Ploughshares
Organization
Biographical / Historical Note
The Ploughshares literary magazine was founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in the Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Each issue is guest-edited by a prominent writer, who assembles an issue around a central theme, aesthetic, or personal vision. Previous guest editors include: Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, Rosellen Brown, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolff, Sherman Alexie, Russell Banks, Lorrie Moore, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Richard Ford.
Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:
Administration, 1974-2000
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-1
Scope and Contents
This series includes correspondence, accounting ledgers, and trustee meeting materials and minutes. Some pages have been removed from their original three-ring binders for preservation purposes. Receipts, invoices, and checks were also removed from the ledgers.The earliest materials in this series chronicle Ploughshares' struggle to obtain recognition as a non-profit organization. In 1976, Ploughshares was officially denied tax-exempt status, which also rendered the magazine...
Dates:
1974-2000
Correspondence, 1971-2006
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-5
Scope and Contents
This series contains correspondence between the editors, guest editors, contributing writers, and supporters of the magazine. When applicable, the original order and folder headings have been maintained, as in correspondence by issue or guest editor. Where no order existed, general correspondence has been arranged chronologically. Correspondence with notable writers includes: Seamus Heaney, Thomas Lux, Tim O'Brien, Joyce Carol Oates, Fanny Howe, Andre Dubus, Tess Gallagher, Sue Miller, and...
Dates:
1971-2006
Grant Application Materials, 1974-1996
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-2
Scope and Contents
Scope and content note: This series contains grant applications, project narratives, final reports, and financial statements. Ploughshares has received funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (formerly known as the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities), the National Endowment of the Arts, and the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines to publish and promote the magazine. Ploughshares also earned the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Literary Publishers Marketing Grant to...
Dates:
1974-1996
Manuscripts, 1974-1997
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-6
Scope and Contents
This series contains original manuscripts submitted by notable writers to Ploughshares. Some manuscripts have editorial marks or annotations. Some fragile manuscripts have been photocopied for preservation, and the original is kept in a protective sleeve with the photocopy. In "A Memoir of the Early Ploughshares," DeWitt Henry recounts the narrates the early history of the literary magazine. The folder "Reflections" contains a number of essays by former editors, writing about their memories...
Dates:
1974-1997
Marketing and Publicity, 1974-1998
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-4
Scope and Contents
This series contains ad rate cards, flyers, mailings, newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, audiocassettes, a homemade banner, a tote bag, and a scrapbook. Flyers and mailings advertise Ploughshares' benefits and reading series that featured writers such as: Robert Lowell, John McGahern, Siobhan McKenna, Marilyn Hacker, and Brian Moore. This series also includes six audiocassettes of recorded readings by authors including: Seamus Heaney, Frank Conroy, Mary Lavin, and Richard Yates....
Dates:
1974-1998
Ploughshares Collection
Collection
Identifier: MSS 026
Scope and Contents
The Ploughshares Collection includes materials that document the major functions of the magazine and its staff: administration, grant applications, production, distribution, marketing, and publicity. The collection also houses correspondence and original manuscripts. The administrative materials span the editorial leadership of DeWitt Henry and Don Lee and document the acquisition of Ploughshares by Emerson College. The grant application materials chronicle the evolution of Ploughshares'...
Dates:
1971 - 2006
Production and Distribution, 1973-2002
Series
Identifier: MSS 026-3
Scope and Contents
Scope and content note: This series contains production notes, original cover artwork and photographs, cover stock, and correspondence. Many of the materials relate to the physical design and layout of the magazine. An e-mail exchange with founder DeWitt Henry sheds light on the early production process: in the 1970's, the typewriter was the key production tool used to assemble each issue. The Exacto knives, scissors, spray adhesive, and brushes used to piece the magazine together are...
Dates:
1973-2002