Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. September 2020 Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2012655293 Additional search options available at: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af018002 Prepared by Marcia K. Segal Finding aid encoded by Marcia K. Segal, September 2020 Collection Summary Title: Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection Span Dates: circa 1961-1988 Call No.: AFC 2011/009 Creator: Jackson, Bruce, 1936-; Christian, Diane, 1939- Extent: approximately 3346 items Extent: 5 containers Extent: 27.5 linear feet Extent (manuscripts): 5 containers; approximately 1400 items Extent (sound recordings): 197 sound cassettes : analog Extent (sound recordings): 1062 sound tape reels (5 in., 7 in., 10 in.) : analog Extent (graphic materials): 10 photographs : film positives, color ; 35 mm Extent (graphic materials): 3 photographs : prints, black and white ; 5 x 6 in. and smaller Extent (moving images): approximately 614 film elements Extent (moving images): approximately 60 videocassettes Language: Collection materials mostly in English. Location: Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. LC Catalog record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2012655293 Summary: Documentation of fieldwork conducted by Bruce Jackson in prisons in Indiana, Missouri, and Texas; recordings at concerts and festivals including the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965, 1967-1968; interviews conducted at various events including Resurrection City, 1968; interviews with and performances by various blues artists, folk artists, and others including poets and literary figures, 1961-1980s; production footage for film documentaries on various topics by Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian. Provenance Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian; purchase 2010-2011. Processing History The Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection was processed by Marcia K. Segal in 2011-2020. Candace Milburn (Veterans History Project) created a preliminary inventory of moving images in 2011. Candace Milburn and Amy Maxwell (AFC intern) transcribed sound recording container spine information to create an early version of the audio inventory in 2011-2012. Moving images were inventoried by Adam Schutzman (AFC intern), with guidance from Marlan Green (Conservation Division), in 2017. Other Repositories These collections are in the Archives and Manuscripts Collections, University at Buffalo Libraries: Bruce Jackson papers (16/4F/133) Bruce Jackson Campus Revolt collection (16/4F/134) Related Material These collections are at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress: Bruce Jackson Texas prison songs, 1964 (AFC 1965/011) Bruce Jackson Texas prison songs, 1965-1966 (AFC 1967/009) Folklore and Seeing: Photographs from Cummins Prison, 1915-2010, Lecture by Bruce Jackson (AFC 2010/006) Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection 2 Bruce Jackson oral history interview conducted Nancy Groce (AFC 2010/014) Copyright Status Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions. Access and Restrictions The Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection is open to research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply. Preferred Citation Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection (AFC 2011/009), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Bruce Jackson, born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in New Jersey, has lived most of his life in Buffalo, New York, but traveled around the U.S. to do field work. Together with Diane Christian he created five film documentaries, and has co-hosted the Buffalo Film Seminar series since its inception in 2000. He is SUNY Distinguished Professor and James Agee Professor of American Culture at University of Buffalo, and in addition to film documentaries he is also widely published, and has staged numerous photography exhibits. Diane Christian was born in Brooklyn and raised in Rochester, New York. After nearly eight years as a nun with the Sisters of Saint Joseph (in Buffalo), she left for a career in higher education. Christian began teaching at the University at Buffalo in 1969, and met Bruce Jackson the following year. They married in 1973, and over the course of their 50 years together have built a working partnership that has yielded not only five film documentaries, but also co-hosting duties for the Buffalo Film Seminar series, as well as other professional collaborations. She has published both poetry and non-fiction, and continues to teach in the Department of English at University of Buffalo, where she is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor. Scope and Content Documentation of fieldwork conducted by Bruce Jackson in prisons in Indiana, Missouri, and Texas; recordings at concerts and festivals including the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965, 1967-1968; interviews conducted at various events including Resurrection City, 1968; interviews with and performances by various blues artists, folk artists, and others including poets and literary figures, 1961-1980s; production footage for film documentaries on various topics by Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian. Arrangement The Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection is organized in four series: • 1. Manuscript Materials • 2. Sound Recordings • 3. Graphic Materials • 4. Moving Images Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection 3 Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically. People Christian, Diane, 1939- Creeley, Robert, 1926-2005. Hurt, Mississippi John, 1892-1966. Jackson, Bruce, 1936- James, Skip, 1902-1969. Kunstler, William M. (William Moses), 1919-1995. McClure, Michael. Muddy Waters, 1915-1983. Seeger, Pete, 1919-2004. Organizations Newport Folk Festival. Subjects African American prisoners. Blues (Music)--1961-1970. Death row inmates--United States. Death row--United States. Ex-nuns--United States--Interviews. Folk festivals--United States. Folk music--United States. Poor People's Campaign. Prisons--Indiana. Prisons--Missouri. Prisons--Texas. Veterans--United States--Interviews. Form/Genre Correspondence. Documentary films. Field recordings. Film. Interviews. Manuscripts. Oral histories. Photographs. Sound recordings. Videocassettes. Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection 4 Description of Series Container Series Series 1: Manuscript Materials Series 2: Sound Recordings Information about the sound recordings is derived from sound recording containers, accompanying documentation, and communications with Bruce Jackson. Titles are a compilation of basic details from tape containers, primarily tape box spines. Recognizable abbreviations are silently expanded. The processor added information that appears in brackets, usually the better-known title of a song or a performer, etc. Question marks indicate information that has not been transcribed (when in brackets) or when the transcription is conjecture. Not all of the information from the tape boxes has been transcribed. Digital images of the containers are available on request. The containers for SR0087 and SR0934 arrived at AFC empty, and each was assigned an ID number in error. Subseries 1: Documentaries, fieldwork, and other projects Subseries 2: Newport Folk Festival recordings Subseries 3: Events See the separate series for Newport recordings. Subseries 4: Performers and writers Various musical performances, including field work, clubs, churches, and other venues Subseries 5: Interviews Subseries 6: Presentations and broadcasts Includes conferences, symposia, and readings. Subseries 7: Politics and news Subseries 8: Dubbed recordings Dubs of commercial recordings and from tapes at other repositories. Subseries 9: Various sound recordings Series 3: Graphic Materials Series 4: Moving Images Processing work in progress. The list of projects minimally processed so far reflects only the contents of this collection, and is not exhaustive. Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian have collaborated on the following films: Death Row, Robert Creeley: Willy's Reading, William August May, Out of Order, Creeley, and Robert Creeley: The Persistence of Verse (a conversation between Robert Creeley and Bruce Jackson, 2001). Both directed, edited, and produced these films. Jackson did the cinematography and Christian recorded the sound. Running times for all films are approximate. Descriptions of these films, and other film highlights from the collection, appear below. Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian collection 5 Container List Container Contents Series 1: Manuscript Materials BOX-FOLDER 1/1 Correspondence, 1965 BOX-FOLDER 1/2 Catalog of recordings, undated Typed document BOX-FOLDER 1/3 Tape logs (original), undated BOX-FOLDER 1/4 Logs for songs recorded at various prisons, undated Also includes transcribed jokes. Typed and handwritten document. BOX-FOLDER 1/5 Tapes from Vanguard, undated BOX-FOLDER 1/6 Tapes from Guy Carawan, undated BOX-FOLDER 1/7 Indiana State Prison and Missouri Penitentiary: catalogs (1 of 2), 1962-1964 BOX-FOLDER 1/8 Indiana State Prison and Missouri Penitentiary: catalogs (2 of 2), 1962-1964 BOX-FOLDER 1/9 Indiana State Prison: transcripts (1 of 3), circa 1962 BOX-FOLDER