Research Catalog

Title

Melvin Dixon papers, 1962-1992.

Author

Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Morrison, Toni.
• Fabre, Michel.
• Fabre, Geneviève.
• Fuller, Hoyt, 1923-1981.
• Harper, Michael S., 1938-2016.
• Jones, Gayl.
• Stepto, Robert B.
• Fair, Ronald L.

Description

19 linear feet

Summary

• The Melvin Dixon Papers consist primarily of personal papers, correspondence and writings reflecting Dixon's experiences as a writer reflecting his experiences as a black gay writer.
• Most of the collection is comprised of manuscripts of Dixon's published works "Trouble the Water," "Vanishing Rooms," "Ride Out the Wilderness," and "Change of Territory," his Ph.D. thesis and published and unpublished short stories, poetry and plays. In addition, there are translations from French of "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor," Genevieve Fabre's "Drumbeats, Masks and Metaphor," and works by the Haitian writer Jacques Roumain. Some essays and academic papers he presented are also included in the collection.
• The personal papers include biographical information and an interview conducted by Charles Rowell, editor of the journal, "Callaloo" (1990). Of particular interest are detailed journals he maintained revealing his innermost thoughts as a black man, a homosexual, a writer, and his attempts to understand his own creative processes. Dixon kept separate journals during his undergraduate years describing his experiences with La Mama Experimental Theatre in New York City, and his journeys to Europe and Senegal, as well as his years in the United States. He also discussed his relationship with friends and colleagues and his battle with AIDS (1969-1991). There are writing notebooks where Dixon wrote his ideas for stories and listed submissions to and rejections from publishers, in addition to datebooks. There are a few files relating to his education, and to the grants and fellowships he was awarded (1973-1990).
• All of the correspondence is incoming. The personal correspondence is primarily from his friends and a few from his family (1962-1991). The friends with whom he corresponded for many years include Richard Horovitz, his lover and with James L. Grier III. The professional correspondence is from his colleagues from Paris, Senegal and elsewhere, other writers, professors and publishers (1969-1992). Letters discuss his writings, and colleagues" professional activities, acceptances or rejections with publishers, comments about his publications, and related matters. Among his correspondents are the writers Michel and Genevieve Fabre, Ronald Fair, Hoyt Fuller, Michael Harper, Gayl Jones, Didier Malaquin, Toni Morrison, and Robert Stepto.
• Additionally, there are subject files on African-American authors, and conferences Dixon attended, gay life, and other topics which interested Dixon. College course material contains syllabi, lecture notes and news clippings. Correspondence, proposals, research papers and articles represent Harvard University's William E. B. DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research, and an international conference it sponsored in 1990 entitled "History and Memory in Afro-American Culture." Index card contain notes about black writers and journals as well as African religious systems, African-American music and slavery.
• The collection also includes many drafts of Dixon's writings, as well as portions of his published books, incomplete novels and stories, the fiction he calls "works in progress," and many poems, both published and unpublished. There are drafts and other material for Dixon's translations of the works of Haitian writer Jacques Roumain, and "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor," including correspondence with Senghor in French discussing funding this project as well as the editorial process (1987-1988). Some of the non-fiction writings contain conference papers in which Dixon described his experiences as a black gay writer.
• Some of the correspondence and other material are written in French.

Subjects

• Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992
• Gay men
• African American gays
• African American gay people
• Gay people's writings, American
• African American poets
• African American novelists
• Black author
• American poetry > African American authors
• American fiction > African American authors
• African Americans > Social life and customs
• Gay men in literature
• Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992 > Vanishing Rooms
• Manuscripts
• Gay men > Conduct of life
• AIDS (Disease) in literature
• Scripts
• African American authors > France > Paris
• Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992 > Trouble the water
• African American college teachers
• Diaries
• American literature > African American authors
• Gays' writings, American
• Travelers' writings
• African Americans > Relations with Africans
• Gay couples
• African American gays > Intellectual life
• Authors, American
• Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992 > Ride out the wilderness
• Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992 > Change of territory
• African Americans in literature
• Homosexuality and literature > United States

Genre/Form

• Diaries.
• Manuscripts.
• Scripts.

Note

• Published material transferred to General Research and Reference Division.

Biography (note)

• Melvin Dixon, widely praised as a novelist, translator and literary critic, published poetry that portrayed both his interior explorations and world travels. Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1950, Dixon was graduated from Wesleyan University in 1971 in American Studies, and earned an MA in 1973 and a Ph.D. in 1975 from Boston University. He was professor of English at several universities. As an openly gay man, his long-term partner was Richard Horovitz.
• Both in his published and unpublished writings, Dixon wrote openly about his homosexuality. James Baldwin's influence is seen in Dixon's two novels, "Trouble the Water" (1989, winner of the Nilon Award for Excellence in Minority Fiction) and "Vanishing Rooms," (1991). In the latter, Dixon wrote about homophobia and racism in New York City's Greenwich Village. His first book of poems, "Change of Territory," (1983) spoke of the historic northward migration of African Americans from the southern United States and the enforced journeys of African slavery. His final volume of poems, "Love's Instruments" (1995) published after his death from an AIDS-related illness in 1992, serves as a tribute to other gay men with this disease. As an active spokesman for gay communities and issues, Dixon integrated the complexities of gay identity and lifestyle into his work while communicating what it meant to be a black man.
• As a writer, Dixon embraced both scholarship and creativity. He wrote poems, short stories, novels, essays, critical studies, and translations from French. Seeking his literary heritage, he traveled to the Caribbean, Africa and Europe, researching the Haitian poet and novelist Jacques Roumain, Leopold Senghor, the former president of Senegal, and Richard Wright in Paris. His translations include Roumain's poems, Genevieve Fabre's "Drumbeats, Mass, and Metaphor: Contemporary Afro-American Theatre" (1983), and "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor" (1991). His critical study of African-American literature is entitled "Ride Out the Wilderness" (1987).

Call Number

Sc MG 468

OCLC

144652067

Author

Dixon, Melvin, 1950-1992.

Title

Melvin Dixon papers, 1962-1992.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

volume

Biography

Melvin Dixon, widely praised as a novelist, translator and literary critic, published poetry that portrayed both his interior explorations and world travels. Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1950, Dixon was graduated from Wesleyan University in 1971 in American Studies, and earned an MA in 1973 and a Ph.D. in 1975 from Boston University. He was professor of English at several universities. As an openly gay man, his long-term partner was Richard Horovitz.

Both in his published and unpublished writings, Dixon wrote openly about his homosexuality. James Baldwin's influence is seen in Dixon's two novels, "Trouble the Water" (1989, winner of the Nilon Award for Excellence in Minority Fiction) and "Vanishing Rooms," (1991). In the latter, Dixon wrote about homophobia and racism in New York City's Greenwich Village. His first book of poems, "Change of Territory," (1983) spoke of the historic northward migration of African Americans from the southern United States and the enforced journeys of African slavery. His final volume of poems, "Love's Instruments" (1995) published after his death from an AIDS-related illness in 1992, serves as a tribute to other gay men with this disease. As an active spokesman for gay communities and issues, Dixon integrated the complexities of gay identity and lifestyle into his work while communicating what it meant to be a black man.

As a writer, Dixon embraced both scholarship and creativity. He wrote poems, short stories, novels, essays, critical studies, and translations from French. Seeking his literary heritage, he traveled to the Caribbean, Africa and Europe, researching the Haitian poet and novelist Jacques Roumain, Leopold Senghor, the former president of Senegal, and Richard Wright in Paris. His translations include Roumain's poems, Genevieve Fabre's "Drumbeats, Mass, and Metaphor: Contemporary Afro-American Theatre" (1983), and "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor" (1991). His critical study of African-American literature is entitled "Ride Out the Wilderness" (1987).

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Local Subject

Black author.

Added Author

Morrison, Toni.

Fabre, Michel.

Fabre, Geneviève.

Fuller, Hoyt, 1923-1981.

Harper, Michael S., 1938-2016.

Jones, Gayl.

Stepto, Robert B.

Fair, Ronald L.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 468