Library: Archives & Special Collections: Adult Literature & English

Collection Subject: Adult Literature & English

Anne Rogovin - Teaching Materials Collection and Papers [c. 1970-1992]
Courier-Express Newspaper Collections [1926-1982] The Courier-Express newspaper was born in 1926, with the merger of the Buffalo Courier and the Buffalo Express to form the Buffalo Courier-Express. William J. Conners, owner of the Buffalo Courier, was the person instrumental in bringing the two papers together. During the 19th century numerous newspapers existed. The Buffalo Courier-Express merger can trace its roots back to 1828. From 1828 to 1926, twelve separate newspapers merged during those years, ending with the formation of the Buffalo Courier-Express; quite a chronology for the history of this newspaper. The Courier and then the Courier-Express took a liberal position on all issues. In the late 1970s, the Courier-Express was sold to Cowles-Media, an out of state publisher. Cowles Media decided to close the paper in 1982. The September 19, 1982 issue was the last one for this very popular Buffalo newspaper. Cowles Media donated the library to the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society and Buffalo State College.
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David Lampe Poetry Collection [c. 1960-present] The David Lampe Collection of archival and book material represents the first holdings obtained under the E. H. Butler Library's "Special Collections of Special Professors" initiative. Dr. Lampe, a native Iowan, earned his PhD from the University of Nebraska, and taught at Buffalo State College for over 35 years. His areas of interest and research range from Medieval to modern poetry. Dr. Lampe's subject expertise is reflected in his donation to E. H. Butler Library. The collection is comprised of two parts, representing Dr. Lampe’s collection of monographs as well as correspondence/subject files.
Dr. Fraser Drew - Langston Hughes Correspondence [1950-1967] Langston Hughes was born on 1 February 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, and died on 22 May 1967. His maternal grandmother raised him in Lawrence, Kansas. According to Hughes, his grandmother inspired him to write, as she was a natural orator of black traditions. After his grandmother’s death, Hughes returned to his mother in Cleveland, Ohio, until he graduated from high school in 1920. In 1921, Hughes enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University, but left after one year. For a few years, Hughes worked various blue- and white-collar jobs while he spent most of his time writing, as that was his passion. Langston Hughes began to publish numerous poems, and by 1926, he published his first book of poems, The Weary Blues. In 1929, he graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Conscious of the importance of race relations and politics, Hughes published The Way of White Folks in 1934. The spectrum of Hughes’ writing grew as the years went by. He began to write many politically inspired poems, plays (such as Mulatto and Don’t You Want to Be Free?), and autobiographies. Hughes also wrote books that supported his consciousness of race relations like Jim Crow’s Last Stand and Montage of a Dream Deferred. Writing was Hughes’ main contribution to black history, though he also served as a social activist. He traveled the world, expanding his horizons on black issues and became well-known as a radical democrat. Langston Hughes faced many obstacles during the prime years of his publications as his critics viewed him as being too extreme. He was able to hurdle these obstacles as he persevered. Today, Hughes is remembered as an essential figure in black history. He had the ability of writing the relevant problems within that community at a time when the American public consciously ignored such issues. Langston Hughes devoted his time to writing poems, novels, dramas, and numerous articles. Fraser Drew had the opportunity to keep in contact with Hughes during the peak of his career. Dr. Drew was a professor of English at SUNY Buffalo State for decades; he retired in 1983. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University at Buffalo in 1952. His interest in African American literature motivated him to follow Langston Hughes’ career closely, and this led him to reach out to Hughes directly. Hughes responded by keeping open communication with Drew for a number of years. The SUNY Buffalo State Archives and Special Collections contains the correspondence between Drew and Hughes.
Lit-Mus Study Club (of Buffalo) Papers [1930s-1990s] The Lit-Mus - short for "Literary" and "Music" -- Study Club is an on-going African American women's study group that originated in Buffalo in 1922. It was founded by Florence Jackson Lee, Amelia Anderson and Ora Lewis Anderson in the hopes of fulfilling its mission to study topics in the arts, humanities and social sciences that would enable the club's women to improve their community. It became part of the Empire State Federation of Women's Clubs as well as an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. In 1928, the Study Club introduced Negro History Week to Buffalo. The Club maintains a scholarship fund that has assisted many local students with their education and supports many local charities. It has also enabled the community to have greater access to African American literature and has donated books to libraries and schools. In order to preserve the records of the Club, it was deemed advisable to house them in the Special Collections area of the Buffalo State College's E.H. Butler Library.
Muriel Merritt Poetry Collection [1972-1974]
Sallie G. Randolph Presidential Biographies and Literature Collection [c. 1984-1991] A frequent speaker at programs for lawyers and writers, Sallie Randolph has taught law, writing and journalism in a variety of educational settings. At UB Law School she developed a copyright compliance and directed a publishing and copyright clinic. She has also taught media law for journalism majors at Buffalo State College and professional writing for numerous institutions. Sallie Randolph is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County and a former chair of its Intellectual Property Committee. She is also a member of the New York State Bar Association, and belongs to several IP-related sections and committees. Writers’ organizations of which she is a member include the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Biographers International Organization (BIO), the Authors Guild, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Romance Writers of America (RWA) and several others. She has served on the ASJA Board of Directors and as a former chair of its Legal Resources Committee. Select publications include being the lead author of Author Law A to Z (Capital Books, 2005) and co-contributor of the legal chapter for The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business, for Nonfiction Writers of All Experience Levels, edited by Timothy Harper (St. Martin's Griffin, 2003).
Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain Family Papers Collection (reproductions) [1884-1908] Samuel Langhorne Clemens wrote under the pen name of Mark Twain and authored several seminal pieces of American literature including, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain lived in Buffalo, NY from 1869 to 1871 and owned a stake in the Buffalo Express newspaper. Jane Lampton “Jean” Clemens, his youngest of three daughters, was born in Hartford, CT and suffered epilepsy from age fifteen until her death at the age of twenty-nine.
Lydia Fish Folklore Collection

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Contact an Archivist

Daniel DiLandro, MLS, CA
College Archivist & Special Collections Librarian
Email: dilanddm@buffalostate.edu
Phone: 716-878-6308

Hope Dunbar, MLIS, JD
Special Collections Archivist
Email: dunbarhm@buffalostate.edu
Phone: 716-878-4790