31 document boxes, 8 serial boxes, 1 oversize box (16.7 linear feet)
Note: This brief collection description is an accession record. The
collection is not fully processed or cataloged; no biographical sketch,
descriptions of series, or indexes are available.
Acquisition: Purchase, 2007
Access: Open for research
Processed by: Stephen Cooper, 2008
RLIN Record ID: None
The materials in the Tim O'Brien Papers span not only his long career as an author, but also much of his life from his birth in Austin, Minnesota, through his teaching career at Texas State University San Marcos. The bulk of the collection is made up of materials related to his novels and short stories such as drafts, typescripts, proofs, correspondence, interviews, reviews, and book promotion and publishing items, but also present are smaller amounts of personal and family records containing items as varied as O'Brien's baby book; short stories he wrote in junior high school; correspondence from the summer he was drafted, basic training, and his tour of duty in Vietnam; more than one hundred photographs of O'Brien and family members; and personal documents such as his parents' marriage certificate, birth certificates, and honorable discharge documents.
The papers are arranged in six series: I. Works, 1970-2007; II. Correspondence, 1977-2007; III. Career-Related, 1970-2007; IV. Family and Personal Records, 1916-2007; V. Works by Others, 1982-2006; and VI. Published Material, 1941-2006. Upon arrival, the majority of the material was arranged roughly in the present order; i.e., mainly grouped by novel, with some boxes containing unrelated items that were arranged into corresponding series. Throughout the materials, O'Brien made handwritten comments on some items, at times appearing meant for a contemporary second party but in other instances seemingly with the foresight that the materials would be used by researchers.
Series I. Works is further divided into two subseries, A. Novels, 1970-2007, and B. Short Works, 1970-2004. O'Brien's novels are well represented in Subseries A. with typescripts, proofs, and galleys, almost all with various amounts of revision, editing, and proofreading corrections, often in O'Brien's hand. Each novel also has at least two folders of related correspondence comprised of business and fan mail, as well as additional folders of interviews, reviews, promotion and production materials such as advertisements, reading announcements, and dust jacket proofs, and related works by others including stage, film, and television scripts, theses, and dissertations. (Series V. contains additional works by others, and Series VI. contains short story excerpts from each novel as published in periodicals.) Subseries B. Short Works contains drafts and proofs for essays, short stories, and reviews written between 1989-2004, as well as some tearsheets from serials in which some of the drafts were finally published. (Series VI. has a number of the actual serials as well.) Also present in Subseries B. are materials related to "Vietnam in Me," an article in which O'Brien describes his return to Vietnam more than twenty years after fighting there, including a final draft, article contract, trip itinerary and notes, photographs, and research materials.
The Correspondence Series contains chronological files of career-related and fan mail, as well as alphabetical files of correspondence from other writers including Ray Bradbury, Phil Caputo, Raymond Carver, James Grady, John Irving, Naomi Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, George Plimpton, Oliver Stone, James Webb, and Tobias Wolff. Perhaps most significant is the "literary correspondence" file, arranged chronologically, which O'Brien describes as "some pretty fair stuff about my early thinking/plans" regarding his writing.
Series III. Career-Related contains a large group of financial papers primarily made up of literary contracts and royalty statements for novels, although some materials relate to awards, grants, and endowments. Also present are interviews and reviews, notes and research materials, speeches, lectures, and teaching notes, as well as some photographs.
Series IV. Family and Personal Records primarily spans O'Brien family history beginning with the lives of O'Brien's parents before his birth, documented by certificates of birth, marriage, and military discharge as well as some photographs, and continuing through his years at Harvard University, documented by class notes, school records, and photographs. The intervening years are represented by O'Brien's baby book and photograph, baptism record, correspondence prior to and during his military service, junior high school through Macalester College correspondence, newspaper clippings, and school records, and a folder containing material related to Lorna Lou Moeller, a childhood friend on whom the character of Linda in The Things They Carried was modeled.
Series. V. Works by Others contains play and movie scripts, theses, criticism, a bibliography, and short works of fiction by fans, scholars, and professional writers.
The final series, Published Material, is divided into four subseries, A. Fiction, B. Book Reviews, C. Interviews Given and Articles about Tim O'Brien, and D. General Periodicals. Subseries A. is arranged alphabetically by novel, listing the serial publications in which corresponding stories or chapter excerpts were published. Subseries B. is arranged alphabetically by title of publication with the article title and year of publication listed, while Subseries C. and D. are arranged by alphabetical title only.
Books, audio recordings, computer disks, and personal effects received with the collection have been transferred to the appropriate departments within the Ransom Center. Overall the collection is in good condition.
Box Folder Description
GOING AFTER CACCIATO (1978) 1 1-3 Typescript with corrections Page proofs 4-6 September 1977 7 Copy 2 2 1-2 Copy 2, cont'd 3-5 Revised January 1986 Galleys, with corrections for paperback editions 6 November 1988 7-8 April 1989 3 1 "Lake Country, A Play for Radio" typescript Correspondence 2-3 Personal and fan mail, 1978-1994, undated 4 Publishing, 1975-1992 National Book Awards, 1979 5 Articles and announcements 6 Ceremony materials Correspondence, 1979 7 Personal and fan mail, March-May 8 Professional, August 9 Interviews, 1978-2000, undated 10-11 Reviews, 1977-1987, undated 12 Reviews, foreign, 1978-1981, undated 13 Dust jacket proofs 14 Ads and promotion pieces 15 "Retrospective pieces," 1976-1987 IF I DIE IN A COMBAT ZONE, BOX ME UP AND SHIP ME Home (1973) 4 1-2 Final typescript, with revisions 3 Page proofs, with corrections, 1989 4 Dust jacket proofs, publicity photographs Correspondence 5 Personal and fan mail, 1973-1995, undated 6 Professional, 1970-2002 7 Reviews, 1973-1995 IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS (1994) 8-10 Typescript, final version 5 1-3 Setting copy, with corrections, May 1994 Page proofs 4-6 Undated, with corrections 7-9 July 1994, with corrections 6 1-3 A.B.A. presentation copy 4-6 Presentation copy 7 Uncorrected advance, with paperback revisions 8 Advance reading copy, with paperback revisions 7 1 Notes and research materials 2 Promotion and production materials Correspondence 3-5 Fan mail, 1992-1999, undated 6 Personal, 1994-1995, undated 8 1 Professional, 1985-1995 2 Awards materials 3 Interviews, 1994-1995 4 Reviews, 1994-2001, undated 5 Related works by others, 1996-2000 6 Thank-you book, 1998 JULY, JULY (2002) 7 Typescript fragments, chapters 15, 23 8-9 Typescript, with revisions 9 1 Typescript, cont'd Page proofs, 2002 2-4 February 12, with revisions 5-7 March 12, with corrections 8-9 March 15, with copy edits 10 1 March 15, cont'd 2-4 March 26, with corrections 5-7 June 13, with revisions 8 Bound with minor corrections 9* Publicity and production materials (*floor displays removed to Oversize Box 32) 11 1 Short story drafts for ESQUIRE and THE NEW YORKER, 2002 Correspondence 2 Personal, 2001-2003 3 Professional, 1999-2002 4 Interviews, 2002, undated 5 Reviews NORTHERN LIGHTS (1975) 6-9 Final typescript, with revisions 10 Notes and research materials 12 1 Dust jacket proofs Correspondence 2 Fan mail, 1983 3 Professional, 1973-1975 4 Reviews, 1975-1976, undated THE NUCLEAR AGE (1981) Typescript 5-7 With revisions 8-9 Final version 13 1 Final version, cont'd Page proofs for paperback editions 2-3 With corrections, 1985 4-6 "Final corrected" set, 1985 7-8 Laurel paperback edition, 1993 14 1 Uncorrected advance, undated 2-4 Corrected galleys for paperback edition, 1985 5 Notes 6-7 Research materials 15 1 Production materials Correspondence 2 Fan mail, 1976-1995, undated 3 Personal, 1980-1985, undated 4 Professional, 1980-1987, undated 5 Interviews, 1979-1986, undated 6 Reviews, "good" and "bad," 1980-1986, undated THE THINGS THEY CARRIED (1990) Typescript 7 "Original" draft, with revisions 8 "Earliest" draft, with revisions 9-11 "1st" draft, with revisions 16 1-2 "2nd" draft, with revisions 3-5 Page proofs, with revisions 6 "Sampler" proofs for marketing 7 Speeches, short stories, 1995-2003, undated 8-9* Production materials (*cover proof for MINNESOTA Monthly, March 1990; Chicago Book Festival floor display removed to Oversize Box 32) * Appalachian State University scrapbook (*removed to Oversize Box 32) Correspondence 17 1 Awards, 1984-1993 2-6 Fan mail, 1987-2004 18 1 Fan mail, cont'd, undated 2 Personal, 1990-2000, undated 3 Professional, 1986-2000, undated 4 Interviews, 1990-2000, undated 5-6 Reviews, 1989-2007, undated 7 Works by others: thesis, dissertation, criticism 19 1-2 Works by others, cont'd 3 "A Soldier's Sweetheart," Showtime publicity packet, photographs TOMCAT IN LOVE (1998) Page proofs 4-5 "Penultimate pass," with corrections, June 1998 6-7 "Final and last pass," May 1998 20 1 Final pass, cont'd 2-4 For paperback edition, April 1999 5 Notes 6 Short stories, drafts and tearsheets 7 Production materials Correspondence 21 1 Fan mail, 1998-1999 2 Personal, 1997-1998, undated 3 Professional, 1995-2001, undated 4 To Mr. and Mrs. William O'Brien, 1998 5 Interviews, 1998, undated 6-7 Reviews, 1998-1999, undated
8-9 Essay, review, short story drafts, 1989-2004, undated 10 Foreign language publications with short stories, 1984 22 1 Published short story and article tearsheets, 1970-2002 "Vietnam in Me," published in THE NEW YORK Times Magazine, October 2, 1994 2 Article with corrections, proofs, final draft, 1993-1994 3 Contract, trip itinerary, notes, and correspondence, 1993-1994 4 Fan mail, 1994-1995, undated 5 Photographs 6-7 Research materials
23 1 Career-related, 1980-2003 2-3 Fan mail, 1980-2003 4 Fan mail from online guestbook, 1997-2007 5 Foreign publishing, 1979-1998 6 Foreign translation, 1978-1998 7-8 From other writers, A-W, unidentified, 1977-2007, undated 9 "Literary correspondence," from Tim O'Brien, 1986-1990
24 1* American Academy of Arts and Sciences awards, 1992-1999 (*group photo of honorees for 1992 award removed to Oversize Box 32) Financial papers 2 Grant and endowment materials, 1970-1987 Literary contracts 3 Articles and short stories, 1975-1999 4 Foreign publications, 1978-1999 5-7 Movie, musical, play, and television, with correspondence, 1983-2007 Royalty statements 8 GOING AFTER CACCIATO, 1979-2007 25 1 GOING AFTER CACCIATO, cont'd 2 IF I DIE IN A COMBAT ZONE, 1973-2007 3 IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS, 1998-2006 4 JULY, JULY, 2003-2006 5 NORTHERN LIGHTS, 1976-2007 6 THE NUCLEAR AGE, 2004-2006 7 THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, 1990-2007 8 TOMCAT IN LOVE, 1999-2007 9 Summary of number of novel copies sold 26 1-2 Interviews, 1978-2007 3 Notes and research materials, 1981-2001, undated 4 Photographs 5 Quotations and poems by others 6* Readings, announcement articles and pamphlets, 1981-2006, undated (*Shady Side Academy Distinguished Writers Series 2005 publicity posters; Ohio State University Creative Writing Program poster removed to Oversize Box 32) 7-8 Reviews, 1997-2007 27 1-3 Speeches, lectures, and notes, 2004-2007, undated 4 Teaching materials, "other writers" 5 Writing conference packets, 1975-1993, undated
"Army Days" 6 Clippings, correspondence, records, 1969-2007, undated 7 Photographs 28 1 Baby book, baby photograph, baptism record, clippings Correspondence 2 Basic training, with photographs, 1967-1968 3 Personal, 1956-1999 4 Summer drafted, 1968 5 Family photographs, circa 1915-1989, undated 6-8 Harvard University notes, records, photographs, 1971-1972, undated 29 1 High school correspondence, clippings, 1960-1964 2 Junior high school short stories 3 Lorna Lou Moeller clippings, correspondence, photographs Macalester College 4 Correspondence, photographs, records, 1963-1968 5 Senior class president-related, 1965-1967 6 SPAN summer abroad, 1967 7 Parents' records, 1916-2007 * Print of Vietnamese school children, by T. Bayard 1967/1995 (*removed to oversize Box 32)
30 1-3 Criticism, articles, bibliographies, fiction, 1982-2006, undated Playscripts 4 Frellick, Paul, "In the Lake of the Woods," 1999 5 Linney, Romulus, "Going After Cacciato," 2003 6 Unidentified author, "The Things They Carried," undated Screenplays 7 Cassavetes, Nick, "Going After Cacciato," 2002 8 Donnelly, Thomas Michael, "The Things They Carried," undated 9 Grigsby, Josh, "The Things They Carried," 2002 31 1 Hayes, Jonathan, "Tomcat in Love," 2004 Theses 2 Berman, Jenifer Hope, Myth and the Power of Imagination, 1990 3 Donelli, Shevaun, Tomcat in Love and the Digression of Ill-Repute, 2005 4 Kimmet, Michael Patrick, Metafiction in the Work of Tim O'Brien, 1999 5 Pappas, Ben, How to Tell a True War Story, 1994 6 Vietnam notebook, an English class project, undated 32 Oversize materials
33 GOING AFTER CACCIATO: DENVER QUARTERLY, "Landing Zone Bravo," 1975 ESQUIRE, "The Fisherman," 1977 FIF (Polish), "Going After Cacciato," 1984 GALLERY, "Going After Cacciato," 1976, 1986 PLOUGHSHARES, "Going After Cacciato," 1976 REDBOOK, "Keeping Watch by Night," 1976 REDBOOK's Famous Fiction, "Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?" 1977 SHENANDOAH, "The Way It Mostly Was," 1976 IF I DIE IN A COMBAT ZONE: LITERARY CALVACADE, "Centurion," 1976 34 IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS: THE ATLANTIC, "The People We Marry," 1992 ESQUIRE, "How Unhappy They Were," 1994 JULY, JULY: ESQUIRE, 2000-2002 "July '69" "Little People" "What Went Wrong" THE NEW YORKER, 1999-2002 "Nogales" "Winnipeg" "Too Skinny" "Half Gone" NORTHERN LIGHTS: PLOUGHSHARES, "A Man of Melancholy Disposition," 1974 THE NUCLEAR AGE: THE ATLANTIC, "The Nuclear Age," 1979 ESQUIRE "Civil Defense," 1980 35 "Underground Tests," 1985 GRANTA, "Quantum Jumps," 1985 PLOUGHSHARES, "Quantum Jumps," 1983 THE THINGS THEY CARRIED: ESQUIRE "The Ghost Soldiers," 1981 "The Things They Carried," 1986 "How to Tell a True War Story," 1987 "The Lives of the Dead," 1989 "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," 1989 36 "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," 1989 (Japanese) GQ, "In the Field," 1989 HARPER'S, "Enemies and Friends," 1990 MACALESTER TODAY, "On the Rainy River," 1990 MCCALL'S, "Field Trip," 1990 PLAYBOY, "On the Rainy River," 1990 THE QUARTERLY, "Spin," 1990 TOMCAT IN LOVE: THE NEW YORKER, "Faith," 1990
37 BOOK-OF-THE MONTH CLUB NEWS, "Author's Choice," 1978 ESQUIRE, "The Violent Vet," 1979 LIFE "A Letter to My Son," 2004 "The Best of Times," 2006 THE NEW REPUBLIC, "The Youth Vote," 1972 NEW YORK, "The Ballad of Gary G.", 1979 THE NEW YORKER, "The Streak," 1998 THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, "The Vietnam in Me," 1994 PENTHOUSE, 1974 "Prisoners of Peace" "Revolt on the Turnpike" "The Vietnam Veteran" PLOUGHSHARES, "Introduction," 1995-1996 REDBOOK, "Claudia Mae's Wedding Day," 1973 38 SATURDAY REVIEW, 1979-1980 "Falling Star" "Tales His Father Told Him" "Burning Love" "Honor Thy Commander"
ANQ - FIVE POINTS, 1990-2004 39 GADFLY - SHADY SIDE ACADEMY MAGAZINE, 1986-2004 40 SOUTHWESTERN AMERICAN LITERATURE - WRITERS NOTES MAGAZINE, 1979-2005
40 BOSTON MAGAZINE - WHISKEY ISLAND, 1941-1996
Reference queries to: reference@hrc.utexas.edu
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