Inventory of the Michael Rigsby Revere Papers, 1974-2002

Collection Number 4166

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by

Manuscripts Department Staff

Date Processed

July 2002

Encoded by

Roslyn Holdzkom

Date Encoded

July 2002

Descriptive Summary

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Creator

Revere, Michael Rigsby, 1951- .

Title

Michael Rigsby Revere Papers, 1974-2002

Call Number

4166

Extent

1500 items (3.5 linear feet)

Abstract

Michael Rigsby Revere is a poet and native of North Carolina. The collection contains chiefly correspondence and writings of Revere. Correspondence in the original deposit is slight and mostly with his mother. The additions contain more correspondence with publishers and friends. His published and unpublished works are represented. Other materials include an audio tape interview with Revere for WUNC radio, newspaper articles about Revere, items related to other activities, and photographs.

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Additions are unprocessed, but usable.

Provenance

Gift of Michael Rigsby Revere, 1979, 1982, April 1995 (Acc. 95045), July 1996 (Acc. 96111), and March 2002 (Acc. 99188).

Processing Information

This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Michael Rigsby Revere Papers #4166, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice

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

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

North Carolina--Intellectual life--20th century.

Poets, American--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Revere, Michael Rigsby, 1951- .

Biographical/Historical Note

Michael Rigsby Revere, formerly Michael Darrell Rigsby, was born in 1951. Growing up in a military family, he lived in six states and Europe during the first twelve years of his life. He dropped out of high school and joined the army at seventeen to avoid being sent to jail. Six months later he was discharged for "unsuppressible nomadic tendencies." Between 1969 and 1976 Revere hitch-hiked across the U.S. 24 times.

As of 1982, Revere had been married three times. His alcoholism ended his first marriage. With his second wife, Theresa, he lived in Chapel Hill, N.C., and worked as a cook. During this time he was publishing a fair number of poems in local journals. His book, Hospital Poems, was written during a stay in the mental health ward of the University of North Carolina hospital, where he was being treated for trauma experienced after almost losing his life in a fire in 1975. It was in Chapel Hill in the mid-1970s that he developed a reputation as a "street poet."

While living in North Carolina, Revere conducted writing workshops at the North Carolina Prison for Women, the Federal Correctional Institute, the Carrboro Arts School, and the Wildflower Kitchen. The Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Durham, and Roxboro newspapers have all featured or reviewed his work.

Divorced from Theresa, Revere left North Carolina and travelled west, to Washington and Oregon. There he married for the third time to Judy Clouse. The couple moved to Montana in 1980. They had two children, Sadie (b. 1980) and Andrew (b. 1982). Revere developed an interest in Christianity that is reflected in his poetry. One of his published works represented in the collection is a republication of "Hospital Roommates" in the Christian publication, Alive Now.

In 1984, Revere and his family moved to Eugene, Ore., where they lived until 1992. In 1992, they moved to Columbia, S.C. After ten months there, they moved to Cullowhee, N.C. There Revere attended Southwestern Community College.

Collection Overview

The Michael Rigsby Revere collection is divided into four series. Series 1 contains correspondence. In the original deposit, most of the letters are from Revere's mother, Margaret Pope. The additions contain correspondence with many other people. Series 2 contains Revere's writings, published and unpublished. Series 3 contains reviews of Revere's work. Series 4 contains other papers, including an audio tape of an interview with Revere, newspaper articles about him, publicity for his poetry readings and musical performances, financial and legal papers, and items documenting other activities.

Organization of Collection

1. Correspondence
2. Writings
2.1. Published works
2.2. Unpublished works
2.3. Essays and articles
3. Reviews of Revere's Work
4. Other Papers
Additions after 1995

Detailed Description of the Collection

Items Separated

Items separated include photographs (P-4166), videotapes (VT-4166), and a audiocassette tape (C-4166/1).