Anna Grimshaw papers, 1939-2004, bulk 1983-1995

Summary Information

Abstract

These papers contain correspondence, manuscripts and drafts, interview transcripts, and printed material related to the autobiography / biography—which was never completed—of C.L.R. James, a writer, teacher and political activist from the West Indies, and to various C.L.R. James related projects which Anna Grimshaw, his one time assistant, undertook or on which she collaborated.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series.

• Series I: C.L.R. James, 1939-1991
• Series II: Anna Grimshaw Projects, 1983-2004

Description

Summary

These papers include correspondence, manuscripts and drafts, interview transcripts, and printed material related to the autobiography / biography--which was never completed--of writer, teacher and political activist C.L.R. James, and to various C.L.R. James related projects on which Anna Grimshaw worked.

• Series I: C.L.R. James, 1939-1991

  The bulk of this series comprises multiple drafts of chapters and sections of the C.L.R. James autobiography, unfinished at his death. The drafts are in a variety of formats—carbon copies, handwritten or typed—and for the most part are undated. Also here are transcripts of interviews of James, or of others regarding James; lectures or talks—most of which are transcripts—titled by topic or, if untitled, by location; a few writings; printed material including obituaries and tributes; and a sketch of James.

• Series II: Anna Grimshaw Projects, 1983-2004

  Contained here are manuscripts and drafts, often with editorial comments and notes; correspondence; and research materials related to various C.L.R. James projects undertaken by Grimshaw including American Civilization, Cricket, and The Reader, and a 1986 exhibit C.L.R. James: Man of the People. Grimshaw also worked closely with Constance Webb, the second wife of C.L.R. James and the mother of his only child, on the selection and editing of The Letters of C.L.R. James to Constance Webb, 1939-1948, and The Nobbie Stories for Children and Adults —a selection of letters written by James to his young son, C.L.R. James, Jr., whom he had nicknamed "Nobbie". The bulk of the correspondence in this series is with other C.L.R. James scholars or with associates of James whom Grimshaw contacted in the course of her research.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Anna Grimshaw Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Material at Columbia

C.L.R. James Papers Rare Book & Manuscript Library

C.L.R. James Institute Records, 1938-2002, 1939-2004 Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Darcus Howe Papers Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Constance Webb Papers Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Accrual

No materialsexpected

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Anna Grimshaw. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--2009.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed Alix Ross 2011.

Finding aid written Alix Ross 01/--/2011.

Revision Description

2011-09-07 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Anna Grimshaw (b. 1956) was an assistant and editor for C.L.R. James--a West Indian writer, teacher and political activist--from 1983 until his death in 1989. Grimshaw, a native of Lancashire, grew up not far from Nelson, the town where James lived when he first arrived in England in 1932. She received her education at Cambridge University--a BA in 1977 and a PhD in Social Anthropology in 1984. Indian writer Farrukh Dhondy, a mutual friend of Grimshaw and James, introduced the pair early in 1983; Grimshaw was hired some months later to help James complete his autobiography, a project on which he had been working with a variety of assistants since the 1970s. The project was unfinished at James' death. Although the autobiography was never completed Grimshaw did help James edit his cricket writings and she provided friendship and aid in his last days. During the final few months of James' life Grimshaw moved into a house across the street from him.

Anna Grimshaw edited, wrote or contributed to a variety of C.L.R. James projects: she edited Cricket by C.L.R. James (Allison and Busby, 1986) and The C.L.R. James Reader (Blackwell, 1991); with Keith Hart she edited and introduced American Civilization (Blackwell, 1993); she also edited and introduced Special Delivery: The Letters of C.L.R. James to Constance Webb, 1939-1948 (Blackwell, 1996); she wrote the foreward for The Nobbie Stories for Children and Adults (University of Nebraska, 2006); and she edited and introduced a later version of Cricket--Majestic Inning: Writings on Cricket (Aurum Press, 2006).

The C.L.R. James Institute published several pamphlets written by Grimshaw or on which she collaborated including: "C.L.R. James and 'The Struggle for Happiness'" with Keith Hart; "Popular Democracy and the Creative Imagination: The Writings of C.L.R. James 1950-1963"; "C.L.R. James: A Revolutionary Vision for the 20th Century" ; and "C.L.R. James in the 1980s: A Conversation with Anna Grimshaw", with Kent Worcester and Jim Murray.

Grimshaw also authored the exhibition catalogue C.L.R. James: Man of the People (London, 1986).

Currently Grimshaw is an Associate Professor in the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Her research centers on visual anthropology, specifically ethnographic cinema.