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Collection Number: 04164

Collection Title: Virginia Love Long Papers, 1958-1976

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items)
Abstract Virginia Love Long (Virginia L. Rudder (1941- ), journalist and poet, native of Hurdle Mills, N.C., studied at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., 1958-1961. She then married and began a career in journalism with the Roxboro, N.C., Courier-Times, and in the early 1970s received numerous awards for her work in poetry and journalism. Her first book was After the Ifaluk and Other Poems (1976). She later published The Gallows Lord (1978). She married first Don Ray Bagby of North Carolina and later California, and appears to have married second Harry Rudder of Florida. As of 1978, she had two sons. The collection contains primarily correspondence with other writers, especially Judy Hogan, Amon Liner (1940-1976), and Manuel Gamboa (Manazar); manuscripts poems and writings by Long, Gamboa, Liner, and others; and poetry notebooks of Long. The majority of Gamboa's letters and poetry were written while he was an inmate in Soledad Prison, Soledad, Calif., and are often sexually explicit.
Creator Long, Virginia Love.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed materials for access can be a lengthy process.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Virginia Love Long Papers #4164, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Virginia L. Rudder (Virginia Love Long) in 1979.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Eileen Parris, November 1992

Encoded by: Jackie Dean, July 1998

This collection was previously known as the Virginia Long Rudder Papers (revised January 2007 because of name change).

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The 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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Virginia Love Long (Virginia L. Rudder) was born in 1941 in Roxboro, N.C. She attended Catawba College, 1958-1961, and there met fellow student and poet Amon Liner. After college, she married Don Ray Bagby and pursued a journalism career, working primarily for the Roxboro, N.C., Courier-Times. She received numerous state and national awards for her work in poetry and journalism. She published her first book, After the Ifaluk and Other Poems in 1976, and another, The Gallows Lord, in 1978. As of 1978 she had two sons.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection of poet Virginia Love Long (Virginia L. Rudder)is divided into correspondence, writings, and other papers. Correspondence with fellow poets, which comprises Subseries 1.1., is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Represented are Judy Hogan, Amon Liner, and Manuel Gamboa (Manazar Gamboa). Much of Gamboa's correspondence was written while he was an inmate in Soledad Prison and is sexually explicit in nature. Personal and business correspondence and fan letters, which comprise Subseries 1.2., are arranged chronologically. The writings series includes poetic works by Long as well as by Manuel Gamboa, including his translation into Spanish of Amon Liner's "Chrome Glass." Other papers include clippings, journal entries, and other materials.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence, 1959-1978.

About 300 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by correspondent (Subseries 1.1) and chronological (Subseries 1.2).

Subseries 1.1 consists of letters received by Long from other poets, close friends who critiqued her work and whose work she apparently analyzed in turn. Included are letters from Paul Foreman and Foster Foreman, Judy Hogan, Amon Liner (1940-1976), Manuel Gamboa (Manazar), Barbara Street, and R. Z. (Roz) Wolbarsht. Subseries 1.2 consists of general correspondence with family, friends, and fans of Long's column in the Roxboro, N.C., Courier Times.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. Correspondence, Alphabetical, 1960-1978.

About 200 items.

Letters received by Long from other poets and close friends who critiqued her work and whose work she apparently analyzed in turn. Included are letters from Amon Liner (1940-1976) of Charlotte and Chapel Hill, N.C., including his comments on his work, his mental and physical well-being, and his philosophy of writing. Also included are letters from Mexican American poet Manuel Gamboa (Manazar), chiefly November 1976-May 1977, the bulk of which were written while he was an inmate in Soledad Prison and many of which are sexually explicit in nature. Scattered drafts of letters from Long to Gamboa after the dissolution of their relationship are also present. Other correspondents include Paul Foreman and Foster Foreman of Thorpe Springs Press, Berkeley, Calif., and Judy Hogan of the Carolina Wren Press, Carrboro, N.C.

Folder 1

Foreman, Paul and Foreman, Foster, 1975

Folder 2

Gamboa, Manuel (Manazar), Nov 1976-Mar 1977

Folder 3

Gamboa, Manuel (Manazar), Apr 1977-Apr 1978

Folder 4

Hogan, Judy, 1974-1977

Folder 5

Liner, Amon, 1960-1961

Folder 6

Liner, Amon, 1964-1965

Folder 7

Liner, Amon, 1966-1969

Folder 8

Liner, Amon, 1970-1971

Folder 9

Liner, Amon, 1972-1973

Folder 10

Liner, Amon, 1974-1976 and n.d.

Folder 11

Street, Barbara, 1975-1977

Folder 12

Wolbarsht, R. Z. (Roz), 1977-1978

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. Correspondence, Chronological, 1959-1977.

About 100 items.

Business and personal correspondence, including letters from editors about works submitted, from other poets, from family and friends, and from fans of Long's articles in the Roxboro, N.C., Courier-Times. Topics include family affairs, mutual friends, congratulations on awards and publication of work, and sympathy over the illness of Long's mother, who suffered a stroke in 1975.

Folder 13

1959-1969

Folder 14

1970-1973

Folder 15

1974

Folder 16

1975

Folder 17

1976

Folder 18

1977

Folder 19

Undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Writings.

About 150 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by title, where possible. Long's poetry notebooks follow the loose materials.

Writings by Long and others. Subseries 2.1 contains loose poems and unpublished manuscripts by Long. Subseries 2.2 contains her poetry/memorandum notebooks. Subseries 2.3 contains works by Amon Liner and Manuel Gamboa (Manazar).

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Loose Writings by Long.

About 75 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by title, where possible.

Loose writings by Long, including a series of early poems: "Love the Silence that Endures", a tribute to Amon Liner; and "Moontalking", a collaborative effort with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca (restricted until published).

Folder 20

Loose poems

Folder 21

"The Gamboa Rose"

Folder 22

"Love the Silence that Endures"

Folder 23

"Moontalking: A Womansong"

Folder 24

"Snake Eye"

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Poetry Notebooks.

17 volumes.

Memorandum and poetry notebooks, with some prose material included. All are disjointed, scattered, and mostly undated. Of particular note, however, are transcriptions from an apparent court case, in Volume #10, and drafts letters written by Long to Manuel Gamboa (Manazar) after the dissolution of their relationship, in Volume 15.

Folder 25

Poetry notebook #1

Folder 26

Poetry notebook #2

Folder 27

Poetry notebook #3

Folder 28

Poetry notebook #4

Folder 29

Poetry notebook #5

Folder 30

Poetry notebook #6

Folder 31

Poetry notebook #7

Folder 32

Poetry notebook #8

Folder 33

Poetry notebook #9

Folder 34

Poetry notebook #10

Folder 35

Poetry notebook #11

Folder 36

Poetry notebook #12

Folder 37

Poetry notebook #13

Folder 38

Poetry notebook #14

Folder 39

Poetry notebook #15

Folder 40

Poetry notebook #16

Folder 41

Poetry notebook #17

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Writings by Others.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by author.

Writings by others, primarily Manuel Gamboa (Manazar). Included are a Spanish translation of Amon Liner's "Chrome Grass" by Gamboa; translations by Gamboa of works of other poets, especially Emily Dickinson; and English translations of Gamboa's works by Long.

Folder 42

Gamboa, Manuel (Manazar): "Hombre de Raices."

Folder 43

Gamboa, Manuel (Manazar): Miscellaneous poems and translations of works by other authors.

Folder 44

Gamboa, Manuel (Manazar): Miscellaneous poems, translated by Virginia Love Long.

Folder 45

Liner, Amon: "Cesped de Cromo" ("Chrome Grass"). Spanish translation by Manuel Gamboa.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Other Papers.

About 50 items.

Miscellaneous items, including excerpts from Long's journal, 1977; clippings, mostly about University of North Carolina graduate Larry Wilfred Phelps, a member of the Progressive Labor Movement, who was murdered, and a college term paper by Long, 1960.

Folder 46

Virginia Love Long's journal excerpts, 1977

Folder 47

Clippings

Folder 48

Miscellaneous papers

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