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Jim Elledge papers

 Collection
Identifier: Q145

Scope and Contents of the Papers

The Jim Elledge papers span from 1827 to 2015 [bulk 1971-2006]. The papers are organized into 4 series. Series I, Personal Papers and Published works, 1966-2015, contains Elledge's personal and research materials as an English-poetry professor, and document his prolific writing career as a novelist and as a poet, reflecting the publishing process through editorial correspondence and forms. The series also contains his personal diaries and "tear sheets" of his poems from the publishers in which his work appears. Series II, Darger Research Items, 1904-2011, contains photocopies from his research at various Chicago archives researching the life of Henry Darger. Series III. Research Materials A-Z [subject files], 1827-2008, consists of articles and excerpts from archival manuscripts and books relating to his research, including on Henry Darger. Series IV. Audiovisual, 2006, 2008 and consists of CDs.

Dates

  • Creation: 1827-2015
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1971 - 2006

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Biography of Jim Elledge

Jim Elledge graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a B.A. in English in 1971 and in 1973 with an M.S. in Library Science. After working as the Reference Librarian at Mundelein College, Chicago, and then as the Assistant Medical Librarian at the Columbus-Cuneo-Cabrini Medical Center, also in Chicago, he attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (U.I.C). He received a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in creative writing from U.I.C. in 1986.

Elledge served as assistant editor of Poetry from 1983 to 1988 and then associate editor of Illinois Writers Review and Book Review Editor of Pikestaff Forum. He was associate professor of English at Illinois State University where he taught creative writing and literature. In 2006, Elledge started teaching poetry writing at Kennesaw State University, retiring in 2016. There he specialized in Creative Writing and Queer Studies, and was the Director, M.A. in the Professional Writing Program.

Elledge has published a range of work. His volumes of poetry include Tapping My Arm for a Vein (2015), the Lambda Literary Award-winning A History of My Tattoo: A Poem (2006) and several other titles. His edited volumes include Queers in American Popular Culture (2010) and, with David Groff, Who's Yer Daddy? Gay Writers Celebrate Their Mentors and Forerunners (2012), also a Lambda Literary Award winner. He has edited several poetry anthologies and, as a critic and bibliographer, has published on Frank O'Hara, Weldon Kees, Wilfred Owen, and James Dickey. Elledge's major non-fiction work is Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist, published by Overlook Press in 2013. Darger (1892-1973), a reclusive Chicago custodian, created a number of lengthy, illustrated works of fantastic fiction that were discovered after his death. Elledge's book on Darger won the Georgia Author of the Year Award for biography, and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for gay male memoir/biography and for the Publishing Triangle's Randy Shilts Award for gay nonfiction. Elledge's work on the artist led him to extensive research on gay culture and sexuality during Darger's time. He has published on other historical topics and has produced imaginative work inspired by Darger, prose poems published as The Book of the Heart Taken by Love (2007) and H (2012).

Extent

22.2 Linear Feet (in 52 boxes )

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

Jim Elledge is the author of Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of An Outsider Artist, published in 2013, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for gay memoir/biography and for the Publishing Triangle nonfiction award. A published poet, Elledge retired as professor of English from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. His papers 1827-2015 [bulk 1971-2006], include correspondence, writings and his and others poetry illustrating the writing and publishing process.

Organization of the Records

Organized into 4 series:

  1. Series I: Personal Papers and Published Works, 1966-2015
  2. Series II. Darger Research Items, 1904-2011
  3. Series III. Research Materials A-Z, 1827-2008
  4. Series IV. Audiovisual, 2006, 2008, 2013

Arrangement Note

Arranged in four series: 1. Personal Papers and Published Works, 1966-2015; 2. Darger Research Items, 1904-2011; 3. Research Materials A-Z [Subject Files], 1827-2008; 4. Audiovisual, 2006, 2008, 2013.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Jim Elledge, February 2016.

Existence and Location of Originals

Burgess, Ernest. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Separated Materials

During processing, periodicals and books were seperated and catalogued.

Separated to the Special Collections Book Collection

  1. Jim Elledge's published books and the work he collected by other authors have been cataloged

Separated to the Treasures Book Collection

  1. Dickey, James., R. B. Dance, and Palaemon Press. The Shark at the Window : (for My Brother's Marriage). Winston-Salemm, N.C.: Palaemoess, 1977. Print. Palaemon broadside, no. 82; Palaemon broadside, no. 82.
  2. Elledge, Jim, and John. De Pol. Homemade. Roslyn, N.Y.: Stone House Press, 1985. Print. Stone House Press broadside, no. 102

Collection Transfer Note

This collection was previously designated W145, but was assigned collection number Q145 with the formationĀ of the Gender and Sexuality Collection in 2018.

Processing Information

Processed by Hilary Morrish at the file level, April-June 2016.

Title
Jim Elledge:
Subtitle
A Guide to His Papers at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
Hilary Morrish
Date
July 2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)