Herman Wouk Papers, 1915-2003 (Bulk Dates 1940-1960) MS# 1393
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Herman Wouk Papers, 1915-2003 (Bulk dates 1940-1960) MS# 1393 ©2007 Columbia University Library SUMMARY INFORMATION Creator Herman Wouk, 1915- Title and dates Herman Wouk Papers, 1915-2003 (bulk dates 1940-1960) Abstract This collection documents the professional work of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Herman Wouk. The bulk of the papers are drafts of manuscripts and plays, including The Caine Mutiny, with many annotations and notes by the author. There is also correspondence between Wouk and his colleagues, in particular his brother, the noted scientist, Victor Wouk. Size 23.26 linear feet (53 document boxes, one small flat box, two oversized folders) Call number MS# 1393 Location Columbia University Butler Library, 6th Floor Rare Book and Manuscript Library 535 West 114th Street Herman Wouk Papers New York, NY 10027 Language(s) of material This collection is in English with some Hebrew. Biographical Note Herman Wouk, perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Caine Mutiny, is a prolific author and enthusiastic supporter of Jewish culture. Wouk was born in the Bronx on May 27, 1915 to Abraham Isaac and Esther (neé Levine) Wouk, Russian Jewish immigrants. Wouk attended Townsend Harris Hall and continued his education at Columbia University, where he graduated with a B.A. with general honors in 1934. His interest in writing expanded during his collegiate years and he took advantage of the literary opportunities afforded on campus. He wrote for the Spectator all four years as well as the campus humor magazine, The Jester, becoming editor-in-chief his senior year. Wouk also made a name for himself from his popular variety shows, such as the 1932 one co-written with Arnold Auerbach entitled "How Revolting." After graduation, Herman Wouk continued to employ his comedic skills and was a staff writer for comedian Fred Allen. However, with the onset of World War II, Wouk traveled to Washington D.C. in order to use his talent to support the war effort. He wrote promotional radio scripts for the United States Treasury Department in 1941 to entice Americans to purchase more war bonds. Wouk also began to compose other radio plays featuring soldiers and military themes. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Herman Wouk joined the United States Navy where he served on a destroyer minesweeper called the U.S.S. Zane in the Pacific. Wouk's free time was spent writing within a broad spectrum of genres. He penned poems praising the work of the faceless individuals involved in the war, radio and play scripts, and the beginnings of his novel, Aurora Dawn, published in 1946 after he was discharged. While in the Navy, Wouk married Betty Sarah Brown on December 9, 1945. They had three sons, the first of whom died in childhood. Herman Wouk continued to produce a stream of books, articles, essays, and plays. Two years after his first novel, Wouk's second The City Boy was published. This was followed by The Caine Mutiny, a book partially culled from Wouk's war experience and which became his first number one bestseller. The accolades did not stop and The Caine Mutiny won the Pulitzer Prize in 1952. Other titles followed, Marjorie Morningstar (1955), Youngblood Hawke (1962), Don't Stop the Carnival (1965), The Winds of War (1971), War and Remembrance (1978), Inside, Outside (1985), The Hope (1993), and The Glory (1994). Wouk has also written two studies on the history and the culture of Judaism, This Is My God (1959) and The Will to Live On (2000). The life of The Caine Mutiny continued to expand for in 1954, Wouk reworked the text into a play, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. This production toured throughout the United States and spawned further iterations, including a televised production, a film, and a recent Broadway Page 2 of 20 Herman Wouk Papers revival. Other books that had extended public lives were The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Both of these novels became successful television miniseries in the 1980s. Writing is not all that defines Herman Wouk. He is strongly committed to promoting and supporting Judaism. Wouk spent several years in the late 1950s as a visiting professor at Yeshiva University. He and his wife Betty Sarah traveled to Israel in 1955 where Wouk gave lectures, attended a performance of The Caine Mutiny, and participated in cultural and religious ceremonies. His visit was widely covered in the press. Additionally, in the 1970s Herman Wouk endowed Beit Ephraim, a Jewish communal residence located at his alma mater, Columbia University. He continued to serve on its advisory board and, in 2002, received a Gershom Mendes Seixas Award, for outstanding contribution to Jewish life at Columbia. Herman Wouk is still writing, having published his latest novel, A Hole in Texas, in 2004. He lives with his wife in California. Description The Herman Wouk Papers span the early portion of Wouk's life, although there is some scant correspondence from the late 1990s. The bulk of the records concern his many writings in the form of articles, books, short stories, plays, and poetry. The second largest series consists of correspondence from admiring fans, colleagues, publishing houses, and family members. In addition, there are personal items, printed material, photographs, and a small amount of audiovisual material. Records documenting Herman Wouk's professional output after the 1950s are located at the Library of Congress. Arrangement This collection is arranged in five series. Series I: Correspondence, 1935-2000 PAGE 7 Series II: Writings, 1940-1999 PAGES 8-17 Subseries II.1: Articles and Books, 1943-1999 PAGES 8-14 Subseries II.2: Plays, 1940-1957 PAGES 14-16 Subseries II.3: Poems, 1941-1943 PAGE 16 Subseries II.4: Short Stories, 1947-1951 PAGES 16-17 Series III: Subject Files, 1915-2003 PAGE 18 Series IV: Photographs, 1940-1959 PAGE 19 Series V: Audio Visual Material, 1951-1980 PAGE 20 Series I: Correspondence, 1935-2000. Series I holds letters sent between Wouk and his colleagues at Columbia University, admiring fans, personal friends, publishing houses and journals, and family members. The bulk of the correspondence consists of complimentary letters sent to Wouk in regards to his book Marjorie Morningstar, although there are also some references to The Caine Mutiny. Condolence letters for the death of his son, personal correspondence, and letters from Jewish institutions are found here. This series is arranged alphabetically by the individual’s last name or the name of the institution. Note that there are considerable gaps in this series: the letters are primarily from the 1940s through the late 1950s with some dating from the late 1990s. Series II: Writings, 1940-1999. Page 3 of 20 Herman Wouk Papers This is the largest series in the collection and holds Wouk’s writings. The series has been divided into two subseries, one that consists of articles and books and one for plays. Both subseries contain the text itself in numerous draft forms, research material, publicity and reviews, and working notes. In most cases, there are multiple drafts documenting Wouk’s creative process. These drafts illustrate the progression from preliminary notes to a final piece. Subseries II.1: Articles and Books, 1943-1999. The bulk of Subseries 1 are manuscripts of books. Titles held in this subseries include The Caine Mutiny, Aurora Dawn, City Boy, Marjorie Morningstar, This Is My God, Youngblood Hawke, Aurora Dawn, The Caine Mutiny, and The Will to Go On. These texts mainly span Wouk’s early literary career, although The Glory was published in the middle 1990s. The manuscripts exist in multiple draft versions that are often both handwritten and typed with extensive rewrites and notes by Wouk. These notes range from the purely theoretical to the comic and illustrate how Wouk crafted his longer writings and the ways in which he molded his ideas. There are also several articles that Wouk wrote for a variety of journals. Article topics range from complimentary pieces about other writers that Wouk respected, portraits of geographical locations, and issues relevant to the American Jewish community. Subseries II.2: Plays, 1940-1957. Subseries 2 is composed of plays spanning from Wouk’s time in the United States Navy all the way through the mid-1950s. Often, the plays would go through several iterations that would include name changes. In these cases, the final name has been retained. The majority of the plays are comedic in nature and is concerned with topics such as human nature, art, relationships between men and women, and contemporary American society. Some of the plays include an unmarked script as well as the director's marked script. Set sketches, drafts of blocking for the actors, printed material, such as playbills and tickets, and background research notes are also held in this subseries. Of interest in this subseries are several radio scripts written during the early 1940s that address the political situation and foreign policy at that time, often in a comedic way. Subseries II.3: Poems, 1941-1943. This small subseries consists of poems written by Wouk while he was stationed in Hawaii. Like the plays, the subject of these poems is World War II. Wouk brings attention to the faceless individuals from the war, like the Red Cross nurses and various military units, in an effort to personalize a seemingly impersonal experience. Subseries II.4: Short Stories, 1947-1951. Subseries 4 is comprised of short essays on a variety of topics including Judaism, relationships, the military, art and theater, and moral dilemmas. Some of the pieces are portraits of fictional characters and the majority of them seem to have been unpublished. As is the case with Wouk's other writings, these short stories exist in multiple draft form, both handwritten and typed, and contain much annotation and notes from Wouk himself.