Roy S. Simmonds papers

Collection

Identifier: SPEC-022

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes papers of Roy S. Simmonds documenting his career as a literary scholar ranging from 1927 to 2001. It includes articles, book reviews, research files, and correspondence documenting his career as a scholar of author John Steinbeck. Also included are copies of articles, book reviews, indexes, and lists by other Steinbeck scholars and writings by John Steinbeck. The audio recordings series includes interviews about John Steinbeck and audio recordings of his books. Copies of three of Simmonds’ books, A Biographical and Critical Introduction of John Steinbeck, John Steinbeck: The War Years, 1939-1945, John Steinbeck: The War Years 1939-1945 are included in the collection and are also available in the University Libraries’ General Collection.

Dates

Creation: 1925-2001

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Literary rights, including copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their legal heirs and assigns. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections. The publisher must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical Note / Historical Note / Administrative History

Roy S. Simmonds was born in Plaistow, London, England in 1925. Employed as a British Civil Servant, he began working as an independent literary scholar in the 1970s. Simmonds is best known for his writings on John Steinbeck, William March, Ernest Hemingway, and Edward O’Brien. Simmonds published five books: The Two Worlds of William March and John Steinbeck (1984), William March: an Annotated Checklist (1988), John Steinbeck: The War Years, 1939-1945 (1996), A Biographical and Critical Introduction of John Steinbeck (2000), and Edward J. O’Brien and His Role in the Rise of the American Short Story in the 1920s and 1930s (2001). He was also published essays in numerous literary journals including the Steinbeck Quarterly, Steinbeck Newsletter, Mississippi Quarterly, San Jose Studies, Hemingway Review, and London Magazine. Roy S. Simmonds died in 2001.

Extent

17 Cubic Feet (17 boxes)

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series: Series 1: Roy Simmonds Papers, 1938-2001 Series 2: Articles, 1929-2001 Series 3: Book Reviews, 1939-2001 Series 4: Conference Publications, 1990-1992 Series 5: Film and Theatre Articles, 1927-2001 Series 6: Book Excerpts, alphabetical by format and author, 1959-1998 Series 7: Essays, 1946-2001 Series 8: Ephemera, 1983-2000 Series 9: Indexes, 1987-2000 Series 10: Lists, 1994-1995 Series 11: Journals, 1946 Series 12: Newsletters, 1968-2001 Series 13: Manuscripts, undated Series 14: Screenplays and Scripts, undated Series 15: Short Stories, undated Series 16: Oversized, 1937-1966 Series 17: Audio Recordings, 1955-1995 Series 18: Photographs, 1983-1998 Series 19: Computer Disks, undated Series 20: Research Note Cards, undated Series 21: Books, 1996-2000

Custodial History

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Mrs. Aileen Lightfoot on 2006/10/11.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2008/08/06 by Sarah Hroncheck. Finding aid created 2008/08/06 by Sarah Hroncheck. Finding aid revised 2009/11/13 by Maren L. Read. EAD finding aid completed 2009/12/03 by Maren L. Read. Finding aid revised 2011/05/20 by Lajmar Anderson.