Louis Decimus Rubin Papers Inventory (#3899)

This subseries contains correspondence with writers and critics of major import in the collection, as selected by Rubin for individual cataloging. Note that writers and critics of special importance in Rubin's papers are listed in the general abstract for this collection.

Online Catalog Terms, Subseries 1.1.1.

Biographical Note

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

Collection Overview

Note that all materials of living persons other than Louis D. Rubin, Jr., are closed to research until January 2018 (25 years) or until date of death of such persons, whichever occurs first, except with the written permission of the persons involved. This restriction chiefly affects materials in Series 1.1., 6.2., and 7.1. LDR material is without restriction.

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 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.

Organization of Collection

Series Descriptions

Correspondence with individuals, institutions, and organizations. The series is arranged into subseries as it was received from Rubin. Correspondence from individuals not representing organizations is included in Series 1.1. Correspondence with publishing companies, journals, universities, and other organizations, as well as correspondence about Rubin's boats, cars, and houses, is included in Series 1.2.

NOTE: All materials of living persons other than Louis D. Rubin, Jr., are closed to research until January 2018 (25 years) or until date of death of such persons, whichever occurs first, except with the written permission of the persons involved. LDR material is without restriction.

The following subseries are organized according to the categories determined by Rubin. Selected literary and critical figures are included in Series 1.1.1. Other literary figures, Rubin's professional colleagues, and family members are included in Series 1.1.2. Miscellaneous letters and letters from former students are included in Series 1.1.3.

Correspondence with writers and critics of major import, as designated by Rubin (note that there are several major writers and critics whose correspondence is filed in Series 1.1.2). Material in each of these folders has been counted, dated (where possible), and arranged in chronological order. The majority of the letters are about professional and practical subjects, such as visits to Hollins College and the publishing of articles in critical journals.

Some of the more personal correspondence is found in the Barth, Styron, Tate (both Allen and Caroline Gordon), Nemerov, Percy, Davidson, Warren, and Smith files. These letters discuss works in progress, personal activities, and other individuals in some depth. Also included are a few manuscripts of stories and poems that came as enclosures in letters (e.g., poems by Julia Randall and stories by Kaye Gibbons and Sylvia Wilkinson).

Perhaps the longest and thickest thematic thread in this series is that of Southern literature, the Fugitive Poets and Agrarians in particular. Most of the members of these two groups are represented in the correspondence (e.g., John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, and Donald Davidson). There is much discussion in these letters of the group as a whole; Allen Tate discusses Ransom and Davidson extensively, Andrew Lytle agrarianism in general, Davidson the Fugitive reunion, etc. The work of Robert Penn Warren is a common topic, as is that of William Styron.

Ralph Ellison is a minor correspondent except for his emendations to the transcripts of "The Uses of History in Fiction" session at the Southern Historical Association Convention in 1969. In this session, William Styron and Ellison (among others) discussed historical novels, especially Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner, which was criticized as a racist novel. Ellison's remarks are heavily revised in this copy, with his handwriting in the margins. The edited copy of the transcript is included in The Southern Literary Journal (Spring 1969) in series 7.2, folder 1625. A reel-to-reel audio tape of the proceedings is listed as T-3899/3.

Correspondence with individuals not selected by Rubin for inclusion above. Writers, critics, and political figures are included, as are professional colleagues, family, and friends. Most of the correspondence with well-known people is slight. Included are a postcard from Anaï s Nin about a book, and a letter from R. W. B. Lewis about a trip to Europe. There is also a series of letters between Rubin and Leon Edel about Henry James's The Turn of the Screw.