Archives: Guide to Willamette Writers Guild Records, 1976-1986
Title: Willamette Writers Guild Records
Dates: 1976-1986
Collection number: A-046
Size: 3 document boxes (1.2 cubic feet) Description: Records of the Willamette Writers Guild, including correspondence, project and topic files, poems, and biographical information on poets and writers. Records collected by Joyce Salisbury.
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.
Provenance: Joyce Salisbury created these records during her tenure at Lane Community College. She left them in her office when she retired in 2000. They were found by Jeff Harrison, who sent them to Archives in 2002.
Processed by: Tiah Edmunson-Morton, 2005.
Citation: Willamette Writers Guild Records, 1976-1986 (A-046), Lane Community College Archives, Eugene, Oregon
Repository:
Lane Community College
Archives and Records Management
Elizabeth M. Uhlig, Archivist
4000 East 30th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97405 USA
Telephone: (541) 463-5466
Fax: (541) 463-3996
Email: archives@lanecc.edu
History of the Willamette Writers Guild
The Willamette Writers Conference was formed in 1976 by writers and literature instructors from Lane Community College, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Linn-Benton Community College, Willamette University, and Chemeketa Community College. The Guild wanted to offer high quality community events to foster interest in the literary arts and humanities. The Willamette Writers Conference became the Willamette Writers Guild in 1977.
The Guild sponsored programs with poets W.S. Merwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Hugo, John Ashbery, and Oregon poet-laureate William Stafford; the science fiction team of Kate Wilhelm and Damon Knight; philosopher/novelist William Gass; screenwriter Paul Schrader; and fiction editor Gordon Lish.
The Guild was funded largely by grants from agencies and foundations. The instructors contributed their time, and each college provided financial support and use of college facilities. The group was set up as a three-year consortium program; at the end of the period of formal stewardship, the Guild looked into establishing a non-profit organization and offering programs on a more informal basis. However, the group faded after 1979.
Joyce Salisbury was an instructor in the English, Foreign Language & Speech Department at Lane Community College, 1972-2000.
Scope & Content Note
The Willamette Writers Guild records were created by Joyce Salisbury between the years of 1975 and 1986. Included are administrative records, information about writers, materials related to WWG events, and newsletters or publicity materials for the WWG. In addition to organizing smaller lectures, the WWG hosted "Writing & Publishing: A Colloquium," which was a three day event on writing and publishing held February 15th through 17th, 1977.
The collection is divided into four series.
- Series A: Administrative, 1976-1978
- These are records documenting the day-to-day operation of the Willamette Writers Guild (forms, financial statements, funding received). The series also contains information about future projects; potential sources of funding (grants, bills, endowments); and general correspondence between members, organizations, and authors.
- Series B: Writer Information, 1976-1986
- This series contains correspondence, publicity materials, curricula vitae, publications, schedules of events, and photographs from authors the Willamette Writers Guild included in programs or authors the Guild was interested in including in future programs. The bulk of the collection is from 1977 through 1979; however, in 1983 and 1984, there was a renewed interest with the Visiting Lectures Program and "Black Women Writers on Racism & Sexism" conference. The files contain a range of materials, from an undated photo or copy of an author's work to personal correspondence. The writers in this collection are from a wide range of genres: screenwriters, poets, dramatists, novelists.
- Series C: Events, 1976-1983
- The bulk of this series is dedicated to lectures and fundraising events sponsored by the Willamette Writers Guild in 1977 and 1978.
- Series D: Publicity and Newsletters, 1975-1979
- This series contains publicity and promotional materials. Included are newsletters from the Willamette Writers Guild and other literary organizations, fliers, and news-clippings (1977-1979). It also contains mailing lists and telephone numbers.
Finding Aid
For a detailed finding aid which includes a complete list of the contents of this collection, refer to:
- Guide to Willamette Writers Guild Records (NWDA Web site)
- Guide to Willamette Writers Guild Records
- Guide to Willamette Writers Guild Records
Related Resources
Oral History - Joyce Salisbury. Joyce Salisbury taught in the English, Foreign Language & Speech Department at Lane Community College from 1972-2000. In this oral history interview, conducted November 1, 2005, Joyce talks about the origins of the Willamette Writers Guild and the political environment that shaped it.