Scope and Contents
The Felice Picano Papers contain writings, journals and diaries, and correspondence with his publishers and his colleague Andrew Holleran.
Dates
- 1970-1991
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Felice Picano Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Felice Picano, 1993.
Arrangement
Organized into four series: I. Writings, 1982-1987. II. Journals and Notebooks, 1970-1989. III. Correspondence and Financial Records, 1973-1989. IV. Other Papers, 1975-1991.
Extent
11.63 Linear Feet (13 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The papers contain Felice Picano's writings, journals and diaries, and correspondence with his publishers and his friends, including American author Andrew Holleran.
Felice Picano (1944- )
Felice Picano, American author, editor, playwright, and activist, was born in New York in 1944; he graduated from Queens College in 1964.
Picano was affiliated with a literary group known as the Violet Quill, whose seven members, as men writing for men, are regarded as one of the strongest collective voices of the gay male experience in the post-Stonewall era. Authors Christopher Cox, Robert Ferro, Michael Grumley, Andrew Holleran, Edmund White, George Whitmore, and Picano met several times in 1979, 1980, and 1981 to read aloud from their works in progress. Also on the agenda were discussions of how they could work together to promote recognition, acceptance, and publication of gay literature beyond the boundaries of their own community. Of the VQ writers, Michael Grumley and Robert Ferro were the first to die from AIDS-related complications, both at age 46 in 1988, Grumley on April 28 and Ferro on July 11; they were followed by Whitmore in 1989 and Cox in 1990.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Former call number: Uncat Za MS 282
- American fiction -- 20th Century
- American literature -- 20th century
- Authors -- United States -- 20th century
- Authors, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Gay men -- Fiction
- Gay men -- United States
- Gay men's writings, American
- Holleran, Andrew
- LGBTQ resource
- Male homosexuality -- Fiction
- Picano, Felice, 1944-
- Violet Quill (Group of writers)
- Title
- Felice Picano Papers
- Author
- Beinecke Staff
- Date
- 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.