travels around the United States.

This collection documents the activities of Ari J. Kane, who founded Fantasia Fair and the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies (OIGS), and was a sex and gender studies therapist and educator. The collection contains personal materials such as correspondence, research materials, educational presentations created by Kane, and other miscellaneous materials from Kane's involvement in the LGBT community.

It also contains materials documenting the OIGS, such as organizational correspondence; financial records; board of directors meeting minutes; endeavors with organizational support such as the Gender Attitude Reassessment Program (GARP), Fantasia Fair, and the Journal of Gender Studies; publications created by and collected by the OIGS; and miscellaneous promotional materials and flyers. Gender Attitude Reassessment Program materials consist of drafts; research materials; workshop proposals, exercise handouts, and transparencies; correspondence; and a completed manuscript. Fantasia Fair materials consist of event programs, member lists, correspondence, planning notes, newsletters, and flyers. Journal of Gender Studies materials consist of issue proofs, submissions and content to be published, flyers, and mailing lists.

The Educational Institute for Sex and Gender Diversity (EISGD) is also documented in the collection. The EISGD is an offshoot of the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies that formed around 2001-2002. These materials contain organizational correspondence and records such as meeting minutes, expense reports, brochures, and flyers.

The Conferences and Events series contains materials relating to events that Kane was a part of, as well as conferences she presented at or attended. The GAYLA subseries consists of event programs, correspondence, photographs, newsletters, member lists, and planning notes. GAYLA is an annual summer event for gay men held at Ferry Beach, Maine. The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) subseries contains conference event programs, presentation proposals and submissions, correspondence, workshop materials, research articles, and AASECT publications. Most of the materials in this subseries relate to Dave Prok, a longtime board member of OIGS and EISGD and professor at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. Prok served as a conference proposal abstract reviewer for AASECT. The Easton Mountain subseries contains brochures, event programs, notes, newsletters, and materials relating to Gay Spirit Camp and the Maturing Gay Man series of workshops. Easton Mountain is a retreat in upstate New York. Ari J. Kane and Dave Prok collaborated on a workshop for aging gay men called the Maturing Gay Man that they presented at Easton Mountain. The Various Conferences subseries contains event programs, invitations, correspondence, proposals, and presentations from many different events.

The Photographs series consists of photographic prints and photograph albums. The photograph albums depict Fantasia Fair and GAYLA events. The photographic prints depict various events such as Fantasia Fair; GAYLA; Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists conferences; parties and celebrations; and various travels around the United States. People depicted in the photographs include Ari J. Kane, Jane Peabody, Carole Mayfield aka Dick Arms, Bob Cowart, Winnie Brant, Ron Roy, and Candy Scott, among others. The photographs remain in original order.

The Audiovisual Material series consists of VHS tapes, cassette tapes, floppy disks, and compact discs containing media from Fantasia Fair 1994 and 1996, The Sissy Show, the Gender Attitude Reassessment Program.

Correspondence, manuscripts, publications, and ephemera from award-winning novelist, journalist, and anarchist Cara Hoffman.

The correspondence series contains digital correspondence between Hoffman and colleagues, as well as letters sent to Hoffman. The creator separated digital correspondence from Goddard College, Jon Frankel, and Rachel Pollack from other letters. These correspondents' folders are arranged alphabetically. Their back-and-forth with Hoffman largely consists of discussions about craft or admissions to Goddard College. Additional correspondence is ordered chronologically. Many letters date from the 80s and 90s and concern the personal lives of Hoffman's correspondents.

The Works series consists of notes, manuscripts, proofs, and publications of Hoffman's novels, short stories, and articles. Materials are grouped by work. The bulk of materials relate to Hoffman's most recent novel, Running, which is based loosely on her early travels in Greece in the 1980s and 1990s.

The collection also includes 5 of Hoffman's personal journals, dating from 2000 to roughly 2018. These journals include notes and writings related to Hoffman's writing process and her work on her MFA. Following the journals are Hoffman's Goddard diploma and handful of ephemera from Hoffman's travels.

David Cope is a poet in the Objectivist tradition and the founder of Nada Press, a small press which publishes the literary magazine and other poetry. Cope, a University of Michigan graduate and lifelong Michigan resident, taught literature and writing at Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University. The collection documents Cope's writing, editing, and to some extent teaching and other spheres of Cope's life, through correspondence, manuscripts, notes, printed material, photographs, and videotapes.

David Cope made his first donation of papers to the Special Collections Research Center in 1987. Since then he has continued to make frequent contributions. The David Cope Papers cover Cope's writing and correspondence from the 1970s to the present, as well as his editing and teaching activities. In addition to offering insight into Cope's work, the collection details some of the activities and thoughts of friends and fellow writers and poets; in particular, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Cohn, Antler, and Jeff Poniewaz. Not currently well-documented are the more personal aspects of Cope's life--especially his family life--except for those details made available through his writings and correspondence.

The David Cope Papers are divided into eight series: Correspondence and Name Files, Writings, Editing Materials, Teaching and Education Materials, Publicity Materials, Personal, Photographs, and Audio/Visual. A small selection of books from Cope's library have been removed from the collection and have been cataloged individually. They are shelved by call number in Special Collections and can be requested through the Library's catalog.

Edward C. Weber (1922-2006) was long-time curator of the University of Michigan Special Collection's Joseph A. Labadie Collection of radical history. Under his stewardship, the Labadie Collection grew into one of the premier and most forward-thinking holdings of materials relating to radical and protest groups from the United States and around the world. The Edward C. Weber Papers are made up of the subject's correspondence and biographical materials, written from 1949 to 2006. The bulk of the collection, the correspondence is mostly comprised of Weber's letters soliciting materials on behalf of the Labadie Collection or fielding reference questions from researchers, as well as personal correspondence from the his family and friends. The collection's materials are comprised of letters (typed and handwritten), printed out emails, postcards, greeting cards, news clippings, photographs, printed biographical materials, framed commendations, and other miscellaneous paper materials.

The Edward C. Weber Papers consists of Weber's correspondence with organizations, publishers, researchers, associates, family, and friends, along with biographical materials created for his retirement and memorial services. The collection provides a snapshot of the Joseph A. Labadie Collection and his work there for a 40 year period (1960-2000), as well as a portrait of his personal relationships with friends and family from 1949 to 2005.

The Biographical Materials series contains materials from Weber's retirement celebration and memorial service. The first folder contains past articles and correspondence on paper stock, reprinted for Weber's memorial service in 2006. The second set of items relate to Weber's retirement in 2000. This includes a flyer for his retirement celebration, articles about his retirement, and copied certificates of commendation. In addition, two framed items of commendation are housed in an oversized box.

The Correspondence series makes up the majority of the collection and is comprised of 27 linear feet of paper material housed in 54 manuscript boxes, foldered alphabetically by correspondent or corresponding organization. Individual letters, cards, photographs and other types of written communication are arranged chronologically within each subject's folder(s). The majority of folders are dedicated to outreach by Weber to various radical groups and individuals soliciting material donations to contribute to the Labadie Collection. His written responses to reference inquiries for items within the Labadie Collection make up another significant segment of the series. Most of these materials are typewritten letters officially sent on behalf of the Labadie Collection and University of Michigan Special Collections. Some later letters were written by Labadie Collection assistants during Weber's time there and with his knowledge. Since Weber never used email, his letters sent on behalf of the Labadie Collection were typed on a manual or electric typewriter. There are occasional handwritten notations on some of these letters and a few emails printed out so he could read them. Other folders in the series contain personal correspondence from friends, family, and other associates. These items are made up mostly of handwritten notes, postcards, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, printouts of emails, occasional photographs, and other miscellaneous items. Many of the folders were removed from the general Labadie correspondence files in 2008 and a listing was made of them at that time. The rest of the series is made up of personal correspondence Weber stored in his home.

Within the series are several notable, lengthy correspondence partners including Theodore Adams (1950-2004, 21 folders), James Q. Belden (1952-2000, 11 folders), George Nick (1949-1991, 12 folders), Curtis and Clarice Rodgers (1961-2005, 18 folders), and Henry Van Dyke (1950-2004, 12 folders). The series also includes correspondence from notable individuals such as civil rights activist Malcolm X, graphic novelist Harvey Pekar, former Secretary of State Eliot Abrams, the White Panther Party, among many others.

Abbreviations:

LC=Labadie Collection ECW=Edward C. Weber

The Finvola Drury papers consist of correspondence, publications, writings, printed ephemera, photographs, and audiovisual materials created or collected by Finvola Drury, a poet, teacher, , and activist.

The Finvola Drury papers are organized into eight series: correspondence, publications, writings, professional, personal, photographs, clippings, and A/V materials.

The correspondence series is sorted alphabetically by surname or institution name, except in cases where the correspondent's full name was not included in the correspondence or a single letter was addressed to multiple recipients. The bulk of correspondence is between Finvola Drury and her son, George S. Drury, and his wife Kathy. Other notable correspondents include Flo Kennedy, Sohnya Sayres, Jim Cohn, and David Cope.

A note on names: Finvola's daughter, Finvola, is often referred to by her nickname "Finny," or sometimes "Finvola II," while Finvola herself uses the nickname "Fin."

The publications series is sorted between poetry and prose and arranged alphabetically by title. Also included are various ephemera with Drury's poetry or prose printed on them, as well as a published review of Drury's book, Burning the Snow.

The writings series contains four subseries: poetry drafts, prose drafts, notes, and notebooks and journals. Both the poetry and prose draft subseries include files created and named by Drury and/or the donor, denoted in the finding aid and folder titles as "poetry draft files" or "prose draft files." Loose/unsorted poetry and prose drafts were organized alphabetically by name by the processing archivist and placed into folders labeled "alphabetized poetry drafts," denoted in the finding aid like "poetry drafts, A-Z." The notes subseries consists of pages of Drury's handwritten notes about literature, writing, ideas for poems or prose, and other subjects of interest. The "subject notes" files were ordered and labeled by Drury and/or the donor. Other notes were loose and/or unsorted and brought together in processing. Finally, the notebooks and journals subseries comprises notebooks and journals Drury kept throughout her life, as well as a handful of notebooks that belonged to her daughter, Finvola.

The professional series is made up of materials from Drury's career, sorted primarily by institution, followed by announcements for Drury's poetry readings, a copy of Drury's resume, and the draft of a memoir a student wrote under Drury's tutelage.

The personal series consists of biographical sketches written about Drury, notes and records from Drury's undergraduate and graduate education, personal ephemera, and a book given to Drury by Detroit artists.

The photographs series is organized chronologically.

The clippings series consists of newspapers and clippings Drury kept in her files, as well as a handful of collages Drury and her friend, Kathy Rose, made from news clippings.

The A/V series contains two LP music records, three tapes, and three CDs.