Curriculum vitae, 1981

This addition to the Dennis Brutus Papers dates between 1960 and 1984, with the bulk of the papers coinciding with Brutus' term at Northwestern University. There is some overlap in subject matter and date spans with the original series, the previous addition, and the separate Records of the Dennis Brutus Defense Committee (Series 35/26). The materials in this addition fall into five general categories: biographical materials, correspondence, teaching files, works by other writers, and Brutus' own writings.

Biographical materials include CVs, certificates, bound calendars and daily minders, news clippings and magazine articles, interviews and transcripts of taped interviews, unpublished papers about Brutus or reviews of his work, and posters and announcements of Brutus' appearances. Materials are arranged in rough chronological order.

Correspondence has been grouped into four sub-categories: General, Subject, University, and Sports, although the General Correspondence also contains items pertaining to the three latter groups. Correspondence files contain incoming and copies of outgoing letters; invitations to and announcements of speaking engagements; flyers and newsletters from organizations Brutus was involved in; postcards and greeting cards; and poetry written by others (students and fellow poets). Some correspondence may have poetry (by students or other poets) attached or included. In some cases, Brutus wrote poems or poetry fragments on the back of unrelated letters; in these instances, a photocopy of the document is filed in the appropriate location, and the original, with the poem, is filed under Poetry.

General correspondence files span the years 1973 to 1982, and include three folders of undated material. Subject files are arranged alphabetically, beginning with Brutus family correspondence; items are arranged in rough chronological order within the subject folders. Subjects include individuals, as well as organizations in which Brutus was extensively involved, such as the African Literature Association, the International Aid and Defense Fund, and the Dennis Brutus Defense Committee. Subjects warranting separate folders also include the 1973 lecture tour arranged for Brutus by Bernth Lindfors of University of Texas-Austin, correspondence documenting Brutus' deposit of his papers at Northwestern University, and material relating to his visiting professorship at the University of Texas-Austin (1974-1975). Correspondence dating from his tenure as visiting poet at Amherst College, 1981-1982, is included in the General Correspondence files.

Northwestern University correspondence dates between 1971 and 1982 and includes interdepartmental and University memos and correspondence with students and colleagues. Sports correspondence reflects Brutus' fight against racism in organized sports and includes letters and reports about sports events and anti-racism organizations. See also the manuscript by Richard Lapchick (Box 36, folders 4-5); Lapchick was guided by Brutus in the preparation of this doctoral dissertation (for Virginia Wesleyan University) on apartheid in sport.

With the exception of one folder containing course syllabi and reading lists, Brutus' Teaching Files consist of student essays written for Brutus' classes in English literature and composition and in African literature at Northwestern. The essays, filling nearly six boxes, date between 1970 and 1984. They are arranged by course title and chronologically by year, when these were evident. Many essays are undated, and some give no indication of date or course title.

In addition to Richard Lapchick's dissertation, this addition also contains items written by writers other than Brutus, including a paper on poet Arthur Nortje by G.M. Nkondo, photocopies of Nortje's poems, and a variety of poetry and prose pieces and fragments dating between approximately 1966 and 1981. These have been arranged chronologically when possible; many are unidentified or undated.

Brutus' writings include speeches and speech notes, poetry in various stages of completion, and notes. Perhaps most important are drafts of three works-in-progress: Austum Schizophrenics Journal (1967-79), Notebook (1970) and Egyptian Sequence (1974). Austum Schizophrenics Journal and Egyptian Sequence remained unpublished (correspondence with publishers about these works can be found in the correspondence files). Writing notebooks and fragments document Brutus' creative process; fragments and notes include lines or entire poems inscribed on a variety of materials from paper napkins and envelopes to airplane tickets, magazine ads, and receipts.

Fifty-eight audio cassettes included in this addition date between 1973 and 1978; some are undated. Recordings include lectures, interviews, poetry readings, and fragments. A separate listing describes the cassettes in detail.