Descriptive Summary
Norman, Howard A.
Howard Norman Collection,
1975-1979 and undated
Manuscripts and
correspondence for The Wishing Bone Cycle and
Where the Chill Came From, and an original score
based on Norman's work by Laura Clayton.
R24.1
Southwest Collection/Special Collections
Library, Texas Tech University
2 boxes (2 linear feet)
English.
Biographical Sketch
Howard Norman is an American author and translator whose work includes
novels, short stories, memoirs, and children’s books. He was born in Michigan
in 1949 but as a young man he moved to Toronto and lived in Canada for many
years, spending much time among native peoples in the Canadian wilderness. As a
result of his long residence in Canada, much of his fiction is set there.
Norman attended Western Michigan University and Indiana University. He has
published numerous translations and retellings of the stories of native peoples
of Canada as illustrated books for children. The Wishing
Bone Cycle (1976) won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Prize from
the Academy of American Poets. His books Northern
Lights and The Bird Artist were both
nominated for National Book Awards in Fiction. He has received a Lannan Award
for fiction, a Guggenheim, the Whiting Award, as well as several NEA
fellowships. Howard is married to poet Jane Shore, with whom he has one
daughter. He teaches creative writing at the University of Maryland.
Book publications include:
- Norman, Howard. Between Heaven and Earth:
Bird Tales from Around the World. Orlando: Gulliver Books, 2004.
- Norman, Howard. The Bird Artist. New
York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 1994.
- Norman, Howard, trans. Born Tying
Knots, told by Samuel Makidemewabe, Ann Arbor: Bear Claw Press,
1976.
- Norman, Howard. The Chauffer:
Stories. New York: Picador, 2002.
- Norman, Howard. Devotion. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
- Norman, Howard. The Girl Who Dreamed Only
Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North. New York: Harcourt Brace,
1997.
- Norman, Howard. The Haunting of L.
New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2002
- Norman, Howard. How Glooskap Outwits the
Ice Giants; and Other Tales of the Maritime Indians. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1989
- Norman, Howard. In Fond Remembrance of
Me. New York: North Point Press, 2005.
- Norman, Howard. Kiss in the Hotel Joseph
Conrad and Other Stories. New York: Summit Books, 1989.
- Norman, Howard. The Museum Guard: A
Novel. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1998.
- Norman, Howard. My Famous Evening: Nova
Scotia Sojourns, Diaries & Preoccupations Washington, D.C.: National
Geographic, 2004.
- Norman, Howard. The Northern Lights: A
Novel. New York: Summit Books, 1987.
- Norman, Howard, compiler and ed. Northern
Tales: Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1990.
- Norman, Howard. The Owl-Scatterer.
Boston: Joy Street Books, 1987.
- Norman, Howard. Trickster and the Fainting
Birds. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
- Norman, Howard, trans. Where the Chill Came
From: Cree Windigo Tales and Journeys. San Francisco: North Point Press,
1982.
- Norman, Howard. Who-Paddled-Backward-With-Trout. Boston: Joy Street
Books, 1987.
- Norman, Howard, trans. The Wishing Bone
Cycle: Narrative poems from the Swampy Cree Indians. New York:
Stonehill Pub., 1976
Scope and Contents
The collection includes manuscripts, correspondence with W.S. Merwin
and Jerome Rothenberg, and an original score by Laura Clayton.
The collection is in good condition and is part of the James Sowell
Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World.
Organization
The collection is organized by manuscript title.
Index Terms
The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally
developed.
Subjects (Persons)
Norman, Howard A.--Manuscripts.
Norman, Howard A.--Correspondence
Norman, Howard A. --
Wishing Bone Cycle
Norman, Howard A. --
Where the Chill Came From
Norman, Howard A. --
Born Tying Knots
Merwin, W. S. (William Stanley), 1927--Correspondence
Clayton, Laura --
Cree Songs to the Newborn
Rotheberg, Jerome--Correspondence
Subjects
Tales–-Arctic regions
Folklore–-Arctic regions
Windigo (Legendary character)
Cree Indians--Folklore
Cree Indians–-Poetry–-Musical settings
Songs (High voice) with instrumental ensemble--Scores
Collection accession #(s):
2008-0108-X, 2008-109-X
Purchase, 2005
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research. Copyright is retained by the
authors of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by
U.S. copyright law.
Processed by
Dr. Diane Warner, 2008.
Preferred Citation
Howard Norman Collection, 1975-1979 and undated, Southwest
Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, Lubbock,
Texas
For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library, see the following collection:
- Rick Bass Papers, 1958-2001 and undated
- Max Crawford Papers, 1960-2000 and undated
- David James Duncan Papers, 1959-2002 and undated
- David James Duncan Artifact Collection
- David James Duncan Oversize Items, 1959-2002 and undated
- Gretel Ehrlich Papers, 1923-2005 and undated
- Edward Hoagland Papers, 1953-2007 and undated
- William Kittredge Papers, 1954-2000 and undated
- Barry Lopez Papers, 1964-2001 and undated
- Barry Lopez Speaking Engagement Papers, 1971-1999 and undated
- Barry Lopez Photograph Collection: Apológia, 1977
- Barry Lopez Audio-Visual Collection, 1964-2001 and undated
- Barry Lopez Photograph Collection, 1964-2001 and undated
- Barry Lopez Collection, Requests for Book Jacket Blurbs, 2003-2004 and undated
- Walter McDonald Papers, 1945-2003 and undated
- Bill McKibben Papers, 1971-2001 and undated
- Doug Peacock Papers, 1950-2000 and undated
- David Quammen Papers, 1956-1999 and undated
- Pattiann Rogers Papers, 1960-1999 and undated
- Pattiann Rogers Papers, 1977-2000
- Annick Smith Papers, 1940-2000 and undated
- Sandra Scofield Papers, 1958-2005 and undated
Collection Inventory
Manuscripts
1
1
Born Tying Knots,, book,
heavy white out on title page, Norman’s notes inside front cover, with
typescript copy of Gary Snyder blurb, signed by author,
1976
1
2
Born Tying Knots, original
typescript (as sent to Jerome Rothenberg) with letter to Rothenberg signed by
author and holographic notes, 20 long ledger pages,
undated
1
3
Where the Chill Came From,,
author’s leather bound notebook, 40 pages of text, handwritten and typed on
Canadian Railway stationary taped into notebook, inside front cover reads
“Windigo Tales, Pelican Narrows, Lake Winnepeg, Berkely, CA,
1975”
1
4
The Wishing Bone Cycle,
original typescript (as sent to Jonathan Cott of Stonehill Press), 14 long
ledger pages, signed by author,
Oct. 4, 1975
1
5
The Wishing Bone Cycle,
book, Norman’s first copy sent by publisher, inscribed to W.S. Merwin, with
notes for reading at Harold Morton Landon Translation Award ceremony,
1976
1
6
The Wishing Bone Cycle,
journal, 9 typed pages on notebook paper about trip to NY for Landon Award, 4
typed drafts of letter to Merwin, written at Excelsior Hotel, NYC,
May, 24,
1978
Oversize
2
1
Cree Songs to the Newborn,
for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble, signed by Norman, Nov. 19, 1979, inscribed to
Norman by composer Laura Clayton,
Nov. 19,
1979