Jack Agüeros papers, 1914-2012, bulk 1961-2012
Jack Agüeros papers, 1914-2012, bulk 1961-2012
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1620
- Bib ID:
- 9462077 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Agüeros, Jack, 1934-2014
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 22 linear feet (17 record cartons and 2 document boxes)
- Language(s):
- English , French , Japanese , Spanish; Castilian .
- 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.
Some unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list and by following this link:
Digital Library Collection . Commercial materials are not routinely digitized. Email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Description
Summary
The Jack Agüeros Papers span the wide breath of Agüeros's life and work. Reaching as far back as his high school yearbook this collection includes his personal and professional correspondence over fifty-one years, drafts of published and unpublished work ranging from plays and novellas to a description of Agüeros's experiences riding the New York City subway's from 1987-1989. Agüeros saved and documented his research (for poems translation work and lawsuits); he framed his hate mail and carefully stored his fan mail from students and fellow poets. The Jack Agüeros Papers include artifacts from his collection of old tools and metal findings, detailed records of his submission rejections as well as copies of his accepted works, timelines and ephemera from his many readings, slides from gallery installations at El Museo del Barrio, and many of the articles that he wrote for New York newspapers.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged into nine 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.
Some unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list and by following this link: Digital Library Collection. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized. Email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
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); Jack Agueros papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Jack Agueros, 2012.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2010-2011-M102: Source of acquisition--Marcel Agueros and Natalia Agueros-Macario. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--2012.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers processed Carolyn Li-Madeo, Pratt Institute, 2014 2013.
Finding aid written Carolyn Li-Madeo February 2013.
Revision Description
2013-06-27 xml document instance created by Carolyn Smith
2015-01-06 xml document instance updated by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical Note
Jack Agüeros (1934-2014) is a Puerto Rican poet, community activist, playwright, educator and a former director of El Museo del Barrio. He is the author of a collection of short stories and three collections of poetry. Jack Agüeros's work across all mediums celebrates and highlights the complexities and struggles of the Puerto Rican experience and more broadly the American experience. His poems typically implement traditional forms such as psalms and sonnets through which he explores subjects such as poverty, injustice and immigration. A prolific translator, during his career he translated numerous plays from Spanish to English as well as the complete works of the influential poets Julia de Burgos and Jose Marti.
Agüeros was born in East Harlem, New York to recent Puerto Rican immigrants. His father Joaquin Agüeros was a merchant marine and his mother Carmen Diaz worked as a seamstress. Jack Agüeros graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1953 and then spent four years in the Air Force where he became a guided missile instructor. After leaving the Air Force, he continued his education at Brooklyn College where he graduated with a BA in English in 1964 and later pursued a MA in Urban Studies from Occidental College, graduating 1970. Agüeros was introduced to the sonnet in high school, but it was during his time at Brooklyn College that he began to receive recognition for his playwriting and poetry. In May 2012 he received The Asan World Prize for Poetry.
As a community member and activist, Jack Agüeros is celebrated for his time spent as the director of El Museo del Barrio--which collects Latin American and Caribbean art--where he helped to build the museum's permanent collection and implemented a series of gallery expansions. He was an organizer for the Henry Street Settlement, the deputy director of the Puerto Rican Community Development Project and the deputy commissioner of New York City's Community Development Agency, where in 1968 he staged a five-day hunger strike in his office to protest the lack of Puerto Ricans in New York City government. Throughout his career Agüeros was also a regular guest poet at primary and secondary schools across the United States. As dedicated father, storyteller and educator he wrote carefully crafted picture books and plays for young people that addressed complex issues such as cultural heritage and environmentalism. Agüeros is also celebrated for his broadcasting work for Sesame Street and WNBC-TV Channel 4. Agüeros's written, visual and scholastic work encourages children to be inquisitive, thoughtful and proud of their personal identities.
Jack Agüeros died in Manhattan on May 4, 2014, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
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.
Series I: Personal Papers, 1947-2012
This series includes legal documents, family genealogy, appearance, work and educational chronologies, magazine subscriptions, personal photographs, papers from Hunter College, a biography by Martin Espada, and a draft of Agüeros's "Testimony on the Creative Process."
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
Box 1 Folder 3
Box 1 Folder 4
Box 1 Folder 5
Box 1 Folder 6
Box 1 Folder 7
Box 1 Folder 8
Box 1 Folder 9
Box 1 Folder 10
Box 1 Folder 11
Box 1 Folder 12
Box 1 Folder 13
Box 1 Folder 14
Box 1 Folder 15
Box 1 Folder 16
Box 1 Folder 24
Box 1 Folder 28
Box 1 Folder 29
Box 1 Folder 42
Box 7 Folder 19
Box 15 Folder 6
Box 15 Folder 8
Box 15 Folder 9
Box 15 Folder 10
Box 15 Folder 11
Box 15 Folder 12-13
Box 15 Folder 14
Box 15 Folder 15
Box 15 Folder 16
Box 15 Folder 17
Box 15 Folder 18
Box 15 Folder 19
Box 15 Folder 20
Box 15 Folder 21
Box 15 Folder 22
Box 15 Folder 23
Box 15 Folder 24
Box 15 Folder 25
Box 17 Folder 1
Box 20 Folder 1
Box 20 Folder 2
Series II: El Museo Del Barrio, 1960-2003
This series is organized into two subseries: El Museo Del Barrio and Bess Myerson.
Folders contained in this subseries are related to Jack Agüeros's work in El Museo Del Barrio and include correspondence with artists, documentation for gallery set-ups, and personal or institutional artwork purchases.
Box 2 Folder 1
Box 2 Folder 2
Box 2 Folder 3
Box 2 Folder 4
Box 2 Folder 5
Box 2 Folder 8
Box 2 Folder 9
Box 19 Folder 19
Box 2 Folder 10
Box 2 Folder 11
Box 2 Folder 12
Box 2 Folder 13
Box 2 Folder 14
Box 2 Folder 15
Box 2 Folder 16
Box 2 Folder 17
Box 2 Folder 18
Box 2 Folder 19
Box 2 Folder 20-21
Box 2 Folder 22
Box 2 Folder 23
Box 2 Folder 24
Box 2 Folder 25
Box 2 Folder 26
Box 2 Folder 27
Box 2 Folder 28
Box 2 Folder 34
Box 2 Folder 35
Box 2 Folder 36
Box 2 Folder 37
Box 2 Folder 38
The folders contained in this subseries include press clippings related to Bess Myerson, the New York Commissioner of Cultural Affairs who halted funding for El Museo Del Barrio during Jack Agüeros's time as director. The folders contained in this subseries are organized chronologically by month.
Box 2 Folder 29
Box 2 Folder 30
Box 2 Folder 31
Box 2 Folder 32
Box 2 Folder 33
Series III: Correspondence, 1978-2006
This series is organized chronologically by date, excluding the first folder which contains correspondence between Jack Agüeros and his family members. Included in this series are letters, cards and printouts of emails.
Box 4 Folder 3
Box 4 Folder 2
Box 4 Folder 4
Box 4 Folder 5
Box 4 Folder 6
Box 4 Folder 7-15
Box 7 Folder 1-2
Box 7 Folder 3
Box 7 Folder 4
Box 7 Folder 5
Box 7 Folder 6-8
Box 7 Folder 9
Box 7 Folder 10-11
Box 7 Folder 12
Box 7 Folder 13
Box 7 Folder 14
Box 7 Folder 15
Box 7 Folder 16
Box 7 Folder 17
Box 7 Folder 18
Series IV: Writing, 1961-2009
This series is organized into eight subseries: Joaquin Ruben Agüeros Poems; Non-Fiction; Poetry; Unfinished Works, Writing Exercises and Notes; Fiction; Plays and Movies; Work for Children, and Press and Publishing Papers.
This subseries contains works written by Jack Agüeros under the pseudonym Joaquin Ruben Agüeros. Included are two manuscripts and undated notes. Contents are arranged chronologically as Jack Agüeros had organized them in binders.
Box 3 Folder 1-3
Box 3 Folder 4-7
Box 3 Folder 35
The non-fiction subseries contains papers related to government; outreach; research photographs and articles; published anthologies; original drafts and articles; essays written for Newsday; and papers related to the 1968 hunger strike and cultural programs including Agüeros's work from his time as a National Urban Fellow. The non-fiction subseries also contains the "Subways" manuscripts with typed and handwritten notes, drafts and research related to the New York City subways system.
Box 3 Folder 8
Box 3 Folder 9
Box 3 Folder 10
Box 3 Folder 11
Box 3 Folder 12
Box 3 Folder 13
Box 3 Folder 14
Box 3 Folder 15
Box 3 Folder 16
Box 3 Folder 17
Box 3 Folder 18
Box 3 Folder 19
Box 3 Folder 20
Box 3 Folder 21
Box 3 Folder 22
Box 3 Folder 23
Box 3 Folder 24
Box 3 Folder 25
Box 3 Folder 27
Box 3 Folder 28
Box 3 Folder 29
Box 3 Folder 30
Box 3 Folder 31
Box 3 Folder 32
Box 3 Folder 33
Box 3 Folder 34
Box 9 Folder 1
Box 9 Folder 2
Box 9 Folder 3
Box 9 Folder 4
Box 9 Folder 5
Box 9 Folder 6
Box 9 Folder 10
Box 9 Folder 11
Box 9 Folder 12
Box 9 Folder 13
Box 9 Folder 14
Box 9 Folder 15
Box 9 Folder 16
Box 20 Folder 6
Box 20 Folder 7
The poetry subseries includes audio and audio-visual recordings of Jack Agüeros's readings and related ephemera; submission correspondence; timelines and copyrights; drafts, correspondence, and published manuscripts related to Lord, is this a Psalm?; published copies of Correspondence Between the Stonehaulers and Daily Fare; and original drafts of published and unpublished poems including Jack Agüeros's unpublished last manuscript 'Mouthful of Words.'
Box 5 Folder 1
Box 5 Folder 2
Box 5 Folder 3
Box 5 Folder 4
Box 5 Folder 5
Box 5 Folder 6
Box 5 Folder 7
Box 5 Folder 8
Box 19 Folder 18
Box 5 Folder 9
Box 19 Folder 8
Box 18 Folder 1
With his note: "For Ed & Carolyn Draft version - with a little luck we'll see it in book form 1996 Jack"
Box 18 Folder 2
Box 5 Folder 10
Box 5 Folder 11
Box 5 Folder 12
Box 5 Folder 13
Box 5 Folder 14
Box 5 Folder 15-16
Box 5 Folder 17
Box 5 Folder 18
Box 5 Folder 19
Box 5 Folder 20
Box 5 Folder 21
Box 5 Folder 22
Box 5 Folder 23
Box 5 Folder 24
Box 17 Folder 2
Box 20 Folder 4-5
This subseries contains drawings, notepads and index cards arranged chronologically by type.
Box 6 Folder 1
Box 6 Folder 2
Box 6 Folder 3
Box 6 Folder 4
Box 6 Folder 5
Box 6 Folder 6
Box 6 Folder 7
Box 6 Folder 8
Box 6 Folder 9
This subseries contains short stories, novels and drafts by Jack Agüeros. Materials related to the short story collection Dominoes are also included in this series. Folders are grouped by story or manuscript title.
Box 20 Folder 8
Box 6 Folder 10
Box 6 Folder 11
Box 6 Folder 12
Box 6 Folder 13
Box 6 Folder 14
Box 6 Folder 15
Box 6 Folder 16
Box 6 Folder 17
Box 6 Folder 18-19
Box 6 Folder 20
Box 20 Folder 11-12
Box 19 Folder 11
Box 20 Folder 9-10
Box 18 Folder 4
Box 18 Folder 5
Box 19 Folder 12
Box 19 Folder 13
Box 19 Folder 14
Box 19 Folder 14
Box 19 Folder 16
Box 19 Folder 17
Box 6 Folder 21
Box 6 Folder 22
Box 18 Folder 3
Box 18 Folder 9
Box 6 Folder 23
Box 18 Folder 10
Box 18 Folder 7
Box 18 Folder 8
Box 6 Folder 24
Box 6 Folder 25
Box 6 Folder 26
Box 6 Folder 27
Box 6 Folder 28
Box 6 Folder 29
Box 18 Folder 6
Box 7 Folder 20-21
Box 7 Folder 22
This subseries includes play and movie scripts, recordings, playbills, correspondence, photographs and notes. Materials in this series are grouped by title and then organized chronologically.
Box 8 Folder 1
Box 8 Folder 2
Box 8 Folder 3
Box 8 Folder 4
Box 8 Folder 5
Box 8 Folder 6
Box 8 Folder 7
Box 8 Folder 8
Box 19 Folder 20
Box 8 Folder 9
Box 8 Folder 10
Box 19 Folder 9-10
Box 8 Folder 11
Box 8 Folder 12
Box 8 Folder 13
Box 8 Folder 14
Box 8 Folder 15
Box 8 Folder 16
Box 8 Folder 17
Box 16 Folder 1
Box 16 Folder 2
Box 16 Folder 3
Box 16 Folder 4
Broadcast in 1990 on Manhattan Cable TV.
Box 18 Folder 11-12
Box 16 Folder 5
Box 16 Folder 6
Box 16 Folder 7
Box 16 Folder 8
Box 16 Folder 9
Box 19 Folder 1
Box 19 Folder 2
Box 19 Folder 3
Box 19 Folder 5-6
Box 19 Folder 4
Box 19 Folder 7
Box 16 Folder 10
Box 16 Folder 11
Box 16 Folder 12
Box 16 Folder 13
Box 16 Folder 14
Box 16 Folder 15-16
Box 16 Folder 17
Box 16 Folder 18
Box 16 Folder 19
Box 16 Folder 20
Box 16 Folder 21
Box 20 Folder 3
School visits that Jack Agüeros participated in are organized chronologically by site. Drafts, drawings and published copies of Jack Agüeros's children's books and children's plays are organized by project.
Box 10 Folder 1
Box 10 Folder 2
Box 10 Folder 4
Box 10 Folder 5
Box 10 Folder 6
Box 10 Folder 7
Box 10 Folder 8
Box 10 Folder 9
Box 10 Folder 10
Box 10 Folder 11
Box 10 Folder 12
Box 10 Folder 13
Box 10 Folder 14
Press reviews range from 1969-2009 and are grouped by year. The publishing papers include correspondence with colleges and festivals regarding readings and residencies..
Box 1 Folder 17-20
Box 1 Folder 22
Box 1 Folder 23
Box 1 Folder 25
Box 1 Folder 26
Box 1 Folder 27
Box 1 Folder 30
Box 1 Folder 31
Box 1 Folder 32
Box 1 Folder 33
Box 1 Folder 34
Box 1 Folder 35
Box 1 Folder 36
Box 1 Folder 37
Box 1 Folder 38
Box 1 Folder 39
Box 1 Folder 40
Box 1 Folder 41
Box 1 Folder 43
Box 1 Folder 44
Series V: Work by Other Writers, 1984-2005
Included in this series are manuscripts, scripts, papers and poems by writers other than Jack Agüeros. Works are organized by writer.
Box 9 Folder 17
Box 9 Folder 18
Box 9 Folder 19
Box 9 Folder 20
Box 9 Folder 21
Box 9 Folder 22
Box 9 Folder 23-24
Box 9 Folder 25
Box 9 Folder 26
Box 20 Folder 15-16
Box 20 Folder 17-19
Series VI: Translation Work-Plays, 1987-1998
This series contains materials related to Jack Agüeros's work as a script translator. This series includes translated and un-translated scripts, press materials, playbills and audio-visual recordings. This series is organized by project.
Box 10 Folder 15
Box 10 Folder 16
Box 10 Folder 17
Box 10 Folder 18
Box 10 Folder 19
Box 10 Folder 20
Box 10 Folder 21
Box 10 Folder 22
Box 10 Folder 23
Box 10 Folder 24
Box 10 Folder 25
Series VII: Julia de Burgos, Translation Work and Research, 1914-2008
This series includes working copies, notes drafts and published copies The Song of Simple Truth, a collection of Julia de Burgos's poetry translated by Agüeros. They have been organized into binders. Research materials, photographs, government files, materials requests and correspondence related to Jack Agüeros's research of Julia de Burgos's life and work, as well as a recording of one of Julia de Burgos's readings, are also included in this series.
Box 11 Folder 1
Box 11 Folder 2
Box 11 Folder 3
Box 11 Folder 4
Box 11 Folder 5
Box 11 Folder 6
Box 11 Folder 7
Box 11 Folder 15
Box 12 Folder 1
Box 12 Folder 2
Box 12 Folder 3
Box 12 Folder 4
Box 12 Folder 5
Box 12 Folder 6
Box 12 Folder 7
Box 12 Folder 8
Box 12 Folder 9
Box 12 Folder 10
Box 12 Folder 11
Box 12 Folder 12
Box 12 Folder 13
Box 12 Folder 15
Box 12 Folder 14
Box 12 Folder 16
Box 12 Folder 17
Box 12 Folder 18
Box 12 Folder 19
Box 12 Folder 20
Box 13 Folder 1-2
Box 13 Folder 3
Box 13 Folder 4
Box 13 Folder 5
Box 13 Folder 6
Box 13 Folder 7
Box 13 Folder 8
Box 13 Folder 9
Box 13 Folder 10
Box 13 Folder 14
Box 13 Folder 15
Box 13 Folder 16
Box 13 Folder 17
Box 13 Folder 18
Box 13 Folder 19
Box 13 Folder 20
Box 13 Folder 21
Box 13 Folder 22
Box 13 Folder 23
Box 13 Folder 24
Box 13 Folder 25
Box 13 Folder 26
Series VIII: José Martí, Translation Work and Research, 1996-2006
Included in this series are books, research, correspondence, translations, drafts and notes related to Jack Agüeros's translation of José Martí's complete works entitled Come, Come-My Boiling Blood: The Complete Poems of José Martí.
Box 11 Folder 8
Box 11 Folder 9-10
Box 11 Folder 11
Box 11 Folder 12
Box 11 Folder 13
Box 11 Folder 14
Box 14 Folder 1
Box 14 Folder 2
Box 14 Folder 3-4
Box 14 Folder 5
Box 14 Folder 6
Box 14 Folder 7
Box 14 Folder 8-9
Box 14 Folder 10
Box 14 Folder 11
Box 14 Folder 12
Box 14 Folder 13
Box 14 Folder 14
Box 14 Folder 15
Box 14 Folder 16
Box 14 Folder 17
Box 14 Folder 18
Box 14 Folder 19
Box 14 Folder 20
Box 20 Folder 14
Series IX: Tools, 1982-2002
Materials in this series are related to Jack Agüeros's tool collection. His collection index is organized alphabetically and issues of Fine Tool Journal are organized chronologically.
Box 15 Folder 1
Box 15 Folder 2
Box 15 Folder 3
Box 15 Folder 4
Box 15 Folder 6