Louis D. Rubin Jr. Papers, circa 1929-1996

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Summary

Creator:
Rubin, Louis D., Jr. (Louis Decimus), 1923-2013.
Abstract:

Papers of Louis D. Rubin Jr. (1923-2013) of Chapel Hill, N.C., educator, literary critic, scholar, novelist, journalist, editor, and publisher. Rubin was professor of English at Hollins College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and founder of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Included is correspondence with poets, novelists, critics, colleagues, friends, family, and students, including John Barth (1930- ), Cleanth Brooks (1906-1994), Allen Tate (1899-1979), Howard Nemerov (1920-1991), Lee Smith (1944- ), and C. Vann Woodward (1908-1999); correspondence with or about various publishers, universities, books, boats, and periodicals; material concerning Rubin's involvement with the American Studies Association, the Modern Language Association, and the Society for the Study of Southern Literature; items relating to A Bibliographical Guide to the Study of Southern Literature and A History of Southern Literature; drafts of Rubin's writings, including The Golden Weather,Thomas Wolfe: The Weather of His Youth,Surfaces of a Diamond,The Edge of the Swamp, and copies of poetic, journalistic, and essay productions; material concerning Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; items relating to youth and college baseball; drafts of writings by others, including Clyde Edgerton (1944- ), Howard Nemerov, Sylvia Wilkinson (1940- ), and Lee Smith; and miscellaneous material. There is also material relating to the 1956 Fugitives Reunion in Nashville. The Addition of 1998 consists of correspondence, writings, and related materials, circa 1985-1996, of Louis D. Rubin. Writings include drafts of Heat of the Sun and A Writer's Companion. There is also correspondence relating to Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and its predecessor Bright Leaf Books, as well as and records of incorporation, sale, and dissolution.

Extent:
44,600 items (65.0 linear feet)
Language:
English.
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Louis D. Rubin Jr. was born 19 November 1923 in Charleston, S.C. He attended the College of Charleston, 1940-1942, received a B.A. from the University of Richmond in 1946, and a Ph.D. in Aesthetics of Literature from Johns Hopkins in 1954. He was an instructor at Johns Hopkins and editor of the Hopkins Review, 1950-1954; assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, 1954-1956; associate editor of the News-Leader of Richmond, Va., 1956-1957; associate professor and, later, professor and chairman of the English Department at Hollins College, 1957-1967; and professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1967-1989. Rubin founded Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 1982.

Rubin is the author or editor of almost forty books. His novels include The Golden Weather (1961) and Surfaces of a Diamond (1981), but it is as a scholar and critic that he is best known. His works of literary criticism include Thomas Wolfe: The Weather of His Youth (1955), The Faraway Country (1963), The Curious Death of the Novel: Essays in American Literature (1967), The Comic Imagination in American Literature (1973), and The Edge of the Swamp: A Study in the Literature and Society of the Old South (1989). Books for which he was editor include Southern Renascence (1953), A Bibliographical Guide to the Study of Southern Literature (1969) and A History of Southern Literature (1985). Rubin's non-fiction books include Virginia: A Bicentennial History (1977) and Small Craft Advisory: A Book About the Building of a Boat (1991).

Rubin was married to Eva Redfield Rubin, and he was the father of two sons, Robert and William.

Rubin died in Pittsboro, N.C., 16 November 2013.

Scope and content:

Correspondence, literary manuscripts, and other material from Rubin's careers as critic, scholar, teacher, journalist, and publisher, as well as material from his involvement with youth-league and college baseball. Included is correspondence with major literary figures in Southern and American literary history, chiefly since 1950, as well as correspondence with lesser-known writers, critics, and scholars and with family members, friends, and students. Some manuscripts from Rubin's literary output are included, especially from his fiction, unpublished as well as published. Also included is material from Rubin's associations with professional organizations and his work on grants and seminars. Other manuscripts include typescripts of novels written by friends and colleagues of Rubin, as well as poetry by his students. Most series (the exceptions are 3 and 6) contain some correspondence related to their contents, although the vast majority of letters are filed in Series 1. There are also transcriptions of the proceedings at the 1956 Fugitive Reunion in Nashville and tapes of "The American South," a Voice of America program in which Rubin participated.

The Addition of 1998 consists of correspondence, writings, and related materials, circa 1985-1996, of Louis D. Rubin. The addition includes correspondence with authors, family, friends, colleagues, universities and other educational institutions, public libraries, journals, and publishing companies. Writings include manuscripts, offprints, reprints, and magazines by Rubin and others, drafts of Heat of the Sun and A Writer's Companion, articles and reviews about Rubin, and manuscripts by other writers. There is also correspondence relating to Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and its predecessor Bright Leaf Books, as well as and records of incorporation, sale, and dissolution.

The collection (especially Series 1) has remained largely in the same order as received. As there is considerable overlap among series, researchers are advised to check all possible locations for materials of interest. Authors included in Series 1.1.1. were selected by Rubin.

Acquisition information:

Received from Louis D. Rubin Jr. of Chapel Hill, N.C., in January 1970 and January 1973; May 1979 (Acc. 79129); August 1989 (Acc. 89103); June 1993 (Acc. 93082); November 1993 (Acc. 93146 and 93151); and 1998 (Acc. 98264). An addition was received in August 2013 (Acc. 101884). An addition was received from Connie Eble in April 2015 (Acc. 102187) and from Laura Waterman in November 2015 (Acc. 102453).

Processing information:

Processed by: Christopher Ryland with the assistance of Julia Smith, 1994; Amanda Loeb, June 2015

Encoded by: Jackie Dean; Amanda Loeb, June 2015

Updated by Amy Morgan and Jodi Berkowitz, January 2019 and March 2019; Dawne Howard Lucas, August 2021 and December 2021

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

This collection contains additional materials that are not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting these materials.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Louis D. Rubin Jr. Papers #3899, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Image
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu