Call Number:

C1273

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Kathleen Tankersley Young Correspondence, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1928-1932 (inclusive)

Creator:

Young, Kathleen Tankersley, 1903-1933

Form:

Correspondence -- 20th century and Drawings -- 20th century.

Abstract:

Consists chiefly of correspondence of American author and editor Kathleen Tankersley Young with the New York book designer and printer Lew Ney and his wife, Ruth Widen.

Kathleen Tankersley Young was an American author and poet, and editor of the Modern Editions Press during the era of the Harlem Renaissance. Originally from Texas, Young joined Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler in 1929 to publish the Blues: A Magazine of New Rhymes. Blues included such contributors as Kay Boyle, Erskine Caldwell, Harry Crosby, E. E. Cummings, Oliver Jenkins, Ezra Pound, Laura Riding, Herman Spector, Gertrude Stein, Laurence Vail, William Carlos Williams, and Louis Zukofsky. Although Young is often described in secondary sources as an African American woman, perhaps due to her association with the Harlem Renaissance, census records indicate her race as white.

The collection consists chiefly of correspondence between American author Kathleen Tankersley Young and the New York book designer and printer Lew Ney and his wife, Ruth Widen -- original letters (holograph and typewritten) by Young, carbon copies of answers to Young's letters by Ney and Widen. The letters provide an intimate portrait of Young's private life and her marriage to David Jerome Ellinger, and of some of the literary and artistic figures of the Harlem Renaissance. They also shed light on the social mores of the United States during that time period. Young frequently refers to her friends and business partners Charles Henri Ford and Harrison Parker Tyler, as well as to her circle of literary friends, which included Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. There are some letters discussing business matters, including a book project which Young initially intended Ney to publish for her, and money she owed Ney and Widen.

Also included is a typescript of a "Diary. Edward Lennon" (six leaves) which was written for Kathleen Young and Charles Henri Ford by an unidentified author. In addition, there are pencil drawings of different women with captions in French, in an unknown hand; a printed invitation to Young's wedding to David Jerome Ellinger; and a prospectus of the Modern Edition Press announcing the publishing of new pamphlets.

Correspondence is arranged into two file groups by author.