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José Bianco Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
José "Pepe" Bianco was born on 21 November 1908 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He left the university just shy of obtaining a law degree, and later joined the prestigious literary journal Sur as a contributor in 1938. Bianco rose through the ranks from secretary to editor, and it was during his years at Sur that the publication earned its greatest international renown. However, in 1961, a public disagreement with Victoria Ocampo, the head of Sur, over a trip he took to Cuba led to Bianco's resignation. Bianco quickly began work at Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires (EUDEBA), but again was forced to resign only six years later when the dictator Juan Carlos Onganía took over the government of Argentina.
In addition to his editorial work, Bianco also wrote four principal works, La pequeña Gyaros (short stories, 1932), Sombras suele vestir (novel, 1941), Las ratas (novel, 1943), and La pérdida del reino (novel, 1972). A collection of his essays previously written for Sur and other publications were published as Ficción y realidad (1977). Bianco was also well regarded as a translator of the writings of foreign authors to Spanish, including Samuel Beckett, Julien Benda, Ambrose Bierce, T. S. Eliot, Jean Genet, Henry James, Jean Paul Sartre, Tom Stoppard, and Paul Valéry. He was a long-time friend of fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, as well as publisher, through Sur, of Borges' El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan and Ficciones.
Bianco died in Buenos Aires on 24 April 1986 as a result of a lung ailment.
Consists primarily of correspondence received by Bianco by a wide selection of Latin American writers. The major correspondents are Mexicans Elena Garro and Octavio Paz, and Argentines Silvina Ocampo and Victoria Ocampo. Other correspondents include Julio Cortázar, Juan Gustavo Cobo Borda, César Fernández Moreno, Juan García Ponce, Jorge Guillén, Eduardo Mallea, Ezequiel Martínez Estrada, Adrienne Monnier, Daniel Moyano, Maurice Saillet, Alejandro Rossi, Ernesto Sábato, Eduardo Schiaffino, Virgilio Piñera, and Gabriel Zaid. Also included are a small selection of manuscript pages by Bianco in the form of a diary, four poetry manuscripts by César Fernández Moreno, one prose manuscript by Elena Garro, and one prose manuscript by an unknown author, and audio recordings of José Lezama Lima and Nicolás Guillén reading their poetry.
Purchased from Juan José Hernández, heir of Bianco, in 1991 and 1995(AM 1991-53; AM 1991-53A; AM 1995-76).
No appraisal information is available.
People
- Garro, Elena (1916-1998)
- Guillén, Nicolás, 1902-1989.
- Lezama Lima, José
- Ocampo, Silvina (1903-1993)
- Ocampo, Victoria, 1890-1979.
- Paz, Octavio, 1914-1998
Subject
- Argentine literature -- 20th century
- Authors, Argentine -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Authors, Latin American -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Dramatists, Mexican -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Latin American literature -- 20th century
- Novelists, Argentine -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Novelists, Mexican -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Poets, Cuban -- 20th century -- Correspondence
Occupation
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2003
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
This series consists of manuscript notes and pages in the form of a diary, and is organized chronologically.
Not arranged according to any arrangement scheme.
Physical Description1 box
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This series consists of correspondence received by Bianco. The major correspondents are Mexican writers Elena Garro and Octavio Paz, and Argentine writers Silvina Ocampo and Victoria Ocampo. Other correspondents include Julio Cortázar, Juan Gustavo Cobo Borda, César Fernández Moreno, Juan García Ponce, Jorge Guillén, Eduardo Mallea, Ezequiel Martínez Estrada, Adrienne Monnier, Daniel Moyano, Maurice Saillet, Alejandro Rossi, Ernesto Sábato, Eduardo Schiaffino, Virgilio Piñera, and Gabriel Zaid. There is also one letter by André Gide to Guillermo de Torre. This series is organized first by major and minor correspondents, with the letters of Garro, the Ocampo sisters, and Paz housed in individual folders arranged alphabetically. The remaining correspondents are grouped in collective folders and arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with the exception of the Gide letter to de Torre which is housed in an individual folder at the end of the series. See also series V. Additional Correspondence for further letters.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
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This series consists of four poetry manuscripts by César Fernández Moreno, one prose manuscript by Elena Garro, and one prose manuscript by an unknown author. Both the Fernández Moreno and Garro manuscripts are accompanied by letters by the authors. This series is organized by alphabetically by writer, with the unknown author at the end of the series.
Arranged alphabetically by author.
Physical Description1 box
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This series consists of an audiotape of José Lezama Lima and Nicolás Guillén reading their poetry, and an audiocassette of Guillén reading 11 of his poems.
Not arranged according to any arrangement scheme.
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This series consists of additional correspondence by Josefina Atucha de Llavallol ["Tota"], Joseph Lanza del Vasto, Virgilio Piñera, and Eduardo Schiaffino. There are also two letters by Bianco to Juan José Hernández. This series is organized alphabetically by correspondent. See also series II. Correspondence for the bulk of the letters.
Arranged alphabetically by author.
Physical Description1 box
Josefina was the sister of "Tota", the pseudonym used by Maria de las Mercedes Teresa Atucha y Llavallol.
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