James Ragan papers
Scope and Content
The James Ragan papers span from 1970 to 2000 and document Ragan's literary career. The collection includes screenplays, original poetry, film and television scripts, photographs, books and journals, video and audio tapes, and correspondence. The collection is organized into the main accession and five supplements.
The photographs are taken by him at the many readings and seminars in which he participated. The audio and video recordings are of his poetry readings, interviews, family events.
Dates
- Creation: 1970-2000
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Ohio University Libraries.
Conditions Governing Use
Dr. James Ragan owns the property rights to this collection.
Dr. Ragan has retained such copyrights and/or literary rights as he possesses in this collection. Consideration of these and all other copyrights and possible literary rights is the responsibility of the researcher and publisher.
Biography of James Ragan
Poet James Ragan studied at St. Vincent College before attending Ohio University (OU) to receive his M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1971) in English Literature. He later served on the OU faculty as an assistant professor of English and creative writing. Ragan then acted as the director of the University of Southern California's Professional Writing Program for 25 years. He has read his poetry for five heads of state, including Mikhail Gorbachev and Czech President Vaclav Havel. In 1985 he was one of three Americans, including Robert Bly and Bob Dylan, invited to perform at the First International Poetry Festival in Moscow. Ragan has performed his poetry all over the world, including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok, London, Paris, Athens, Stockholm, Sofia, Warsaw, Moscow, Prague, and Sao Paulo. Ragan has also written for the stage and film, and worked in various production capacities on movies.
Extent
24.5 cubic feet
Abstract
Screenplays, original poetry, film and television scripts, photographs, books and journals, video and audio tapes, and correspondence.
Statement of Arrangement
This collection is organized in the following way:
- Original Accession
- First Supplemental
- Second Supplemental
- Third Supplemental
- Fourth Supplemental
- Fifth Supplemental
- Sixth Supplemental
Acquisition Information
The Ohio University Archives received the collection as a deposit from Dr. Ragan in September 1981. Supplement 1 was added in 1987, Supplement 2 was added in 1992 and 1994, Supplement 3 was added in August 1996, Supplement 4 was added in ______ and Supplement 5 was added in 2015.
Existence and Location of Copies
Ohio University will entertain requests to photocopy reasonable amounts of material from the collection for the convenience of individual researchers.
Description Note
Original, legacy collection inventories may contain inaccuracies or be incomplete. Collection descriptions may change or be updated as they are verified. Please contact Mahn Center staff if you note any errors or discrepancies.
Subject
- Ragan, James, 1944- (Person)
- Ohio University -- Faculty -- 20th century (Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for the James Ragan papers
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Ohio University Archives staff.
- Date
- 2020
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
- Sponsor
- The finding aid was converted into EAD with funding support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Revision Statements
- 5 January 2024: Subjects and other notes added from ALICE MARC records and Mahn Center Microsoft Office finding aids by Ohio University Libraries Metadata Services Department Python scripts.
Repository Details
Part of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections Repository
