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Size | 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 725 items) |
Abstract | Lillabulero was a small literary magazine founded and principally edited by Russell Banks and William Matthews in 1964 while both were students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The magazine ran through 14 issues and contained poetry and prose works by lesser known authors, as well as critical pieces discussing developments in modern literature. Issues 1-5 were published in Chapel Hill, N.C.; subsequent numbers were published in Northwood Narrows, N.H. Banks and Matthews also founded a small press under the same name, which issued a series of chapbooks and other compilations of literary work. These undertakings were abandoned in 1974 to allow Banks and Matthews to devote more time to their own creative projects. Records consists primarily of letters relating to established and potential contributors to the magazine, as well as correspondence between editors Russell Banks and William Matthews and others at similar publications. The letters include commentary on submissions and discuss matters relevant to the production of a literary magazine at a small press. Also included are letters on more general topics, such as the nature of poetry, social conditions in the United States, and the war in Vietnam. There is also correspondence of a more personal nature among Banks and Matthews and their friends. Correspondents include Floyce Alexander, Carol Berge, Wendell Berry, James Bertolino, Alan Brilliant, Paul Hannigan, Geof Hewitt, David Ignatow, David Madden, Howard McCord, Paul Metcalf, Robert Morgan, Paul Pines, Henry Roth, Max Steele, Peter Wild, William Witherup, and Arthur Yanoff. Interspersed in the correspondence are several versions of a prospectus directed at potential funding sources and retailers and a few grant applications to government agencies and other sources of funding. There is also a brief essay entitled, "Why We Killed a Perfectly Healthy Literary Magazine," in which Banks and Matthews discussed the reasons for shutting Lillabulero down after the 14th issue. |
Creator | Lillabulero. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: John Foster, January 2001
Encoded by: John Foster, January 2001
Finding aid updated in July 2007 by Margaret Dickson because of addition.
Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Lillabulero was a small literary magazine founded and principally edited by Russell Banks and William Matthews in 1964 while both were students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The magazine ran through 14 issues and contained poetry and prose works by lesser-known authors, as well as critical pieces discussing developments in modern literature. Issues 1-5 were published in Chapel Hill, N.C.; subsequent numbers were published in Northwood Narrows, N.H.
Banks and Matthews also founded a small press under the same name, which issued a series of chapbooks and other compilations of literary work.. These undertakings were abandoned in 1974 to allow Banks and Matthews to devote more time to their own creative projects. Russell Banks subsequently published many works of fiction including Affliction (1989)), Cloudsplitter (1998), and The Sweet Hereafter (1991). William Matthews published several books of poetry, including A Happy Childhood (1984) and Time and Money (1997), before his death in 1997.
Back to TopLillabulero records consists primarily of letters relating to established and potential contributors to the poetry magazine, as well as correspondence between editors Russell Banks and William Matthews and others at similar publications. The letters include commentary on submissions and discuss matters relevant to the production of a literary magazine at a small press. Also included are letters on more general topics, such as the nature of poetry, social conditions in the United States, and the war in Vietnam. There is also correspondence of a more personal nature among Banks and Matthews and their friends. Correspondents include Floyce Alexander, Carol Berge, Wendell Berry, James Bertolino, Alan Brilliant, Paul Hannigan, Geof Hewitt, David Ignatow, David Madden, Howard McCord, Paul Metcalf, Robert Morgan, Paul Pines, Henry Roth, Max Steele, Peter Wild, William Witherup, and Arthur Yanoff. Interspersed in the correspondence are several versions of a prospectus directed at potential funding sources and retailers and a few grant applications to government agencies and other sources of funding. There is also a brief essay entitled, "Why We Killed a Perfectly Healthy Literary Magazine," in which Banks and Matthews discussed the reasons for shutting Lillabulero down after the 14th issue.
Back to TopFolder 1 |
1964-1965 |
Folder 2-3
Folder 2Folder 3 |
1966 |
Folder 4-5
Folder 4Folder 5 |
1967 |
Folder 6-7
Folder 6Folder 7 |
1968 |
Folder 8-9
Folder 8Folder 9 |
1969 |
Folder 10-12
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12 |
1970 |
Folder 13-15
Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15 |
1971 |
Folder 16-17
Folder 16Folder 17 |
1972 |
Folder 18-19
Folder 18Folder 19 |
1973 |
Folder 20-21
Folder 20Folder 21 |
1974 |
Folder 22 |
1975-1976 |
Folder 23-25
Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25 |
Undated |
Folder 26 |
Essay |
Arrangement: chronological.
Twenty-eight letters dating between 1967 and 1983 from William Matthews to the poet William Witherup.
Folder 27 |
Letters from William Matthews to William Witherup |