Clayton Eichelberger Papers:

A Guide

Biographical Note

Professor Emeritus Clayton Eichelberger was born at Strang, Nebraska, on May 3, 1925, to Joel V. and Katie Lauber Eichelberger. He married Nancy Houston and is father to Julie, Joel, and Jon. In 1949 he received his B.A. from the University of Colorado, where he earned his M.A. degree in 1950. During 1950-1952, he was a Sergeant Major in the United States Army. Then, resuming what was to become a very active academic life, Clayton Eichelberger received his Ph.D. in 1956 from the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Eichelberger joined the English faculty of Arlington State College (now the University of Texas at Arlington) in 1956 as an Associate Professor. He was honored by appointment as Professor of American Literature in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in the late 1980s.

Professor Eichelberger created one of the most prestigious literary journals of his time, American Literary Realism, 1870-1910, publishing the first issue in 1967 and remaining as editor until the journal was transfered to the University of New Mexico in 1986, pending Eichelberger's own retirement. This journal embodied the best of learning as a process of enrichment, examining texts and materials of both well-known writers like Twain, Dreiser, or Howells, and much less well-known creators such as Sarah Orne Jewett, John William De Forest, George Washington Cable, and many, many others. In a true spirit of scholarship, this journal's raison d'etre was to extend existing horizons of learning, and its success was truly admirable. The best and best-known critics of this literary period--people of the academic caliber of Warren French, Donald Pizer, Adeline Tintner, and many others--graced its pages with ongoing research. The work of this scholarly publication brought Professor Eichelberger into contact with the foremost scholars of his time in late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century American literary studies. His correspondence with them offers a candid view of their work, with its rewards and frustrations.

Not only did Professor Eichelberger create and edit this journal, but he was singularly instrumental in creating a section in the Modern Language Association, Group III, that focused on the particular literary area of his interest, late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century American literature. At this time the Modern Language Association did not have the multiple sections and subdivisions that adorn its present structure, so this focus was extremely important in creating contacts for scholars. Furthermore, as a result of this work, another section for early twentieth-century American literature, Group IV, was eventually formed, helping MLA to become a vital force for exchanges of ideas and information.

Professor Eichelberger's career coincided with the heyday of American literary studies, at a time when American literature was not subsumed by rhetorical or critical approaches. Most academic departments covered major writers, but part of the very great service this journal provided was an opportunity to examine many writers whose careers were usually passed over in general courses, such as George Washington Cable, Harold Frederic, Sarah Orne Jewett, John William De Forest, Edgar W. Howe, Joseph Kirkland, and many others.

Despite extensive obligations on his time as both an editor and a researcher of his own work, Professor Eichelberger was active in university service. He served on committees that helped shape the future growth of the school, contributing countless hours in an already-busy schedule to help upgrade both the status and scope of the university library, student studies, and research support programs.

Professor Eichelberger also managed to publish in many academic journals, including Papers of the Bibliographic Society, Georgia Review, American Quarterly, Journal of Popular Culture, and American Literary Review. In 1971 in published A Guide to Critical Reviews of U. S. Fiction, 1870-1910 (V. I, 1971 and V. II in 1974). In 1976 he published William Dean Howells Through 1920: A Research Bibliography. The year 1976 also saw publication of a work he edited, Harper's Lost Reviews, the Literary Notes by Lawrence Hutton, John Kendrick Bangs, and others.

Professor Eichelberger's career was a fusion of the finest elements of scholarship and devotion to his field of research. As an editor and scholar he was in communication with people who helped to establish the structure of American literary studies for the areas covered. His correspondence and records of the journal he established are a true treasure trove for anyone interested in American literary studies, in the development of the Modern Language Association, and the unpublished commentary of some of America's best literary critics.

Sources:

• Directory of American Scholars. Lancaster, Pa.: Science P, 1942.
• Contemporary Authors. V. 41-44. 1st. rev. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979.
• AR391, Clayton Eichelberger Papers. University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections. (Specifically, refer to Box 10, Folder 9, which contains a vita that is comprehensive through 1975.)

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Contents

The Clayton Eichelberger Papers represent an extraordinary resource. The extensive correspondence between Eichelberger and many of America's best-known literary scholars represents a fairly unique record of what constituted research criteria, difficulties, and rewards in this time period, from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. For Henry James students, Leon Edel explains why he is too busy to do something, and Adeline Tintner writes about a work in progress. Scholars from Warren French, Leslie Fiedler, Donald Pizer, Louis Rubin, Michael Millgate, and many, many more all write--with great candor--about the vicissitudes and victories of research, of interests, and about what motivated them all, namely love of literature and an abiding fascination with the details of creation.

For any student of literature, literary criticism, literary journals, or the politics of academia, this collection offers a unique opportunity to view without blinders what constituted the reality of the 1960s and 1970s in academia. This time period was truly a heyday of American literary studies and love of subject is evident in the work of most contributors to this journal--and to those who worked on it--presenting a real tribute to the pleasure of learning for its own sake. This reason alone rewards those who peruse this collection.

The heart of this holding is in Series I. American Literary Realism, 1870-1910 (ALR), 1966-1986. Divided into five subseries and arranged chronologically within each subseries, (ALR) Correspondence, (ALR) Journal, (ALR) Staffing, (ALR) Organization, and (ALR) Card Catalog, each subseries focuses on a different aspect of what made up the work of creating an academic publication. (ALR) Correspondence covers roughly twenty years--from 1966-1986--and starts at the beginning, when Professor Eichelberger first contacted others and began to implement his idea for a literary journal that would provide up-to-date bibliographical information for research. From its early correspondence to the last days of its publication, this correspondence is an archive in itself, full of candid commentary by some of the foremost scholars of the day in the area of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century American literary studies. (ALR) Journal covers the publication process itself, with its main focus on specific manuscripts and revisions and changes that relate to what became the finished text. In this category five sections delineate the areas covered: (A.) Journal Publications contains specific references to what became final issues; (B.) Assignments and Book Reviews details specific requested commentary and book reviews, with relevant correspondence; (C.) Background Materials for Publications provides many kinds of materials--permission to use copyrighted material (usually submitted by authors prior to publications of their own writings), manuscripts, illustrations, correspondence about particular questions and problems--and a general overview of many aspects of what made publishing a complex process; (D.) Technical Materials has legal permissions and one finished proof; and (E.) Materials Not Used in Journal is a collection of both unsolicited, unaccepted manuscripts and also an assortment of materials that, however interesting, just did not fit needed publishing guidelines of the moment and were set aside.

Series II. Modern Language Association (MLA), 1967-1980, is arranged chronologically and depicts the world of academic organization at its national level and the complex process of adding Group III, which Professor Eichelberger instigated. This took over a year and entailed letters of support from respected academics, required examination of MLA rules, and, above all, required perseverance to finalize. Implementation of Group III, covering late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century American literature, paved the way for the formation of Group IV, devoted to early twentieth-century American literary studies. From these MLA meetings came the basis for many papers published in the journal and the meetings often served as an annual forum to discuss ideas, such as the 1972 meeting, which examined the relevance of terms such as "realism" and "naturalism" in critical commentaries.

Series III. American Studies, 1957-1969, looks at the growth of an association devoted strictly to American materials. Arranged chronologically, this series contains several newsletters, as well as several annual directories for the American Studies Association of Texas, so it is an excellent overview of growth of the organization at both national and regional levels.

Series IV. Miscellaneous (MISC.), 1936-1980, arranged chronologically, is a fascinating look at what accumulated in the drawers and boxes of a journal over a twenty-year period. Manuscripts, illustrations, announcements, programs, brochures, assorted publications, and various publishers' materials all illustrate both the range of literary interests that sometimes intersected in this journal office and also demonstrate a little of the look of the time in publications' formats. Of especial interest in this group is a 1936 anthology of African-American poetry, retained by Professor Eichelerger long before this became a national area of academic research.

Series V. Harris Merton Lyon (1883-1916), 1906-197l, is a long look at a very interesting writer. This series, arranged chronologically by short story, contains an unpublished master's thesis by Jean Saxe, directed by Dr. Eichelberger; a facsimile of a novel by Lyon, Sardonicus (published in 1909); sixty-three short stories; and one critical commentary. The stories appeared in popular magazines between about 1906 and 1921, with most of them appearing before 1916, the time of the thirty-three-year-old author's death. The stories are a delight to read, a step back to what seems a more innocent and more literate time period in American letters.

Series VI. Eichelberger Publications, 1968-1983, arranged chronologically, provides an overview of Professor Eichelberger's own publications, from original manuscript to final proofs, including royalty statements, travel fund requests, and correspondence specifically involving his own extensive research interests. Publishing processes are often done with computers and discs now, but the long labor of research here evident still reflects how much work goes into making a valuable reference.

Series VII. University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), 1958-1977, examines three areas of growth with which Professor Eichelberger was particularly concerned. UTA I. briefly looks at implementing honors English programs for incoming freshmen; it is arranged chronologically into 3 subseries; UTA II. is an extensive overview of how library personnel and library functions were upgraded to meet the needs of a college that grew into a university; UTA III. examines kinds of institutional research funding that helped finance both ALR and researches of Professor Eichelblerger, as well as researches of other faculty members.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Access

Open for research.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

Return to the Table of Contents

Separated Material

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Citation

Clayton Eichelberger Papers, AR391, Box Number, Folder Number, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

Acquisition

Gift, 1989.

Accessioned as number 89-6.

Return to the Table of Contents

 Note to the Researcher 

What is most unusual about this collection is the extensive and candid correspondence between American literary researchers who were at the top of their respective fields. Leon Edel is too busy, Adeline Tintner rewrites a James piece, and Leslie Fiedler stalls on submitting a written paper. For lovers of American literature this correspondence is a very human picture of people usually known only through finished publications, and is indeed fascinating. Also, Professor Eichelberger's unflagging focus on works of lesser-known American writers--such as Sarah Orne Jewett, George Washington Cable, Harold Frederic, John William De Forest, and many others--is an important contribution.

Each series has something special to offer. For example, the Harris Merton Lyon file gathers highly readable and entertaining fiction from many magazines, over a period of several years, into one, easy-to-find location. Series IV. Miscellaneous is a truly fascinating glimpse at the world behind publishing, as are several other sections, but this series offers a varied composite of many interesting things that crossed the editor's desk. Each one has something to give, depending on a reader's interests.

Return to the Table of Contents

Container List

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents