Alfredo Vea Manuscripts
Alfredo Véa, Jr. (1950-), a lawyer of Mexican, Yaqui, and Filipino heritage, draws on this legacy along with his life experiences for the subjects of his novels. The collection consists of literary manuscripts (typescripts) for three novels: La Maravilla, The Silver Cloud Café, and Gods Go Begging. The typescripts are corrected and edited by the author; also included are notes and comments by others. Véa used report-style folders as covers for the typescripts. In some cases, the original manuscript cover is saved when it contains a title or other comment handwritten by Véa.
Edna Anderson Collection of Poems and Papers
Edna Anderson began her teaching career after high school in 1911. Anderson taught at country schools in Montana from 1911-1914, saving her salary to attend college. During this time there was no government aid. Nevertheless, Anderson worked hard and attended The University of California, Berkeley and in 1918, Anderson graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree, and an Honors in English. In 1922, she received her Master of Arts in English. After graduation, Anderson taught high school in Washington, California, and Hawaii and in 1929, she became a charter member of the Los Angeles City College faculty and an Associate Professor of English. Anderson remained with Los Angeles City College until her retirement in 1960. After retirement, Anderson focused on her writing and her love of nature. The materials in this collection were created from 1926-1972. The bulk of the collection consists of the writings and publications of Edna Anderson. The writings and publications consist of poetry, short stories, and a novel. Included in this collection are the correspondences between Edna Anderson and her family and friends, biographical documents and newspaper clippings that pertain to Edna Anderson’s education and interests, as well as photographs and an interview with Edna Anderson.
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Frederick Shroyer Manuscripts
a. Frederick B. Shroyer (1916 – 1983) was a Cal State LA Department of English faculty member for over 25 years. He also was an editor for the Los Angeles Examiner, an author, literary critic, and television moderator. He authored over a dozen books including Wall Against the Night, It Happened in Wayland, and There None Embrace. The collection of literary manuscripts is comprised of a galley proof and two typescript drafts of his novel, Wall Against the Night, which was published in 1957. The galley proof and typescripts include edits and corrections in pen and pencil and “cut and pasted” (stapled) sections.
Los Angeles Poets collection
The Los Angeles Poets Collection contains 41 matted photographs by photographer Sheree Levin, which were exhibited at California State University, Los Angeles in 1982. Accompanying the photographs is a program from The L.A. 2 Scene: Los Angeles Poets Exhibition. The photographs are of local Los Angeles poets. Poets in these photos include Lewis MacAdams who, in 1991, received the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society’s annual Conservation Award. As a political activist, MacAdams is a co-founder of Friends of The Los Angeles River (FoLAR) established in 1985 (and has served as Chair on their Board of Directors). FoLAR has been characterized by MacAdams as a "40-year artwork" to bring the Los Angeles River back to life. Clayton Eshleman, a famous poet in his own right, is also included. Over the course of Eshleman’s life, his work has been published in over 500 literary magazines and newspapers, and he has given readings at more than 200 universities. Eshleman founded and edited two of the most seminal and highly regarded literary magazines of the period. Twenty issues of Caterpillar appeared between 1967 and 1973. In 1981, while Dreyfuss Poet in Residence at the California Institute of Technology, Eshleman founded Sulfur magazine.
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Mel Weisburd Papers
Melvin Irving Weisburd (1927-2015) was a prominent environmentalist, magazine editor, writer, and poet. Aside from his work with the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District, Weisburd is known for his contribution to the Los Angeles beatnik poetry movement of the ’50s. Which is not to be confused with the Venice Beach beatniks. As a student at Los Angeles State College (Cal State LA), Weisburd met Thomas McGrath, a highly-regarded poet and English professor who influenced Weisburd’s passion for poetry. Weisburd went on to become a member of McGrath’s “Marsh Street Irregulars”, a group of poets who met every Wednesday night at McGrath’s Marsh Street home in the Elysian Valley, which was later demolished to make way for the I-5 and SR-2 highway interchange. By 1955, Weisburd and fellow Marsh Street Irregular, Gene Frumkin, founded Coastlines magazine, a literary journal dedicated to poetry in Los Angeles. In 2016, the Mel Weisburd Papers of manuscripts, poetry, journals, and correspondence, as well as 42 Reel-to-Reels from Weisburd’s private collection, were donated to Cal State LA Special Collections and Archives by English Professor Dr. Andrew L. Knighton. Many of the reels in this collection were selected for digitization by the California Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP), and have been made available on Archive.org.
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Norman Fruman Papers
Dr. Norman Fruman (1923-2012) is a noted literary scholar best known for his 1971 book Coleridge, The Damaged Archangel (1971). He was born in the Bronx, New York and attended school in New York City, earning his Master’s Degree from Columbia University in 1948 and his Ph.D. from New York University in 1960. While still attending the City University of New York for his undergraduate degree, Fruman was sent to fight in World War II. He rose to the rank of platoon leader in the 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a prisoner of war in a Bavarian prison camp until his release in 1945. Fruman wrote for The American Comics Group after earning his M.A. and also won the television quiz show “The $64,000 Challenge” in 1957. After earning his doctorate in 1960, Fruman taught English at California State University, Los Angeles from 1959 to 1978 and later the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1978 to 1994. Dr. Fruman was a public critic of political correctness in the university, especially in regards to his own field of study. He was a founding member of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers as well as a board member of the National Association of Scholars. Fruman died in 2012 from cancer, leaving behind three children and Doris, his wife for 53 years.