This Series is the second largest in the Griffin Archives. It gathers all the correspondence, documents and marginalia. from that decade.
Sunseries XII.1: General
Box 10 Folder 348
Passport and personal effects document for several trips to Europe, [n.p.],, 1964, 3 page photocopy
Box 10 Folder 349
The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain To John Howard Griffin, London,, 29 July 1965, 1 page t.l.s., 1 t.l., 1 member's card, 1 brochure
Box 10 Folder 350
Kennedy, Robert To John Howard Griffin, Washington, DC, 20 June 1966, 1 page t.l.s.
[Re. the visit of Father Dominique Pire
Box 10 Folder 351
Kennedy, Edward To John Howard Griffin, Washington, DC, 29 March 1968, 1 page t.l.s.
[Re. revision of the copyright law
Box 10 Folder 352
J. Frank Dobie To John Howard Griffin, Austin, TX, 2 January 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply and clipping
Box 10 Folder 353
Griffin, John Howard To Roland Hayes, [n.p.], 8 April 1969, 1 page t.l.s. (carbon), 1 article (photocopy
Box 10 Folder 354
Bok, Curtis To John Howard Griffin, Supreme Court, PA, 17 October 1961, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply
Box 10 Folder 355
Mays, Benjamin To John Howard Griffin, Morehouse College, Atlanta, 8 Feb. 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply
Box 10 Folder 356
Alinsky, Saul D. To John Howard Griffin, Industrial Areas Foundation of Chicago,, 3 June 1966, 1 page t.l.s. (with related material
Box 10 Folder 357
Griffin, John Howard To Roy Wilkins, Mansfield, TX, 28 January 1965, 1 page t.l.s. (carbon
Box 10 Folder 358
Griffin, John Howard To Cardinal Richard Cushing, Mansfield, TX, 11 August 1964, 1 page t.l.s. (carbon
Box 10 Folder 359
Chaney, Fannie Lee To John Howard Griffin, [Meridian, Mississippi], 30 Nov. 1964 - 15 March 1965, 3 t.p.c.s.
[Mother of James Chaney, the black civil rights worker murdered (with Schwerner and Goodman) in Mississippi.
Box 10 Folder 360
Clyde Kennard; also one typescript page of notes on Kennard's mother, Mrs. Leona Smith; as well as one page of autograph notes by Griffin. Mansfield, TX,, [n.d.] & 1, 13 April 1963, 1 page a.ms., 1 page t.ms., 3 page t.ms. (carbon
[Griffin considered Clyde Kennard to be one of the most courageous Christians he ever knew. Kennard was a Mississippi black man falsely accused of a petty crime because he tried to enter the state University, only to be given an outrageously stiff jail term at hard labor.
Box 10 Folder 361
Smith, Leonia To John Howard Griffin, Hattiesburg, MS, 1 Dec. 1964 - 19 June 1967, 5 a.l.s., 1 t.p.c. (with related material
Box 10 Folder 362
Silver, Dr. James W. To John Howard Griffin, MI, 11 June 1963, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply
Box 10 Folder 363
Drummond, Dwight L. To John Howard Griffin, University of Michigan, 16 April 1962- 12 April 1966, 16 a.l.s., 1 t.l.s. (with related material
[.Historian; author ofAntislavery, the history of lynching in the south; he was professor at the University of Michigan.
Box 10 Folder 364
Smith, Lillian To John Howard Griffin, Clayton, GA, 3 Dec. 1961 - 28 July 1963, 10 t.l.s.
[Author ofStrange Fruit,Killers of the Dream,One Hour. These are among the most profound letters Griffin. He had always been a fan of her novels--Strange Fruithad a deep effect on him which he discusses inBlack Like Me--and long wanted to meet her. They visited twice at her Georgia home. During those visits and in their very personal correspondence, they discovered an uncanny resonance and deep affection. Like Griffin, she was a musician, a Southern novelist, and had high regard for everything French. Griffin says in one of his letters to her that he felt as if Lillian Smith and John Howard Griffin were twins, even though she was nearly twenty years his senior. They came from the same background, discovered their own inculcated racism in similar ways, and fought courageously against prejudice, especially in the south. Both were ostracized for their public stand and for their controversial books, both fiction and non-fiction. Also, both were ill a great deal of their lives, and speak very personally about these afflictions. Some of the strongest passages by Smith are about her own work and about the work of Griffin. Her insights into her own method and her brilliant readings of Griffin's books are highly edifying to any serious reader or scholar.
Box 10 Folder 365
Griffin, John Howard To Lillian Smith, Mansfield, TX, 1 Nov. 1961 - 10 June 1964, 19 t.l. (carbon
[In some of these long letters, Griffin reveals himself as he does nowhere else but his own journals; the discussions of her books show him to be, if not a brilliant critic, a passionately intelligent reader. Smith's books were among Griffin's favorite, and she was one of the very few contemporary writers he bothered to read (he rarely read contemporary fiction because he feared he would become unconsciously imitative of other styles). Aside from the many rich aspects of this correspondence, I discovered in Griffin's letters the most revealing discussions about his true motivations for the writing ofBlack Like Me. Also, his attitudes and fears about his own writing in general. He trusted Lillian Smith as a person and respected her writing so far above his own that he took her word as gospel as far as evaluating his writing (most of which he never reread once it was published).
Box 10 Folder 366
Smith, Esther & Paula Snelling To John Howard Griffin, Clayton, GA,, 24 Oct. 1966 - 14 March 1971, 1 a.l.s., 2 t.l.s.
Box 10 Folder 367
Titus, Joan To John Howard Griffin, New York & Berkeley, 20 Nov. 1969 & 8 March 1970, 2 t.l.s. (with related material
Box 10 Folder 368
Smith, Lillian Address before the Herald Tribune Youth Foundation, New York,, 6 March 1950, 5 page t.ms. (with her ms. corrections
Box 10 Folder 369
Boyle, Sarah Patton To John Howard Griffin, Charlottesville, VA, 18 Nov. 1962 - 11 April 1978, 21 t.l.s., 8 6, t.p.c.s. 1, a.p.c.s. 1, a.n. (on card with image) 1 page, t.ms. (from her second book)
[Author ofThe Desegregated HeartandFor Humans Only; a Southerner like Lillian Smith and Griffin, she began their correspondence in 1963. Most of the letters from the 1960s, but she wrote him until 1978. Actually, her first correspondence to JHG was a postcard sent in November of 1962, thanking him for his review ofThe Desegregated Heartpublished inThe Saturday Review
Box 11 Folder 370-372
East, P. D. To John Howard Griffin, 1961-1968, 43 t.l.s., 24 postcards
[East, editor ofThe Petal Paperand author ofThe Magnolia Jungle. Readers ofBlack Like Mewill remember P.D. East as the hilarious and courageous editor ofThe Petal Paper, a small Mississippi newspaper that began as part of the establishment and slowly turned into a radically satirical voice. This is without question the wackiest correspondence Griffin had with anyone. East's letters and postcards, except for a very few, are full of jokes and put-ons, even when he tells Griffin of his Mississippi miseries (which was nearly all the time!) Griffin's responses have his own brand of humor but do, in fact, carry some seriousness as well; they catalogue his involvement in the civil rights struggle during the 1960s -- ranging from anger and frustration to bawdy humor (whereas his letters to Lillian Smith reveal another aspect to Griffin's character -- more serious and thoughtful -- but all genuinely part of the man).
Box 11 Folder 373
Morris, Willie To P. D. East, New York, 10 December 1963, 2 page t.l.s.
[Editor of Harper's Magazine. This letter is an insightful critique of East's second attempt at a novel afterThe Magnolia Jungle,A Cock for Asclepius(it was never published).
Box 11 Folder 374-378
Griffin, John Howard To P. D. East., [Mansfield, TX], 1961-1970, 90 t.l. (carbon
[No doubt Griffin wrote East through 1967 or 1968 but did not keep carbons. Many of these letters are meant to poke fun at East (one begins "Dear Genius" and another "Dear Judas") but more than half contain serious discourses on racism.
Box 11 Folder 379
United States. Postal Service. Deposition of John Howard Griffin in the P.D. East postal fraud investigation, Fort Worth, TX,, 1 June 1970, 2 page photocopy (with related material
Box 11 Folder 380-382
Thompson, Father August To John Howard Griffin, LA, 1963-1980, 2 a.l.s., 46 t.l.s.
[A parish priest who, at the time of his correspondence with Griffin, was the only black priest in Louisiana. Their dialogue, published first inRampartsand reprinted inThe John Howard Griffin Reader, also appeared in the Sheed & Ward anthology,Black, White and Gray, edited by Bradford Daniel. Most of the 1963 letters from both men discuss their dialogue and the difficulty of its being published because of resistance from Fr Thompson's Bishop. Eventually, it was published--in three separate publications mentioned above--and Fr Thompson went on to assist Griffin withThe Church and the Black Man, as an active member of the Black Priests Caucus.
Box 11 Folder 383
Griffin, John Howard To Father August Thompson, Mansfield, TX, 1963, 10 t.l. (carbon
Box 11 Folder 384
Letters to Griffin and Father Thompson, [v.p.], 1963-1965, 5 t.l.s.
Box 11 Folder 385
Sheed & Ward To John Howard Griffin, New York, 17 January 1964, 1 page t.l.s., 1 page agreement (copy
[Re.Black, White and Grey
Box 11 Folder 386
Edward Keating To John Howard Griffin, CA, 1962-1966, 27 t.l.s.
[Publisher ofRamparts, published many of Griffin's essays, photographs and the autobiography,Scattered Shadows(two chapters in 1963 and again in 1965). Griffin, who eventually became a Senior Editor ofRamparts, put Keating in touch with Thomas Merton, Jacques Maritain, Father August Thompson, Penn Jones ("The Strange Deaths After Dallas") and many other writers and photographers.
Box 11 Folder 387
Ramparts To John Howard Griffin, CA, 1962/1963, 11 t.l.(signed Harry Stiehl & Reno Unger
Box 11 Folder 388
Ramparts To John Howard Griffin, CA, 1966 & 1970, 4 t.l.(signed Warren Hickle & Maureen Stock
Subseries XII.2: The Ramparts Interview
Box 11 Folder 389
McDonnell, Thomas P. Ramparts Interview [questions] for John Howard Griffin, Mattapan, MA,, [1962], 4 page t.ms.
[The Interview which ran in 1963, is one of the finest interviews with Griffin (and an opinion expressed by Griffin also). McDonnell was an excellent interviewer, who also interviewed Thomas Merton; he was, as well, the editor ofThe Thomas Merton Reader.
Box 11 Folder 390
Griffin, John Howard Responses to McDonnell's questions, [Mansfield, TX],, [1962], 17 page t.ms (carbon
Box 11 Folder 390A
Ramparts Interview, Mattapan, MA, [1962], 15 page photocopy
Box 11 Folder 391
McDonnell, Thomas P. To John Howard Griffin, Mattapan, MA, 2 Aug. - 20 Sept. 1962, 4 t.l.s.
Box 11 Folder 392
Griffin, John Howard To Thomas P, McDonnell, Mansfield, TX, 6 Aug. - 4 Dec. 1962, 5 t.l. (carbon
Box 11 Folder 393
Geismar, Maxwell Postscript to: "John Howard Griffin: The Devil in Texas", Westport, NY,, 12 Aug. 1965, 8 page t.ms.
[This essay was intended as a "Postscript" to Geismar's long essay on Griffin ("The Devil in Texas"--published inAmerican Moderns, Houghton Mifflin, 1959); it was the first major criticism of Griffin's work; both the long essay and the postscript were published together as the introduction toThe Griffin Reader.
Box 11 Folder 394
Exchange of letters between its two Senior Editors, Maxwell Geismar and John Howard Griffin, concerning Geismar's essay on Griffin's work that appeared in that same issue. Ramparts, November 1965, 6 page photocopy
Box 11 Folder 395
Pire, Father Georges Dominique, O.P. To John Howard Griffin, 10 t.l.s., 1 a.p.c.s., 4 telegrams (with related material), 1 printed card (photo. of Pier with Robert Oppenheimer
[Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1958 for his work in behalf of refugees and minority groups in the wake of World War II. He founded the University of Peace in Huy, Belgium and was the author of the collection,Building Peace, which featured Griffin's essay, "The Intrinsic Other".
Box 11 Folder 396
Letters to Griffin from various people in Europe concerning both the University of Peace and the "Friends of Father Pire" Organization., [v.p.],, 1965-1976, title: From Heart to Heart
Box 11 Folder 397
Father Illtud Evans, O.P. To John Howard Griffin, [v.p.], 17 March 1963 - 13 February 1970, 1 a.l.s., 8 t.l.s., 2 t.l. (carbons
[A progressive Catholic priest and writer who, like his friends Thomas Merton, Jacques Maritain, and Griffin, was critical of the Church as a slow-moving institution with regards to race relations.
Box 11 Folder 398
Cleaver, Eldridge To John Howard Griffin, Soledad, CA, 11 March 1966, 1 page t.l.s.
[A convicted felon, Cleaver was released from prison partly upon the recommendation of Griffin that he was a talented writer. Cleaver went on to become one of the leaders of The Black Panthers and wroteSoul on Ice.
Box 11 Folder 399
Axelrod, Beverly To John Howard Griffin, San Francisco, CA, 8 & 20 October 1965, 2 t.l.s.
[Eldridge Cleaver's attorney
Box 11 Folder 400
State of California. Youth & Adult Corrections Agency To John Howard Griffin, Sacramento, CA,, 29 October 1965, 1 t.l. (signed Joseph A. Spangler) (with related t.l. carbon by Griffin
[Re Eldridge Cleaver's parole
Box 11 Folder 401
Pan African Association To John Howard Griffin , Baldwinsville, NY, 3 August 1970 & 18 August 1980, 2 t.l.s. (with related material
Box 11 Folder 402
American Festival of Negro Arts To John Howard Griffin , New York, 4 March 1965 - 25 July 1970, 7 t.l.s., 1 t.l.
[Many signed by R.S. Pritchard, pianist-composer.
Box 12 Folder 403
Sheed & Ward Correspondence re. Thirteen for Christ
[Re. Griffin's essay on Dr. Martin Luther King
Box 12 Folder 404
Progressive Magazine "Why They Can't Wait: An Interview with a White Negro",, July 1954, 6 page photocopy
[Interview with Bradford Daniel
Box 12 Folder 405
Dubay, Father William To John Howard Griffin, Anaheim, CA, 26 September - 22 December 1964, 2 a.l.s., 1 t.l.s.
[Re. racism in Los Angeles and the attitude of Cardinal McIntyre
Box 12 Folder 406
Letters and manuscripts relating to racism in Los Angeles, CA, 1962-1964, 1 t.l.s., 1 t.l., 1 a.l.s., 1 2, t.ms.
Box 12 Folder 407
Griffin's letter to Cardinal McIntyre, Mansfield, TX, 7 July 1964, 2 page t.l. (carbon
Box 12 Folder 408
Halsell, Grace To John Howard Griffin, Washington, D.C., 8 - 30 April 1968, 3 t.l.s., 1 t.n.
[The white woman who "became" a black woman and wrote about her experiences in her book wasSoul Sister. In these letters, as well as in her book, she cites Griffin as her inspiration for the project; she sought and received his counsel and support.
Box 12 Folder 409
Penn Jones Jr., critic of the Warren Commission, author of the series of books, Forgive My Grief (4 volumes); his findings about the strange deaths after Dallas were featured in a major cover story in Ramparts; included here are photocopies of Griffin's "Preface" to the first volume of Forgive My Grief and Griffin's photographs of Jones for that book as well as H.C. Nash's biography of Jones, Citizen's Arrest (Latitudes Press); plus Ramparts feature.
Box 12 Folder 410
Palfi, Marion To John Howard Griffin, Ojai & Loa Angeles, CA,, 13 Aug. 1965 - 25 Feb. 1967, 5 t.l.s. (with related carbon
[Photographer and friend of Berenice Abbott
Box 12 Folder 411
Southwest Review To John Howard Griffin, Dallas, TX, 3 Nov. 1961 - 5 Feb. 1962, 3 t.l.s (signed Margaret Hartley
Box 12 Folder 412
Bradshaw, Father J. To John Howard Griffin, Toronto, Canada, 4 Jan.1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply
[Editor ofThe Basilian Teacher, re. the publication of the essay "The Men From the Boys," a piece about writing
Box 12 Folder 413
Neslova, Zara To John Howard Griffin, New York, 22 March 1962, 2 page a.l.s. (with 3 Griffin carbons
[Nelsova was a musician Griffin had long admired, and he made arrangements to take a portrait photograph of her
Subseries XII.3: Media
Catholic magazines; Correspondences with publishers concerning the use of his photographic portraits; Newspaper features and news stories on Griffin from the 1960s; Correspondences with magazine editors regarding published (as well as unpublished) articles--on racism--by Griffin; and much more miscellaneous business mail about his work.. This section includes more than 50 letters (original typescripts on various media stationery) to Griffin, as well as many of his responses (carbon typescripts). Because ofBlack Like Meand Griffin's extensive lecture tours speaking against racism, there was a tremendous spin-off of his work in the form of magazine articles, as well as many features about his work and life.
Box 12 Folder 414
Catholic magazine articles on John Howard Griffin [photocopies], 26 folders
Box 12 Folder 415
Correspondence with magazines
Box 12 Folder 416
Doubleday & Co. To John Howard Griffin, New York, 14 June 1965, 1 page t.l.s.
Box 12 Folder 417
Harper & Brothers To John Howard Griffin, New York, 28 March 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply
Box 12 Folder 418
University of Iowa To John Howard Griffin, Iowa City, 13 March 1969 & 16 Feb. 1970, 2 t.l.s. (with carbon
Box 12 Folder 419
Glinski, Mateo To John Howard Griffin, Ontario & Detroit, 21 Dec. 1963 - 27 Feb. 1966, 6 t.l.s. (with related material
[Polish conductor re. Chopin
Box 12 Folder 420
Show [magazine] To John Howard Griffin, New York, 29 Jan. & 8 Feb. 1962, 2 t.l.s. (with carbons
Box 12 Folder 421
National Geographic Society To John Howard Griffin, Washington, DC, 28 Nov. 1961, 1 page t.l.s.
Box 12 Folder 422
Darton, Longman & Todd To John Howard Griffin, London, 9 Nov. 1965, 1 page t.l.s. (with related material
Box 12 Folder 423
Healey, Father Augustine To John Howard Griffin, San Antonio, TX, 26 May 1965 - 7 July 1966, 6 t.l.s.
Box 12 Folder 424
Hill & Wang To John Howard Griffin, New York, 9 July 1963, 1 t.l.s. (with carbon reply
Box 12 Folder 425
Newspaper article on Griffin [photocopies]
Box 12 Folder 426
Holt, Reinhart & Winston Memorandum of agreement
Box 12 Folder 427
Miscellaneous literary business letters
Box 12 Folder 428
Teachers College Record To John Howard Griffin, New York, 16 Feb. 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon
Box 12 Folder 429
Southern Methodist University To John Howard Griffin, Dallas, TX, 6 March 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with carbon
Box 12 Folder 430
Wilson Library Bulletin Biographical sketch of John Howard Griffin, New York,, May 1963, 1 page article
Subseries XII.4: Censorship
Box 12 Folder 431
Rossett, Barney To John Howard Griffin, New York, 5 April 1952, 1 t.l.s. 1, statement (with related carbons)
[Rossett, publisher of Grove Press, solicited Griffin's support on behalf of Henry Miller'sTropic of Cancer, which was cleared of the charge of pornography by the Supreme Court, on February 21, 1962; there is a carbon typescript of Griffin's reply of support, as well as related documents.
Box 12 Folder 432
Griffin's Letter to The House Committee Investigating Textbooks attacking the censorship group, Texans For America, Mansfield, TX,, 1 February 1962, 1 page t.l. (carbon
Box 12 Folder 433
Boller, Paul To John Howard Griffin, Dallas, TX, 24 Jan. 1962 - 16 Feb. 1962, 4 t.l.s. (with related carbons
Box 12 Folder 434
Carroll, Lucile C. To John Howard Griffin, Midland, TX, 29 Jan. 1962, 2 p[age t.l.s. (with relater material
[Concerning the removal of1984, Steinbeck, and others from the library shelves.
Box 12 Folder 435
Allison, James To John Howard Griffin, Midland, TX, 26 Jan. 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with related carbons
Box 12 Folder 436
American Book Publishers Council To John Howard Griffin, New York, 31 Jan. 1962, 1 page t.l.s. (with related carbon
Box 12 Folder 437
Olan, Rabbi Levy A. The Harm That Good Men Do, Dallas, TX, 12 Nov. 1961, 3 page t.ms. (copy, with related carbon
Box 12 Folder 438
Wardlaw, Frank H. To John Howard Griffin, 9 Feb. 1962, 1 page, t.l.s.
Subseries XII.5: Painting & Photography
Box 12 Folder 439
Ellis, Robert C. & Rosa Ellis To John Howard Griffin, Mexico & New York,, 4 April 1963 - 28 May 1965, 7 a.l.s., 5 t.l.s.
[Robert Ellis, whom Griffin considered one of the great modern American painters, shared a long personal friendship with the writer. The Ellises and the Griffins were inseparable friends for twenty years. Ellis died in 1979, the year before Griffin. Rosa Ellis manages a gallery in Taos, NM.. All these letters are from the early 1960s. According the Elizabeth Griffin, the correspondence from 1965-1979, on both sides, was accidentally destroyed.
Box 12 Folder 440
Griffin, John Howard To Robert C. Ellis, Mansfield, TX, 25 Feb. 1962 - 7 Aug. 1963, 7 t.l. (carbon
Box 12 Folder 441
Catalogs of Ellis Shows and articles on Ellis
Box 12 Folder 442-444
Dorr, Nell To John Howard Griffin, Washington, CT, 22 Feb. 1966 - 3 Oct. 1967, 24 a.l.s., 5 a.p.c.s.
[Edward Steichen raved about inU.S. Camera(in 1939), was one of America's greatest photographers. Her magnificent books,The Bare Feet(about Mexican-peasants) andMother and Childare the most original, lyrical works we have. She worked without a light meter and with very simple cameras, learning photography by trial and error. In 1968, Griffin gave her a light meter, quite astonished that she had achieved such mastery of light without the instrument. Griffin considered Nell Dorr the supreme American photographer. He took many lovely portraits of her which have not been published.
Box 13 Folder 445
Photocopies of articles on Nell Dorr
Box 13 Folder 446
Craeybeckx, A. S. H. "Of Night and Day." Article on Nell Dorr (translated from French by Griffin), Photo Tribune, Nov. 1969, 5 page t.ms. (photocopy
Box 13 Folder 447
Loache, Benjamin De To John Howard Griffin, New Haven, CT, 11 June 1967, 2 page a.l.s.
Box 13 Folder 448
Beecher, John To John Howard Griffin, Santa Clara & New Orleans,, 30 Jan. 1964 - 17 March 1966, 5 t.l.s. (with related carbon
Box 13 Folder 449
Stout, W.W. To John Howard Griffin, Hattiesburg, MI, 26 July - 1 Aug. 1963, 3 t.l.s.
Box 13 Folder 450
Griffin, John Howard Essay on Photography, [Mexico?], [1960s], 8 page t.ms.