Robert S. Jones papers, 1921-2001

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SC-39

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is primarily made up of drafts and manuscript versions of Robert S. Jones' novels Force of Gravity (Viking, 1991) and Walking on Air (Houghton Mifflin, 1995). Also included are notebooks and date books, correspondence, newspapers and magazines, scrapbooks, loose photographs, and other miscellaneous items.

Dates

1921-2001

Creator

Jones, R. S. (Robert S.) (Person)

Biographical Note

Robert S. Jones was American novelist and editor. He was born in Santa Monica, CA on March 3, 1954. He graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1976 and went on to receive a master's degree from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. After graduate school Jones taught courses in Women's Studies, Art History, and Literature part-time at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and in a college program for inmates at Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. At the height of the AIDS crisis in the U.S., Jones was the media coordinator of the New York chapter of the ACT UP AIDS Awareness Organization. Jones began work as an editor at HarperCollins (then Harper & Row) in 1985, and at the time of his death in 2001 was Editor in Chief. In addition to his work as an editor, Jones published two novels: Force of Gravity (Viking, 1991) and Walking on Air (Houghton Mifflin, 1995). Jones' also wrote a number of short stories which appeared in "Q" and in "Best American Gay Fiction 1996." He died in New York, NY on August 13, 2001.

Extent

13 Linear Feet (19 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series:

Force of Gravity
Walking on Air
Notes and Correspondence
Newspaper Clippings
Miscellaneous Items
Additional Materials Received in January 2016

Location

Box 1: Archives Storage, Range 22A, Section 5

Boxes 2-3: Archives Storage, Range 22B, Section 5

Box 4: Archives Office, Section 7

Boxes 5-6: Archives Storage, Range 21A, Section 1

Boxes 7-15: Archives Storage, Range 21B, Section 1

Boxes 16-19: Archives Office, Section 7

Provenance

This collection was donated to the Warren Hunting Smith Library by Lewis Brindle in 2006. Additional materials in the last series were donated by Lewis Brindle in 2016.

Subjects

American fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Fiction -- Authorship Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Force of Gravity Subject Source: Local sources
Manuscript preparation (Authorship) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scrapbooks Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Walking on Air Subject Source: Local sources