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EARLY TAOS NOTEBOOKS, 1969-1972

 File — Box: 2, Folder: 23

Scope and Content

From the Collection: John Nichols' papers document a wide range of history and culture and personal connections in New Mexico (and elsewhere) over the last 55 years. This all-inclusive collection contains almost every draft of every manuscript Nichols has written, and every piece of correspondence that he has sent and received since the late 1950s. The collection not only documents the creation and evolution of his literary works, but precisely documents the literary process. His correspondence, speeches, and artwork chronicle contemporary political and social issues and shed light not only on John Nichols, but also illuminate the perspectives of a large array of contemporary literary, political, and everyday figures and issues in New Mexico and around the globe.

Activities, 1970-2008: These files include speeches, political organizing, trips, magazine articles, and many other projects and activities undertaken by Nichols.

Articles, 1969-2007: Contain various newspaper and magazine articles about John Nichols and his books.

Artwork, 1969-2004: Sketchbooks, drawings and cartoons by John Nichols. Significant works including a complete set of pen and ink calavera drawings, artists proofs, and etchings of calaveras done to illustrate The Magic Journey; published and unpublished political cartoons, mostly done during the 1970s for Albuquerque's alternative newspaper, Seer's Catalogue, and illustrations and cartoons done for Hamilton College's track & field newsletter The Good Scout.

Book Reviews, 1965-2007: Published reviews of John Nichols' books.

Book/Film Contracts, 1964-2012: Xerox copies of some of the main contracts Nichols has signed for book publishing, film options, and screen-writing assignments. With a few magazine and journal and audio recording pufferies thrown in.

Book/Movie/Agent Correspondence, 1963-2007: This consists of files of correspondence between Nichols and agents, editors, publishers, producers, directors, production people, and others involved with his professional life of writing books and screenplays.

Correspondence 1950s-1960s, 1950-2012: This series contains letters from Nichols' teenage years, while at Hamilton College, and then living in New York City until 1969. Later correspondence is often included, the criteria being that the letter exchanges began in the 1950s or 1960s.

Envelope Diaries, 1998-2002: Envelope diaries and field observations played a huge role in creating Nichols' literature. He kept a record of hikes on the backs of envelopes and carefully typed up these transcripts afterwards. Once he began carrying a little tape recorder that was the end of the envelope diary field notes.

Eulogies, 1980-2007: Written by John Nichols for some of his departed friends.

Fan Letters, 1969-2011: Consist mainly of letters to Nichols, mostly from strangers, commenting on his books or other projects, and of carbons of some of his typed replies to these letters from strangers.

General Correspondence, 1970-2012

Jouranl/Diary Ephemera, 1955-1966: Ephemera connected to Nichols' life between age 15-26, during prep school and college and a few years after college.

Journal/Diary Files, 1956-2007: Nichols has kept journals off and on since age fifteen.

Manuscripts, 1957-2012: This series contains nearly every draft of every title that John Nichols wrote between 1957 and 2012. Notable titles include "The Sterile Cuckoo" and the New Mexico Trilogy: "The Milagro Beanfield War," "The Magic Journey," and "The Nirvana Blues."

Memorabilia, 1968-1997: Hermes Rocket typewriter used to type Milagro, and Olympia typewriter used to type manuscripts from 1974 until 1997, when Nichols finally began using the computer.

Miscellaneous Carbons, 1964-2009: These are carbon copies of business and personal letters, typed by Nichols and not matched up with correspondence files elsewhere.

Novel Notes, 1961-2006: Notes that Nichols scribbled in notebooks and on the backs of envelopes. He often wrote dozens of variations on a theme in notebooks trying to get a handle, find a starting point.

Phone Messages, 1987-2007

Photographs, 1955-2013: This is a cross-section of photographs of Nichols, his family and friends, lots of photographs related to publicity for his books, or hiking mesas and climbing mountains.

Photography Workshops in Taos, 1988-1998: Nichols' friend sponsored the Owens Valley Photography Workshops (begun in 1975) for many years. The workshops catered to serious, and usually large-format, photographers in the mold of Ansel Adams and others of his ilk. Nichols guest lectured at the workshop for 10 summers, beginning in 1988.

Pocket Notebooks, 1980-2010: Things to do, lists, notes for novels, field notes when hiking, random thoughts, and so forth.

Publications, 1959-2007: Magazines and newspapers containing articles by or about Nichols. This includes prep school and college literary magazines, the Hamilton Spectator and New Mexico Review.

Request Letters, 1970-2012: Mostly letters from people asking John Nichols to "do stuff," like read their books, blurb their books, find them a publisher, come and speak to their class, do a workshop, contribute books for their benefit auction, etc.

Royalty Statements,1965-2011

Screenplays, 1965-2004: Includes screenplays, drafts, and edited drafts of screenplays written by Nichols, or written by others as adaptations of Nichols' works. Notable titles include "Missing" and "The Milagro Beanfield War."

Slides, 1960-2000: Most of the slides were taken between 1973 and 1995, primarily in and around Nichols' Taos home, in Taos proper, or around the immediate Taos valley and western mesas, or on some of the small streams southeast of Taos or in the mountains of Taos County.

Videos 1984-2013: This is a collection of videos include interviews or documentariesJohn Nichols has done I've done or documentaries I've done, or have been included in.

Dates

  • 1969-1972

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research, however, researchers must sign consent form prior to gaining access to materials. Calavera drawings, proofs, and etchings as well as "little diaries" (Boxes 14, 125, 126, 129, 142) are housed in high security and may require up to 24 hours for retrieval. Enlarged photocopies and typed transcriptions of "little diaries" in Box 142 are located in Box 184.

Extent

From the Collection: 184 boxes (172 cu. ft.)

General

Note: Notebooks in folders 20-23 are chronologically out of order except for some material in folder 20 written while I was in New York. Folder 24 returns to my college days.

Eagle notebook. 90 Sheets. Taos 1970-72. 1. Miriam Jones story. 2. Move to Taos story. 3. Diana Oughton death in New York bomblast, March 1970. 4. Talking to Jim Suazo (Jeri Track's dad) at Pueblo about landing on the moon. This led to article in NM Review, March/April 1971, "How The Indian Feels." ***5. 1ST NOTES ON MILAGRO AND THE TOWN AND JOSE MONDRAGON. 6. 1 page of hockey novel. 7. CITY COUNCIL MEETING, JUNE 29, 1971. THEY TRIED TO MAKE IT SECRET, HOLD IN A SMALL ROOM SO NOT MUCH PUBLIC COULD ATTEND WHILE THE TOWN COUNCIL VOTED TO SUPPORT INDIAN CAMP DAM AND THE CONSERVANCY DISTRICT. ELIU ROMERO AND MAYOR RUMALDO GARCIA OPPOSED BY HELEN ADAMS. 8. Another interesting meeting, 12 pages, with Floresta and Highway Commission and Ernie Blake on Ski Valley road construction and paving. Gene Hassell, (Haskel?) Forest Service head, and many others. Including Larry Frank in big opposition. Good riffs on Floresta philosophy on how to manage the forest resources 9. Analysis of Conservancy District document written by Paul Bloom in 1968. Segues into July 8, 1971 Los Cordovas meeting, about building a town sewage plant in Los Cordovas. Interesting. Paul Ramos was big opponent. Nobody trusts the town. 10. More notes on some version of American Child Supreme. ***11. MANY SCENES AND NOTES ON JOE MONDRAGON AND MILAGRO. FIRST MENTION OF HIM CUTTING WATER ILLEGALLY INTO A FIELD. LOTS OF FOCUS ON TELLING IT FROM POV OF THE UNDERCOVER AGENT SENT TO HALT THE IRRIGATING. TALKS ABOUT LAWYER WHO DOESN'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED BUT DOES DESPITE HIMSELF. THESE ARE FIRST GERMS ON THE NOVEL. MANY PAGES OF LAWYER AND "LITTLE JOE" FACING COPS WHO WANT TO KILL THEM. 12. Sept. 27, 1971 Town Council meeting. Traffic, relief routes, and sewage plant in Los Cordovas again. 13. Notes on Reies Tijerina speech in Espanola, Oct, 3, 1971. I published an article on his talk in the November 1971 NM Review: "A Man Like the Northern Weather." ***14. ANOTHER PAGE OF TOWN OF MILAGRO DESCRIPTION. 15. Notes from interview with Bea Mandelman and Barbara Bateman for Dec. 1971 NM Review article "The Miracle is Energy: Aftermath of a Women's Art Exhibit." 16. County stats from Jose Yguado planning report. 17. Last 9 pages are more notes on the Miriam Jones story, set back at 438 WEst Broadway in NY.

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451