Djuna Barnes and the Women’s Suffrage Movement

While Djuna Barnes is most known for her fiction writing, she also had significant ties to the women’s suffrage movement.  Djuna’s connection to the women’s suffrage movement started at a young age.  Djuna’s grandmother, Zadel Gustafson Barnes, was a writer, journalist, and poet. Zadel wrote profiles of well-known suffragists such as Frances E. Willard and participated in the National Woman Suffrage Association’s International Council of Women. Zadel was also active in the temperance movement, which was closely tied to the women’s suffrage movement.

Despite Djuna’s familial connection to the women’s suffrage movement, she had no qualms about occasionally mocking it.  In an August 1913 article Djuna portrays the suffragists as making ridiculous statements such as “cleanliness is next to women suffrage.”  These depictions portray suffragists as foolish caricatures.  Djuna continues this approach in her 1913 article, “70 Suffragists Turned Loose.”  Djuna engages with negative stereotypes of suffragists, such as portraying them as figures who emasculate and intimidate men.  However, some of Djuna’s criticism is about the perceived conservatism of some suffrage leaders such as Carrie Chapman Catt.  Djuna portrays Chapman Catt as admonishing aspiring suffragists for the length of their dresses and preparing them for speeches in front of audiences from “the factory world.”  Djuna criticizes Chapman Catt’s focus on respectability politics and her classism, showing a willingness to engage in more nuanced critiques of the suffrage movement.  

Rebecca Hourwhich Reyher and Women’s Suffrage

The suffrage movement had many national leaders, but it could not have functioned without local figures such as Rebecca Hourwhich Reyher.  Hourwhich Reyher was the head of the National Women’s Party’s Boston and New York offices.  

To learn more about Rebecca Hourwhich Reyher, take a look at the Ferdinand Reyher papers and the Faith Reyher Jackson papers.  Ferdinand Reyher, Hourwhich Reyher’s ex-husband, was an author and journalist.  Faith Reyher Jackson, Reyher and Hourwhich Reyher’s daughter, was a dancer, author, and master gardener.  Both collections contain materials related to Hourwhich Reyher.  For example, the Ferdinand Reyher papers contain a letter from the famous suffragist Alice Paul.  

To learn more about Rebecca Hourwhich and other items in Literature and Rare Books related to suffrage contact us!

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Caroline Ackiewicz, Candidate for Master of Library & Information Science, University of Maryland.

Favorite Books in Literature and Rare Books

Now that summer break has arrived, many of us are looking for book recommendations.  If you’re stumped, check out some of the favorite books of famous women that you can find in Literature and Rare Books.  

Amongst the most influential books in Literature and Rare Books’ collections is Mary Wollstonecrafts’ Vindication of the Rights of Women.  Vindication of the Rights of Women was an essential work for many suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Millicent Garrett Fawcett.  Garret Fawcett even wrote the foreword to the centenary edition of Vindication of the Rights of Women.  Other writers such as George Eliot and Virginia Woolf have praised Wollstonecraft and her work. 

Another work that influenced Susan B. Anthony was Elizabeth Barret Browning’s epic poem Aurora Leigh.  Aurora Leigh describes a woman writer and her attempts to find love and fulfillment in her work.  Reading Aurora Leigh inspired some of Anthony’s thinking regarding how women balance marriage and independence.

If you’re looking for a whole series of books to read you can browse The Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection of Girls’ Series Books’ collection of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories books.  You can also check out our online exhibit on Nancy Drew and other Girls’ Series Books.  The Nancy Drew series was a childhood favorite of several notable women such as Gayle King, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Sonia Sotomayor, who loved reading books where a smart young heroine was at the center of the adventures.

Contact us to learn more about these works or other items in Literature and Rare Books!

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Caroline Ackiewicz, Candidate for Master of Library & Information Science, University of Maryland.

A “Complex and Multi-Talented Man”: Exploring the Fascinating and Complicated Legacy of Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin speaking at Solidarity Day, September 19, 1981, https://digital.lib.umd.edu/resultsnew/id/umd:687295

As Pride month comes to a close, the Meany Labor Archive wanted to highlight the life and legacy of one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s close advisors and mentors, gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. In one of our last blog posts, co-written with University Archives, we explored the radical legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, specifically his ties to the labor movement. A key figure in the Civil Rights movement, Rustin advised Martin Luther King, Jr on nonviolent protesting, and was a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. And while the March on Washington is commonly considered one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in United States history, the largest demonstration was actually a system-wide school boycott in New York City, beginning on February 3, 1964. Over 360,000 elementary and secondary students went on strike, with many of them attending “freedom schools” that opened up around the city. And who did local leaders recruit to guide the protests? None other than Bayard Rustin. As the lead organizer for the strike, Rustin immediately solicited volunteers and met with church and community leaders to obtain their commitment to organize their membership for the strike. On February 3rd, 464,361 students did not show up for school. In freezing temperatures, picket lines formed outside 300 school buildings, and over 3,000 students marched with signs reading “Jim Crow Must Go!,” “We Demand Quality Education!,” and “We Shall Overcome!” And although the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) never publicly endorsed the strike, nearly 10% of teachers were absent, and the union supported teachers who refused to cross the picket line. The day after the strike, Rustin declared that it was the “largest civil rights protest in the nation’s history.” Prior to organizing two of the largest civil rights demonstrations in United States history, Rustin also played an important role in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which challenged racial injustice through the usage of “Gandhian nonviolence.” As a member of CORE, Rustin trained and led groups in actions against segregation throughout the 1940s. 

Updated Resource: Djuna Barnes Papers Finding Aid

The Djuna Barnes papers finding aid has recently been updated with an inventory of the extensive Barnes Library, which is comprised of over 1000 titles owned by author/artist Djuna Barnes.  The library’s highlights include first editions of Barnes’ works like Ryder, Ladies Almanack, Nightwood, and The Antiphon.  The Barnes Library also includes unique items such as books from the 18th century, books with annotations by Barnes, a copy of Shakespeare’s works that Barens was given for her 16th birthday, and presentation copies of works from other notable authors such as Charles Reznikoff .  These items and more, can be found under the Inventories/Additional Information heading in the finding aid or by searching the online catalog!

Updated Resource: Katherine Anne Porter Papers Finding Aid

The Katherine Anne Porter papers finding aid has recently been updated with an additional series on the Katherine Anne Porter Library, which is comprised of over 3800 titles owned by author Katherine Anne Porter.  The Katherine Anne Porter Library includes presentation copies of works from authors such as Glenway Wescott and books inscribed to Katherine Anne Porter from writers like Marianne Moore.  The collection also includes unique copies of Porter’s works such as a copy of L’Arbre de Judée on vellum or a copy of Ship of Fools with Porter’s handwritten revisions.  These items, and more, can be found under the Inventories/Additional Information heading in the finding aid or by searching the catalog!

If you have any questions about the Katherine Anne Porter papers or our other Literature and Rare Books collections please contact us!

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Caroline Ackiewicz, Candidate for Master of Library & Information Science, University of Maryland.

New Resource: Libguide on LGBTQ Writers and Artists in Special Collections

Hornbake Library’s Literature and Rare Books collection contains many excellent works by LGBTQ writers and artists.  If you would like to learn more about works by LGBTQ people in Literature and Rare Books but aren’t sure where to start, we have the solution.  Exploring Hornbake’s holdings from LGBTQ writers is easier than ever with our new subject guide, LGBTQ Writers and Artists in Special Collections!

Bakery Union Split and Merger: Expanded Description Sheds Light on Union’s History…and more!

The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) records are a major archival labor collection in the University of Maryland’s Special Collections & University Archives.  Our archives staff spent some time the last few years reviewing this collection to make it more accessible for both staff and the public.  In about 1982 the first records from the union were processed.  Over the course of the next three decades, another 40 accessions of records were given to the archives, but they remained unprocessed. The result of our recent review is an additional 490 linear feet of inventoried material dating from 1886 to 2016 that was previously difficult to navigate, search, and serve in the Maryland Room.  This material is now minimally processed and boxes are available to request and view in the Maryland Room.

Literature and Rare Books Spotlight: Kathleen Tankersley Young

One popular way that people observe Women’s History Month is by reading works written by women.  If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate women in literature why not learn more about women in publishing?

One woman who took part in the publishing industry was Kathleen Tankersley Young.  Young was an African-American poet and editor at the time of the Harlem Renaissance.  In 1929 Young, in collaboration with Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler, published Blues: A Magazine of New Rhythms.  Blues was a literary magazine that contained contributions from noted modernists such as Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams.  Blues can be found in the Serials series of the Authors and Poets collection.

MDHC Reaches Milestone of 100 Transcriptions!

Recently the staff and volunteers in the Maryland and Historical Collections collecting area completed transcribing 100 of its primary source documents in the Maryland Manuscripts collection. This collection of nearly six thousand individually cataloged items bears witness to a wide breadth of Maryland history, primarily from 1750 to 1900. 

This phase of the project focuses on the series “Slavery-related Documents, 1752-1877 and undated.” The documents describe such topics as escape, manumissions, sale, military service, and abolition. Hundreds of these documents are already digitized and available online in our Digital Collections, making transcription the next priority.

While these transcriptions are not yet available online, researchers can reach out to Special Collections and University Archives at AskHornbake@umd.edu for individual access to select transcripts from this series.

Thanks to the small-but-mighty staff, MDHC is fulfilling UMD Libraries’ commitment of increasing access and use to the collections we steward.

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MDHC volunteers have been transcribing Maryland Manuscripts from home since September 2020. Pictured is an excerpt from a document, “Richard Brooks for petitioner: Peggy Lyens petitions for her freedom from Robinson Eastburn,” and its transcription.

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Joni Floyd is Curator, (State of) Maryland and Historical Collections in Special Collections and University Archives, UM Libraries.