Lynne Tillman Papers
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Abstract
Lynne Tillman (born 1947) is an influential writer, filmmaker, and art critic in the downtown New York art scene. The Lynne Tillman Papers (1901-2023) includes Tillman's correspondence with other artists and writers; materials relating to the creation and publication of her books; financial papers; various publications including Tillman's short stories, articles, and interviews; and educational materials. This collections places Tillman's work within the context of her education, personal, and professional relationships.
Biographical Note
Lynne Tillman (born 1947) is a writer, filmmaker, and cultural critic. Tillman grew up in Woodmere, Long Island and came to New York City to study painting, literature and history at Hunter College. After graduating, she lived in Europe for six years, moving between London and Amsterdam and taking part in the avant-garde film scene as a filmmaker and organizer. While in Europe, she compiled a collection of writings by Americans living abroad. This book, titled Americans Abroad, was never published despite having two publishers and numerous noteworthy contributors including Paul Bowles and William Burroughs. While abroad, Tillman also wrote for the Dutch sex magazine Suck, and began writing her short novel, Weird Fucks.
Tillman returned to New York in 1976 and continued making films. In 1984, Tillman and Sheila McLaughlin released Committed, their film about Frances Farmer's life, family relationships, and institutionalization. The film received partial funding from the Jerome Foundation and Channel Four (London,) and was screened at numerous film festivals, including its premier at the Berlin Film Festival. Tillman also wrote a screenplay adaptation of Jane Bowles's novel, Two Serious Ladies. Although she obtained funding to make the film and permission from Paul Bowles, a conflict with a European publisher over the copyright prevented the project's completion.
In between filmmaking and working, Lynne Tillman co-edited "Paranoids Anonymous Newsletter" (P.A.N.), an experimental literary newspaper that ran for three editions and began writing her first published book, Haunted Houses (1987). The novel follows three young women coming of age in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to her writing and filmmaking, between 1981 and 1987, Lynne Tillman completed the required coursework for a doctorate in sociology at CUNY Graduate School. This coursework enabled Tillman to explore topics and texts that she felt were underrepresented in her education.
Lynne Tillman formed rich relationships with not just her contemporaries, but also with artists and writers from preceding creative paradigms including the surrealists Meret Oppenheim, Paul Bowles, and Charles Henri Ford. These relationships often began as creative opportunities for Tillman. In the case of Meret Oppenheim, Tillman conducted, edited, and published an interview with the artist about women and surrealism. With Paul Bowles, she requested some unpublished material for the Americans Abroad anthology. This request and her interest in his and his wife Jane's work lead to a long correspondence and eventual meeting in Tangiers. In each case, the relationships provided inspiration and guidance.
Tillman also drew from her experiences, professional, and personal networks to mentor emerging artists. She has been a creative writing instructor at Bard, Princeton, and SUNY Albany.
Bibliography
Madame Realism. Illustrated by Kiki Smith. New York: The Print Center, 1984.
Haunted Houses. New York: Poseidon Press, 1987.
Absence Makes the Heart. London: Serpent's Tail, 1990
Motion Sickness. New York: Poseidon Press, 1991
Cast In Doubt. New York: Poseidon Press. 1992.
The Madame Realism Complex. New York: Semiotexte, 1992.
Living with Contradictions. Drawings by Jane Dickson. Buffalo, NY: Hallwalls, 1993.
Haunted Houses. New York: High Risk Books, 1995.
The Velvet Years: Warhol's Factory 1965-1967. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995.
The Broad Picture: Essays 1987-1996. New York: Serpent's Tail, 1997.
No Lease on Life: A Novel. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Bookstore: The Life and Times of Jeannette Watson and Books and Co. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
This is Not It: Stories. New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 2002.
American Genius: A Comedy. New York: Soft Skull Press, 2006
Arrangement
Folders are genreally arranged alphabetically. The collection is arranged into twenty-one series.
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Subject Files
- Series III: Administrative Materials
- Series IV: Committed (1984)
- Series V: Haunted Houses (1987)
- Series VI: Motion Sickness (1991)
- Series VII: Cast in Doubt (1992)
- Series VIII: The Velvet Years (1995)
- Series IX: No Lease on Life (1997)
- Series X: Bookstore (1999)
- Series XI: American Genius (2006)
- Series XII: Essay and Story Collections
- Series XIII: Other Works and Activities
- Series XIV: Education
- Series XV: Printed Material
- Series XVI: Posters
- Series XVII: Film
- Series XVIII: Video
- Series XIX: Audio
- Series XX: Computer Disks
- Series XXI: Objects
Scope and Contents
The Lynne Tillman Papers (1901-2023) document Lynne Tillman's professional career as a novelist, filmmaker and cultural critic. The collection represents her creative process including the development of written and film works through subject files, notes, drafts, and page proofs. Correspondence with artists, writers, and intellectuals comprises another significant component of the collection. In addition to personal and family relationships, these materials document Lynne Tillman's relationships with surrealist artists including Meret Oppenheim, Paul Bowles, and Charles Henri Ford, as well as her collegial and mentoring relationships with artists such as Susan Hiller, Jessica Stockholder, and Martha Wilson among others. A small part of the collection documents Lynne Tillman's education through high-school year books and course materials. While the collection materials span the years 1901 to 2023, the bulk of the material represents the years 1984-2006.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Lynne Tillman Papers; MSS 180; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was acquired by NYU in 2006, with accretions in 2012, 2013, April 2021, December 2021, and April 2024. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 2006.180, 2012.180, 2013.180, 2021.011, 2021.039 and 2024.020.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Separated Materials
Lynne Tillman's book library has been separated from the archival materials. Some of these materials have been catalogued into Fales Special Collections holdings. These items can be located through Bobcat, NYU's online catalog, by searching for "Lynne Tillman". Contact Fales Library staff (fales.library@nyu.edu) to view an inventory of all the separated materials.
Bibliography
Lynne Tillman has published widely. In addition to her novels and non-fiction books she is the author of numerous stories and essays published in anthologies, magazines, catalogues, and as collections of her work. Below is a list of her fiction and non-fiction books.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2024 are unknown.
In 2024 an accretion was added (boxes 118-129). Materials were kept in the order in which they were received from the donor and remained in their original folders, with loose material foldered when necessary. Files were reboxed from record cartons into manuscipt boxes, and a large photograph was unrolled and placed in an oversize flat folder and stored in a shared oversize flat box.
In June 2024, materials from Box 4 in Series I Subseries A was rehoused into three manuscript boxes (4, 130, 131). Box and folder numbers were updated.