BIGGERS, JOHN THOMAS, 1924-2001.
John Biggers papers > Writings

Collection Stored Off-Site

All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval.

Series 6
Writings, 1954-1998
Boxes 58-62, OP5

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of writings both by John Biggers and by others including Olive Theisen who wrote extensively on John Biggers. The writings by Biggers consist of notes and corrected typescript drafts of two of Biggers books, Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa (1979) and Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience (1978). Also included in Biggers writings are lectures, abstracts, and eulogies. Writings by others consist of works written about Biggers and his artwork, as well as unpublished essays and typescripts collected and read by Biggers. Of particular note are three typescript editions of Olive Theisen's The Murals of John Thomas Biggers: American Muralist, African-American Artist, an extensive analysis of Biggers murals. In later published editions, Biggers is listed as a co-author of this work but in the finding aid, the work is described only under Theisen for continuity. There is also a typescript for Tales of Aunt Dicy, by J. Mason Brewer, an annotated collection of Biggers' drawings of folk tales, as well as other essays on Biggers, including "John Biggers: American Muralist." Also included by other authors are manuscripts of collected poetry, short stories, student essays, lectures, and an unidentified typescript on the Texas State University Arts Center.

Arrangement Note

Arranged alphabetically by author of work.

Writings by Biggers
Box Folder Content
58 1 Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa, notes, 1957
58 2 Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa, promotional booklet, undated
58 3 Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa, typescript selections, undated
58 4 "The Beauty of Elemental Forms," undated
58 5 Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience, 1978
58 6 Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience, Presenting the Art of Biggers, Simms, and their Students, corrected typescript drafts, 1978
58 7 Book of Matthew [with handwritten notes by John Biggers], undated
58 8 "In Memory of Dr. Gus Nicholson," undated
58 9 "Introduction," undated
58 10 "Jubilee," undated
58 11 "Man and the World of Science" (co-authored with Carroll H. Simms and Joseph L. Mack), March 1957
58 12 "The Negro Woman in American Life and Education: A Mural Presentation," dissertation abstract, 1954
58 13 Notebooks, undated [1 of 3]
58 14 Notebooks, undated [2 of 3]
58 15 Notebooks, undated [3 of 3]
58 16 "The Sacred Mother-Deity Image of the African Diaspora in the Atlantic Civilization," undated
58 17 "Uncle Henry and the 'Dog' Spirit," undated
58 18 Unidentified writings [Africa], undated
Writings by others
59 1 "Ancestor's Roots," undated
59 2 Angelou, Maya, "Our Grandmothers," undated
59 3 "The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room, Resource Portfolio," undated
59 4 Artists Series: An interview with John Biggers, 1983
59 5 Atkinson, Jourdan, "Willie Ding Popper and the Gallinipper," undated
59 6 Atkinson, M., "Southern Voices," undated
59 7 Atkinson, M., "Wisteria," undated
59 8 Barnes, Marian E., "Black Man," October 1999
59 9 Book proposal, unidentified, undated
59 10 Brew, Lidia, biography of Edith Irby Jones, undated
59 11 Brewer, J. Mason, Tales of Aunt Dicy: John Biggers' Drawings for the Folktale, typescript, undated Brewer, J. Mason,
59 12 "Brief statement of purpose of study," undated
59 13 Carter, Mel, "Narrative Statement," undated
59 14 Chandler, Robin M., "Facing Karnak," March 1990
59 15 "Creativity: The Black Experience in Art Literature Music," 1980
59 16 "Dispelling the Distorted Images in the Great House," undated
59 17 "Earthy Women," July 8, 1993
59 18 Elekam [?], Emmanuel C., bibliography, undated
59 19 Eulogy for John Biggers, 2001
59 20 Fax, Elton C., "Thunderbolts in Color and Stone," undated
59 21 Ferman, Dave, "The Poetic Tradition of Osceola Mays, Her Evocation Will Not Be Forgotten," 1986
59 22 Gaither, Edmund Barry, Nubia: Ancient Kingdoms of Africa, undated Gaither, Edmund Barry,
59 23 Gaither, Edmund Barry, Revelation, undated
59 24 Galloway, Robert E., Unity of Man with Nature through African Sculptured Form, book proposal, undated Galloway, Robert E.,
59 25 Gloster, Jesse Edward, Economics of Minority Groups, preface and table of contents, undated Gloster, Jesse Edward,
59 26 Greene, Alison de Lima, "John Biggers: American Muralist," 1994
59 27 Govenar, Alan, "The Life and Poems of Osceola Mays," 1986
59 28 Hales family tree, undated
59 29 Hales-Moore Family Journal, July 1992
59 30 Hales, Haywood and Emma Moore, family journal, 1988
60 1 Hazard, Peggy, "Harriet Powers: Afro-American Quiltmaker," 1990
60 2 "The History of a Family Quilt," undated
60 3 Holloway, Anita, "Turtles and Birds," Animals in Two Murals by John Biggers," 1998
60 4 Ikedu, Daisaku, SGI President, 1989, undated
60 5 Interview with Christia Adair, undated
60 6 John Biggers: A Cultural Legacy, retrospective from 1950-1992
60 7 King, Richard D., The Black Dot, Part III, June 1985 King, Richard D.,
60 8 Lawrence, Bette Ann D., poems, 1994
60 9 Lectures on Bible, 1992
60 10 Lee, Grace Watts, poems, 1990, 1995, undated
60 11 Lee, Jason, "John Biggers," 1998
60 12 LeFalle-Collins, Lizzetta, "African-American Modernist and the Mexican School," 1995
60 13 Lincoln light excerpts 1945-1950, Lincoln Academy, 1977
60 14 Mazrui, Ali A., "Who was Albert Schweitzer?: An African Perspective," undated
60 15 McCurry, Howard, Dead Aim Backwards, 1980 McCurry, Howard,
60 16 Moore, Edmund Timothy, "A Contemporary Symbolic Interpretation of Traditional and Modern Playing cards," thesis, 1976
60 17 Moxley, Mary Elta, unidentified essay, 1991
60 18 Mullen, Harryette Romell, Gender and the Subjugated Body: Readings of Race, Subjectivity, and Difference in the Construction of Slave Narratives, March 1990 Mullen, Harryette Romell,
60 19 Mundy, Rawls, "Ruth Russell Williams Recaptures Black Folk Art," undated
60 20 "Mural: Salt Marsh," undated
60 21 Murimirwa, Tichafa Kutwano, "The False Ideology of Objectivity, the Failed Consciousness of Duality, and the Death of Rationality in the West, an Introduction," 1995
60 22 Murimirwa, Tichafa Kutwano, "'Greek Philosophy': The African Origin of Western Philosophy, An Introduction," June 1994
60 23 Nassaj, Seyed Jafar, "Afro-American Art and Culture," 1981
61 1 "The Negro Texan�to 1900," Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, Texas), 1974
61 2 "Next Generation: Southern Black Aesthetic," 1991
61 3 "Personal Accountability," lecture, 1990
61 4 Poems by Students at Ryan Middle School, Artist-in-Residence Program, undated
61 5 Popoff, Irmis B., The Enneagramma of the Man of Unity, September 19, 1981 Popoff, Irmis B.,
61 6 Prather, Patricia Smith, "John Biggers' Gift to Posterity," undated
61 7 Rodgers, Kenneth G., "John Biggers: Probing the Family of Man," undated
61 8 Scippio, Annette, "The Contemplation of Nature by the Contemporary Artist, John Biggers, as Depicted in His Mural 'Origins'," 1990
61 9 Scippio, Annette, "A Vision for America through 'Ascension' A Mural by John Biggers," 1993
61 10 "The Shamans Coltrane & Matisse: The Will to Love," undated
61 11 Short stories, undated
61 12 Stewart, Ruth, speech for dedication of the John Biggers Art Center Assembly, 1995
61 13 "Stimulating Creativity," undated
61 14 Student reactions to Biggers murals, 1993
61 15 "The Teacher's Guide to John Biggers' Journeys (a romance)," undated
61 16 Theisen, Olive Jensen, John Thomas Biggers; American Muralist, African-American Artist, 1993 Theisen, Olive Jensen,
61 17 Theisen, Olive Jensen, John Thomas Biggers; American Muralist, African-American Artist, draft with handwritten comments, undated
61 18 Theisen, Olive Jensen, The Murals of John Thomas Biggers; American Muralist, African-American Artist, 1994
62 19 Theisen, Olive Jensen and John Thomas Biggers, The Murals of John Thomas Biggers; American Muralist, African-American Artist, 1995
62 1 Thesis on black conservatism, undated
62 2 Thompson, William Irwin, "The Edge of History" and "The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light," undated
62 3 Torry, Frank, "Once More," undated
62 4 "Two Poems for Karen," Holy Week, 1995
62 5 Unidentified biography of John Biggers, undated
62 6 Unidentified manuscript [Texas Southern University Arts Center], undated
62 7 Unidentified typescript [Texas Southern University Arts Center], undated
62 8 Unidentified typescript on John Biggers, undated
62 9 Wade, Melvin, "'Justin' to the Change: Traditional Agricultural Practices among Freed Black Farmers in East Texas, 1865-1900," 1986
OP5 2 Wardlaw, Alvia J., The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room, corrected proofs, 1998 Wardlaw, Alvia J.,
62 10 Wardlaw, Alvia J., Review of Black Art in Houston, 1985
62 11 Weems, John Edward, TSU Art Book, Errata #1, 1977
62 12 Weisman, Donald L., introduction to Black Art in Houston, undated Weisman, Donald L., introduction to
62 13 "Welcome to Leopoldville," September 1928
62 14 "When a Child Remembers," poem, 1968
62 15 Williams, Susanna M., "The Black Woman in the Art of John Biggers," 1996
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