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

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

Call No.:
MS#1553
Bib ID:
8973986 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Grimshaw, Anna
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
5 linear feet (8 boxes; 5 document boxes and 3 record storage cartons)
Language(s):
English .
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.

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.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series.

Using the Collection

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

Reproductions 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.

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.

Subject Headings

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

All links open new windows.

Name
Grimshaw, Anna
James, C. L. R (Cyril Lionel Robert), 1901-1989
Webb, Constance

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.


Autobiography/Biography


Box 1 Folder 1

Chronology, circa, 1980s


Box 1 Folder 2

Outline, circa, 1980s


Box 1 Folder 3

Proposal--Biography, circa, 1980s


Drafts


Box 1 Folder 4

General, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 5

General--By Section, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 6

1932-1938 circa 1980s, 1932-1938, 1980s


Box 1 Folder 7

Up to 1932 circa 1980s Undated, 1932, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 8

1932-1938 circa 1980s Undated, 1932-1938, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 9

Black Jacobins, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 10

Coop, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 11

Early Days, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 12

Johnson-Forrest, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 13

Lahr, Charlie, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 14

Prep for England, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 15

Robeson, Paul, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 16

Shakespeare, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 17

Sharecroppers, Organizing, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 18

United States, Observations, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 19

Williams, Eric, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 20

World Revolution, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 21

Wright, Richard, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 1 Folder 22 to 23

Drafts and Notes--General, circa 1980s Undated (2 of 3 Folders), 1980s, Undated


Box 2 Folder 1

Drafts and Notes--General, circa 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 2 Folder 2 to 12

Drafts and Notes-- 1901-1960s circa 1980s Undated (11 Folders), 1901-1960s, 1980s, Undated


Box 2 Folder 13

Drafts--Photocopies, circa 1980s Undated (1 of 8 Folders), 1980s, Undated


Box 3 Folder 1 to 7

Drafts--Photocopies, circa 1980s Undated (7 of 8 Folders), 1980s, Undated


Interviews


Box 3 Folder 8

by C.L.R. James--Leon Trotsky, 1939


of C.L.R. James


Box 3 Folder 9

Interviewer: Paul Buhle, 1987


Box 3 Folder 10

Interviewer: Anna Grimshaw, circa, 1980s


Box 3 Folder 11

Interviewer: Stuart Hall, Undated


Box 3 Folder 12

Interviewer: Woody Haut, 1989


Box 3 Folder 13

Interviewer: Charles Nevin, 1984


Box 3 Folder 14

Interviewer: Al Richardson, 1986


Box 3 Folder 15

Interviewer: Paul Robeson, Jr., 1985


Box 3 Folder 16

Interviewer: K. T. Sunitha, 1983


Box 3 Folder 17

"An Audience with C.L.R. James"--Interviewer: Angus Calder, 1984


Box 4 Folder 1

Cricket, Undated


Box 4 Folder 2

"End of Empire--Interview with C.L.R. James", circa, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 3

"C.L.R. James and British Trotskyism; an Interview", 1987


Box 4 Folder 4

Padmore, George--Regarding-- Interviewer: Martin Page, 1987


Box 4 Folder 5

Pan African Conference-- Interviewer: Ahmed Gora Ebrahim, circa, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 6

Pan African Conference, Focus on the Sixth, Undated


Box 4 Folder 7

Polish Solidarity, circa, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 8

"Shakespeare, C.L.R. James Talking About"-- Interviewer: Andy Erlam,, 1987


Box 4 Folder 9

"Talking History"-- Interviewer: E. P. Thompson, Undated


Box 4 Folder 10

"Trotskyism and Black Nationalism: Some Political Reflections of C.L.R. James"-- Interviewer: Alan J. Pratt,, Undated


Regarding C.L.R. James


Box 4 Folder 11 to 12

John Archer - Harry Wicks--Interviewer: Anna Grimshaw, 1984-1986 Undated, 1984-1986, Undated, (2 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 13

Robert Hill and J[im Murray], 1985


Lectures and Talks


Box 4 Folder 14

Address to Hackney Black Alliance, 1983 (Photocopy), 1983


Box 4 Folder 15

Address to Oxford University Africa Society Day School on Africa--Draft,, 1984


Box 4 Folder 16

"The Best of C.L.R. James"--Reflections on the United States, 1983


Box 4 Folder 17

"The Former Colonial World"--Cambridge University African Society, 1983


Box 4 Folder 18

"Freedom Movements in the West Indies"--Radio Trinidad, 1961


Box 4 Folder 19

"I'm a Poet,", 1981-1982


Box 4 Folder 20

Johnson-Forrest Tendency Conference--circa early 1950s 1980s, 1950s, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 21

George Lamming, 1983


Box 4 Folder 22

Nuclear War and Peace, 1983


Box 4 Folder 23

Shakespeare, circa, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 24

Shakespeare in Brixton, circa, 1980s


Box 4 Folder 25

West Indies--General, 1972 1980s Undated, 1980s, Undated


Box 4 Folder 26

Untitled--African American Teachers' Association, 1969-1970


Box 4 Folder 27

Untitled--Rutgers University, 1973


Box 4 Folder 28

Untitled--Tougaloo College, 1972


Writings


Box 4 Folder 29

Art--James to Sura Levine, 1980 (Photocopy), 1980


Box 4 Folder 30

"Durham"--Incomplete, 1963 October (Carbon Copy), 1963 October


Box 5 Folder 1

"Perspectives and Proposals"--Facing Reality, 1966 (Typescript), 1966


Box 5 Folder 2

Pamphlet--"Introduction to Party Politics in the West Indies", circa, 1962


Box 5 Folder 3

Reviews, Undated


Personal


Box 5 Folder 4

Clippings, 1986-1990


Box 5 Folder 5

Obituaries, 1989


Box 5 Folder 6

Printed Material, 1953-1991 Undated, 1953-1991, Undated


Box 5 Folder 7

Printed Material-- Black Jacobins, 1986 Undated, 1986, Undated


Box 5 Folder 8

Sketch of James, Undated


Box 5 Folder 9

Tributes and Memorials 1989 Undated, 1989, Undated

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.


Correspondence


Box 6 Folder 1

General, 1984-1996


Box 6 Folder 2 to 3

Research Inquiries, 1984-1986 (2 Folders), 1984-1986


Box 6 Folder 4

Buhle, Paul, 1985-1989


Box 6 Folder 5

Glover, Anna--C.L.R. James Portrait, 1988 1995, 1988, 1995


Box 6 Folder 6

Hart, Keith, 1987-1988


Box 6 Folder 7

Murray, Jim, 1983-1998


Box 6 Folder 8

Webb, Constance, 1985-1994


Articles and Chapters


Box 6 Folder 9

General


Box 6 Folder 10 to 11

General--Notes and Materials, circa, 1980s, (2 Folders)


Box 6 Folder 12

"Beyond the Boundary: C.L.R. James on the Arts and Social Revolution",, Undated


Box 6 Folder 13

"C.L.R. James and the Black Jacobins", circa, 1986


Box 6 Folder 14

"C.L.R. James: The Development of the Man and His Writing"-- Journal of the Cricket Society, 1986


Box 6 Folder 15

"C.L.R. James, 1901-1989 A Personal Memoir", 1990 Undated, 1901-1989, 1990, Undated


Box 6 Folder 16

"C.L.R. James: A Revolutionary Vision for the 20th Century", 1991


Box 6 Folder 17

Popular Democracy and the Creative Imagination: C.L.R. James--Preface, circa, 1991


Articles by Others


Box 6 Folder 18

General, Undated


Box 6 Folder 19

Buhle, Paul, Undated


Box 6 Folder 20

Farred, Grant, 1995 Undated, 1995, Undated


Box 6 Folder 21

Lai, Wooly Look--"C.L.R. James and Trinidad Nationalism", 1989


Box 6 Folder 22

San Juan, E., Jr., 1995-1996


Box 6 Folder 23

Worchester, Kent, circa 1980s 1991, 1980s, 1991


American Civilization


Box 6 Folder 24

Correspondence, 1989-1991 Undated, 1989-1991, Undated


Box 6 Folder 25

Introductions and Preface--Drafts, circa, 1980s-1991


Box 6 Folder 26

Manuscript, 1993


Box 6 Folder 27

Manuscript-Early, circa 1950s (Photocopy), 1950s


Box 6 Folder 28

"The Struggle for Happiness"--Proposal, 1989


Box 6 Folder 29

"The Struggle for Happiness"--Preface, circa, 1980s-1991


Box 6 Folder 30 to 32

"The Struggle for Happiness"--Notes and Drafts, Undated (3 Folders), Undated


Box 7 Folder 1

Bibliographies, circa, 1980s


Cricket


Box 7 Folder 2

Bibliography, circa, 1980s


Box 7 Folder 3

Correspondence--Research Inquiries, 1984-1985


Box 7 Folder 4

Introduction, 1985-1986 (Annotated by C.L.R. James), 1985-1986


Box 7 Folder 5

Reviews, 1987


Box 7 Folder 6 to 7

Working Materials--1950s-1960s--Correspondence and James' Drafts--Photocopies and Transcriptions, Undated (2 Folders), Undated


Exhibit: C.L.R. James--Man of the People


Box 7 Folder 8

General, 1986


Box 7 Folder 9

Catalogue, 1986


Box 7 Folder 10

Chronology, 1985 Undated, 1985, Undated


Box 7 Folder 11

Correspondence, 1985-1986


Box 7 Folder 12

Exhibits, List of, 1987


Box 7 Folder 13

Expenses, 1985-1986


Box 7 Folder 14

Lectures, 1986


Box 7 Folder 15

The C.L.R. James Archive--Bibliographies, circa, 1980s-1991


Box 7 Folder 16

The C.L.R. James Archive-- Surveys and Reports, circa, 1980s-1991


The C.L.R. James Reader


Box 7 Folder 17

Bibliography, circa, 1980s-1992


Box 7 Folder 18

Correspondence, 1990-1992


Box 7 Folder 19

Editorial Material, Undated


Box 7 Folder 20

Notes and Drafts, circa, 1980s-1990s


Box 7 Folder 21

Manuscript, 1991


Box 7 Folder 22

Manuscript--Drafts and Transcriptions, circa, 1990s


Box 7 Folder 23 to 25

Manuscripts--Transcriptions and Photocopies, circa 1990s (3 Folders), 1990s


Box 7 Folder 26 to 27

Art and Culture--Transcripts and Photocopies, Undated (2 Folders), Undated


Box 7 Folder 28

"Literary Critics"--Photocopies, Undated


Box 8 Folder 1

Port of Spain Gazette--Transcripts, Undated


Box 8 Folder 2

Section 1953-1966--Transcripts and Photocopies, Undated


Box 8 Folder 3

Section 1958-1966-- Photocopies, Undated


Box 8 Folder 4

Working Material--Transcripts and Photocopies


Box 8 Folder 5

C.L.R. James--Research Proposal, 1986 Undated, 1986, Undated


The Nobbie Stories for Children and Adults


Box 8 Folder 6

Editorial Materials, 2004


Box 8 Folder 7

Introduction, circa, 2004


Box 8 Folder 8 to 9

Manuscript, circa 2004 Undated (2 Folders), 2004, Undated


Special Delivery: The Letters of C.L.R. James to Constance Webb, 1939-1948


Box 8 Folder 10

Editorial Materials, 1995-2003


Box 8 Folder 11

Proposal to Publish, 1986


Box 8 Folder 12

Introduction--Drafts and Notes, circa, 1980s


Box 8 Folder 13 to 16

C.L.R. James to Constance Webb--Transcriptions and Photocopies, 1939-1948 (4 Folders), 1939-1948


Box 8 Folder 17 to 18

Manuscript--Draft, circa 1980s (2 Folders), 1980s


Box 8 Folder 19

Proposal--Drama, 1993


Box 8 Folder 20

Screen Play, 1995


Box 8 Folder 21

Personal--General, Undated


Box 8 Folder 22

Personal--Visual Anthropology, 1991-1995 2001, 1991-1995, 2001


Working Materials--C.L.R. James--Photocopies


Box 5 Folder 10 to 14

Correspondence, 1930s-1980s Undated ( 5 Folders), 1930s-1980s, Undated


Box 8 Folder 23

Caribbean / West Indies, Undated


Box 8 Folder 24

Johnson-Forest Material, circa, 1950s


Box 8 Folder 25

Pan-Africa, Undated


Box 8 Folder 26

Shakespeare and Homosexuality, Undated