William Stanley Braithwaite Papers 1882-1970

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred citation:

William Stanley Braithwaite Papers, Accession 8990-b, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Summary

Language:
English
Preferred citation:

William Stanley Braithwaite Papers, Accession 8990-b, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Background

Scope and content:

[Includes form letter from Edmund Clarence Stedman; a letter from William Stanley Braithwaiteto a Mr. McCourtie, 9 January 1919, pertaining to a speaking engagement for the Poetry Societyand mentions Lady Leonora Speyer. ]

[including 80th birthday congratulations from Mark Van Doren]

[including copy of a Nicholas Vachel Lindsayletter 1917 January 1 re Birth of A Nationand Southern racism]

[Including a 1934 November 2 letter from W. E. B. Du Bois--attached to letter, 8 November 1934]

[Including proof of The Veiled Doorby Caroline Giltinan(folder 1) and a typescript of "Since Cezanne" by Clive Bell]

Biographical / historical:
BIOGRAPHICAL CHRONOLOGY OF WILLIAM STANLEY BRAITHWAITE
Date Event
1875 Marriage of William Stanley Braithwaite's parents Emma DeWolfe (1860-1928)and William Smith Braithwaite (1853-1886)
1876 Birth of William Stanley Braithwaite's sister, Eva Braithwaite
1878 Birth of William Stanley Braithwaitein Boston, Massachusettson 6 December
1885 Birth of a sister; she dies in 1894
1886 Death of William Stanley Braithwaite's father
1889 Map of Europedrawn by William Stanley Braithwaiteis exhibited at the Parisfair
1890 William Stanley Braithwaite, age 12, obtains first job (selling newspapers in Boston)
1898 William Stanley Braithwaitemanages a Newport, Rhode Islandbookstore
1901 Publishes first novel, The Canadian, A Novel
1903 Marries Emma Kellyon 30 June; seven children: Fiona Lydia Rossetti Braithwaite(Mrs. Merrill Carter), Katherine Keats Braithwaite(Mrs. William J. Arnold), William Stanley Braithwaite, Jr., Edith Carman Braithwaite(Mrs. Agard), Paul Ledoux Braithwaite, Arnold DeWolfe Braithwaite, Francis Robinson Braithwaite
1904 Publishes Lyrics of Life and Love
1906 Edits The Book of Elizabethan Verse; elected to the Boston Author's Clubwith the support of Thomas Wentworth Higginsonand Julia Ward Howe; begins writing for the Boston Evening Transcripton 14 February; he reviews American poetry and poets and writes essays
1907 William Stanley Braithwaitepoem "White Magic", honoring John Greenleaf Whittier, is read by Braithwaite at Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusettson 17 December
1908 Publishes The House of Falling Leaves; writes an essay introduction for The Wounded Eros: Sonnetsby Charles Gibson
1909 Publishes poem "Sandy Star" in the July issue of Atlantic Monthly; also edits The Book of Georgian Verse
1909-1910 Plans "The Book of Victorian Verse"but it is never published
1910 Edits The Book of Restoration Verse
1912-1914 Sporadically publishes and edits Poetry Journaluntil it is taken over by others
1913-1929 Edits Anthology of Magazine Verse and Yearbook of American Poetry For The Year . . .until 1929
1915 William Stanley Braithwaitepoem "The Mystery" is published in the October issue of Scribners; literary criticism by Braithwaite is published in The Poetry Journal, "Poetry of The Public"; he organizes the New England Poetry Clubwith Edward J. O'Brien
1916 Edits Representative American Poetrywith Henry Thomas Schittkind; also edits The Poetic Year For 1916and The Poets of The Future: A College Anthology of 1915/16
1916-1917 Edits The Stratford Monthlywith Henry Thomas Schnittkind
1917 Plans a book, "The Seven Wisdoms of Grainne"but does not complete it; accepts honorary membership in Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity
1918 Awarded the Spingarn Medal, First Baptist Church, Providence, Rhode Island, during a meeting of the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) on 3 May for "distinguished achievement in literature"; edits The Golden Treasury of Magazine Verse; awarded an honorary A. M. (Masters) degree from Atlanta Universityfor his poetry and a Litt.D. from Talladega College; writes introduction to The Heart of A Woman And Other Poemsby Georgia D. Johnson
1919 Publishes The Story of The Great War; edits Victory! Celebrated By Thirty-eight American Poets; literary criticism published in The Crisis, "Some Contemporary Poets of The Negro Race"; edits The Book of Modern British Verse
1920 Publishes Our Essayists And Critics Today
1921 Writes introduction to The Beggars' Visionby Brookes More; publishes poetry volume, A Tale Of A Walled Town And Other Verses
1921-1927 Founds and becomes editor-in-chief of B. J. Brimmer Publishing Companywith Winifred Jacksonas a partner and company treasurer; she buys the company in 1925, the same year of its bankruptcy(?) (Several documents in the collection indicate the company may have remained solvent until 1929.)
1922 William Stanley Braithwaiteedits Anthology of Massachusetts Poets; B. J. Brimmerpublishes Bronze: A Book of Verseby Georgia Douglas Johnson
1924 B. J. Brimmerpublishes Confusionby James Gould Cozzens; William Stanley Braithwaitepublishes "The New Negro In Literature" in The Crisis, and, Going Over Tindal, A Novel
1928 Death of William Stanley Braithwaite's mother; he publishes a book of stories, Frost On The Green Leaf
1931 Edits Our Lady's Choir: A Contemporary Anthology of Verses By Catholic Sisters
1934 Literary criticism, "The Novels of Jessie Faust," published in Opportunity
1934-1935 Appointed Professor of Creative Literature at Atlanta University; retires in 1945
1935 Alan F. Peterof the Poetry Digest Associationplans a 1935 issue of Anthology of Magazine Verseand offers William Stanley Braithwaitethe opportunity of providing editorial assistance
1936 William Stanley Braithwaitewrites introduction to We Lift Our Voices And Other Poemsby Mae V. Cowdery
1937 Sterling Brown, in Negro Poetry & Drama, praises William Stanley Braithwaiteas a poetry critic
1938 William Stanley Braithwaiteserves on a program committee for the Association of Teachers of English in Negro Colleges(later The College Language Association)
1939 Death of William Stanley Braithwaite's paternal uncle, Edward John Braithwaite, age 85, in September
1940 William Stanley Braithwaitepublishes The Years Between 1918-39and Poems, New and Selected
1941-1942 William Stanley Braithwaite's autobiography, "The House Under Acturus"is serialized in five installments in Phylonduring 1942; it tells the story of his life up to the publication of his first book of poems in 1904
1942 An M. A. thesis by Alma Westine Stoneof Atlanta Universityexamines William Stanley Braithwaite's career
1945 Retires from Atlanta Universityand moves to Harlem, New York City
1947 Publishes an article in Negro Digest, "Negro America's First Magazine"
1948 Publishes Selected Poems
1950 Publishes The Bewitched Parsonage: The Story of The Brontes
1956 Interviewed by Columbia University's Oral History Research Officefrom May to June: "The Reminiscences of William S. Braithwaite"
1957 Literary criticism published in Phylon, "Alain Locke's Relationship To The Negro In American Literature"; death of William Stanley Braithwaite's brother Arthur on 24 September
1958 Co-edits 1958 Anthology of Magazine Versewith Margaret Carpenter, a Norfolk, Virginia, poet and admirer; it includes a selection of poetry from the previous anthologies; William Stanley Braithwaite's efforts are hampered by his failing eyesight
1959 An American Poetry Societydinner is held in William Stanley Braithwaite's honor in New York City; he writes the preface to A Voice In Ramah: Poemsby Marion Buchman
1962 Death of William Stanley Braithwaite, age 83, on 8 June in New York City; funeral held on 12 June
Acquisition information:
Gift, 1985 Jul 3
Processing information:

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Physical location:
Physical description:
7 ft.