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William Safire Papers William Safire Papers An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University Finding aid created by: PRB/KM Date: Jun 1998 Revision history: Mar 2000 unspecified revisions (-) 8 Aug 2005 EAD file created (MRR) 3 Dec 2008 additions of misc. corr. (MRC) Sept 2012 additions integrated, collection fully processed (ALM) Overview of the Collection Creator: Safire, William, 1929-2009. Title: William Safire Papers Dates: 1949-2009 Quantity: 227 linear ft. Abstract: Spanning 1949 to 2009, the William Safire Papers comprises research files, notes, incoming correspondence and book manuscripts of the American author and journalist (1929-2009). Reflecting his interest in both politics and lexicography, the collection documents Safire's dual career as political and language columnist for the New York Times and chairman of the Dana Foundation. Language: English Repository: Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 http://scrc.syr.edu Biographical History William Lewis Safire (1929-2009) was an American author, columnist, lexicographer, novelist, public relations executive, reporter, and White House speechwriter. Safire was born on December 17, 1929, in New York, NY, to thread merchant Oliver C. and his wife Ida Panish Safir. (He later added the "e" to his name to help with pronunciation). He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized high school known for its focus on mathematics and science, and enrolled at Syracuse University in 1947. Safire dropped out in 1949 after his sophomore year and his older brother Leonard, a copy boy for columnist and public relations man Tex McCrary, encouraged his younger brother to apply for a job at the New York Herald Tribune. He was hired as a researcher and writer for the paper's "Close-Up" column which gave him the opportunity to interview celebrities such as Mae West. He continued working in public relations as a correspondence in Europe and the Middle East for radio station WNBC and WNBT-TV as well as for the Army in 1952-1954. He returned to work with McCrary on the Tex and Jinx radio and television shows and later as vice-president of Tex McCrary, Inc., a public relations firm where he arranged the "kitchen debate" in Moscow between Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. In 1961, he established his own firm, Safire Public Relations, where his clients included an ice cream manufacturer, a laxative company, and various political campaigns. He sold his company in 1968 for $335,000 and joined the White House staff where he served as an advisor, special assistant, speechwriter, and media consultant to Richard Nixon. He left his post at the White House in 1973 to join the staff at the New York Times. He was hired on the spot by publisher Arthur "Punch" Sulzberger, Sr. as the paper's new political columnist. Safire's twice-weekly "Essay" column appeared on the Op-Ed page for thirty-two years and presented a libertarian conservative point of view. He earned the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1978 for his column on the alleged budgetary infractions of Bert Lance. He later served on the Pulitzer Prize board from 1995-2004. His Sunday column, "On Language" (1979-2009) appeared in the New York Times Magazine and featured commentary on grammar, usage and etymology. The column attracted many fans and devoted correspondents, dubbed the Lexicographic Irregulars. In 2000, he was hired as chairman and chief executive officer of the Charles A. Dana Foundation, a philanthropic organization supporting brain science, immunology, and arts education. He also served on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He authored many books including Safire's New Political Dictionary, a study of the words that have inspired and inflamed the electorate; Freedom, about the Civil War; and Scandalmonger, about the origins of America's press freedom. His anthology of the world's greatest speeches, Lend Me Your Ears, has become a classic. He frequently contributed to periodicals and newspapers including Cosmopolitan, New York Times Book Review, and Playboy. Safire married Helene Belmar Julius in 1962. The couple had two children, Mark Lindsey and Annabel Victoria. William Safire died on September 27, 2009 in Rockville, Maryland. Scope and Contents of the Collection Biographical material consists of Safire's personal publicity including articles and media clippings about him; biographies provided to the New York Times personnel office and other biographies featured in Current Biography, International Who's Who, Who's Who in America ; articles, notes and photographs from The William Safire Spina Bifida Roast; and correspondence, clippings, and press releases regarding his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2006). Photocopies of his obituaries, condolences sent to the Safire family after his passing, and correspondence, invitations, and lists regarding his memorial services are also included. Correspondence contains both incoming and outgoing letters, postcards, greeting cards, e-mails, and other forms of written communication to and from Safire. Material is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Correspondence from individuals to whom Safire gave a "VIP" designation is foldered separately under the individual's last name. These VIP correspondents include politicians (senators, judges, presidents, and others, both foreign and domestic), actors, authors (both journalistic and literary), members of organizations such as The Judson Welliver Society and the Wednesday Ten, professional contacts, friends, and family members. All folders are labeled with an inclusive date range for the materials contained therein. Dana Foundation files contains materials related to Safire's tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of the Dana Foundation (2000-2009) and is divided into eleven categories: administrative meetings, Dana Press, finance and administration, grants, investigative areas, news office/internet, newsletters, overseas groups, photographs, publications, and Safire's files. "Essay" files contains copies of Safire's twice-weekly "Essay" (1973-2005) for the Op-Ed page of the New York Times , other Op-Ed columns (2006-2009), and readers' responses to his columns. Of particular note is the reader mail received after called Hillary Clinton a "congenital liar" in his "Essay: Blizzard of Lies" column (January 8, 1996). Both the columns and readers' responses are arranged in chronological order by year. "On Language" files are related to Safire's "On Language" column (1979-2009) which was a regular feature in the New York Times Magazine for thirty years. This series includes the administrative files of Rosemary Shields, one of Safire's assistant, containing correspondence, resumes of prospective research assistants, and other materials related to office operations; an article index (1986-1993) kept by Ann Rubin Wort of "On Language" columns, another assistant; and photocopies of Safire's column arranged in chronological order by year. Letters from followers of the column (including the Lexicographic Irregulars who helped research the origins of words and phrases) are also included and arranged in chronological order by year. Research files track the history of a given column from inception to publication and include primary and secondary source examples of usage, queries on a word or phrase, dictionary entries, draft or final copies of the column, and post-publication readers' response. The research files were compiled by Safire and his four assistants. Correspondence regarding Safire's retirement from the column (2009) is also included. Subject files contains research material and items of personal and public interest to Safire. Files encompass materials and memorabilia from his personal life (airplane tickets, invitations to his annual Yom Kippur parties, receipts); his life as a columnist, including notes and research on various topics and office operations; and his affiliation with various organization such as the Pulitzer Prize board, the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, and the Wednesday Ten. Note: Material relating to a given person, place, organization or subject may appear in several places in this series. For example, material relating to George W. Bush appears under "Bush, George W." as a main subject, but also as a sub-topic under "Privacy." Likewise, material relating to Iran appears under "Iran" as a main subject, but also as a sub-topic under the subjects "Bosnia" and "Israel." Where possible, cross-references are provided in the finding aid to direct the reader to related material, but these cross-references should not be taken as comprehensive; the diligent researcher will search thoroughly for all occurences (and alternate spellings/abbreviations) of a topic. Safire's Writings are divided into three groups: books, other writings and speeches. Files relating to his books, arranged alphabetically by title, consist of correspondence, contracts, fan letters, manuscripts, production records, publicity, research notes, and reviews related to the following books by Safire (Before the Fall, Coming to Terms , The First Dissident, Freedom, Fumblerules, How Not to Write, I Stand Corrected, In Love With Norma Loquendi, Language Maven Strikes Again,Lend Me Your Ears,Let A Simile Be Your Umbrella, No Uncertain Terms, On Language, Safire's New Political Dictionary, Quoth the Maven, The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right
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