Women Writing Women's Lives Records
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Abstract
Women Writing Women's Lives is a seminar of women authors, poets, academics, and journalists engaged in writing biographies and memoirs. The Women Writing Women's Lives Records (1989-2023) consists of administrative files, subject files, notes and lectures from the group's monthly meetings, and oral history interviews of group members.
Historical Note
Founded in 1990, Women Writing Women's Lives (WWWL) is an ongoing seminar of about sixty women engaged in writing book-length biographies and memoirs. Its members include academics, poets, journalists and novelists. WWWL is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Women and Society and the Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Monthly meetings, planned by a Steering Committee, are arranged in order for members to present work for discussion, share ideas, and hear about the work of outside presenters.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged into four series:
Series I: Administrative and Committee Records, arranged alphabetically;
Series II: Claire Morris Stern Records, arranged in the order of provenance;
Series III: Session Records, arranged chronologically; and
Series IV: Oral History Interviews, arranged alphabetically by the interviewee's last name.
Scope and Contents
The Women Writing Women's Lives Records (1989-2023) contain the materials of Women Writing Women's Lives (WWWL) and its members. The collection is primarily comprised of proceedings from monthly meetings, but also includes materials such as membership questionnaires, correspondence, photographs of members and meetings, and subject files. The collection also contains correspondence, ephemera, images, and video recordings from Women Writing Women's Lives events including anniversary celebrations and speaking events.
The collection also contians the administrative files of Claire Morris Stern, who was a founding member of the organization and served as the chair of the Archive Committee. Her files contain correspondence, photographs, and materials related to special events including the Women Writing Women's Lives 20th Anniversary celebration.
Oral history interviews recorded on audiocassettes and audio CDs are held in this collection, along with paper transcripts and biographical notes. Electronic Records include digital audio files of each interview. These interviews were conducted by other WWWL members and Tamiment director Michael Nash between 2006 and 2009. They discuss topics such as the founding of the writing seminar, and the ways in which participation in WWWL shaped these authors' careers as biographers.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Places
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Women Writings Women's Lives were transferred to New York University in 2004 by Katherine Chamberlain. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Women Writing Women's Lives Records; TAM 316; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Women Writing Women's Lives donated a collection of their records in 2004. In 2008, a donation of 57 photographs was made by Claire Morris Stern, chair of the WWWL Archives Committee. An additional donation was made by Norah Chase in 2010. In 2013 Claire Morris Stern sent a donation of her personal files, which were added to this collection. An additional three boxes of WWWL's records from 2002-2015 were donated in 2015. In 2019 an accretion of administrative and seminar documents from 2017-2018 were donated by Julia Van Haaften. Van Haaften donated a similar accretion of more recent administrative records in June 2025. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2004.001, 2004.007, 2004.008, NPA.2008.045, NPA.2009.027, 2013.044, 2015.038, 2017.073, 2019.035, and 2025.059.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access CDs for audiovisual materials in the collection are available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only.
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
Prior to processing in 2025, several duplicate oral history transcripts were removed from this collection and returned to donors.
Separated Materials
Materials related to the donation of Women Writing Women's Lives Records to Tamiment have been removed from the collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Photographs separated from this collection during initial processing and from new accessions were established as a separate collection, the Women Writing Women's Lives Photographs (PHOTOS 266). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the Women Writing Women's Lives Records (TAM 316).
Oral history interviews separated from this collection during initial processing and from new accessions were established as a separate collection, the Women Writing Women's Lives Oral History Collection (OH 059). In 2025, the oral history collection was reincorporated into the Women Writing Women's Lives Records (TAM 316) as Series IV.
In 2019, an accretion of administrative and seminar documents were intellectually incorporated into Series I and III in accordance with the collection's existing arrangement structure. In June 2025, an accretion of administrative records were intellectually incorporated into Series I in Boxes 8-9.
In 2025, 16 CD-Rs were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged by an archivist. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.
In 2025, 14 access discs with duplicative content were discarded.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I: Administrative and Committee Files, 1989-2023, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Contents
Series I: Administrative and Committee Files (1989-2023) consist of administrative records such as membership applications and questionnaires, financial records, and minutes of the Steering Committee meetings. Clipping and subject files on topics related to women's biography and biographers and photographs of members at a 2008 meeting (where Salli Bingham was the guest speaker) are also included.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Anniversary Programs - 5th Anniversary Symposium, Mar 17, 1995, inclusive
Anniversary Programs - 10th Anniversary Conference, Dec 8, 2000
Correspondence and ephemera
Event recording -- Tape 1
Event recording -- Tape 2
Event recording -- Tape 3
Event recording -- Tape 4
Anniversary Programs - 15th Anniversary Celebration, Oct 28, 2005, inclusive
Anniversary Programs - 20th Anniversary Program - Tamiment, May 3, 2010, inclusive
Anniversary Program -- 25th Anniversary Conference, 2015
Anniversary Programs -- 30th Anniversary Conference, 2020
Annual Survey Results (Samples), 2002-2003, inclusive
Archives Committee, 2003-2008, inclusive
Articles (mostly on Women and Biography), 1990-1997, inclusive
Attendance Lists, undated , 1993, inclusive
Attendance Lists and Seating Charts, 2002-2011, inclusive
Attendance Lists, 2020
Bernhardt, Debra: Memorial, May 1, 2001
Bernikow, Louise, 1996, inclusive
Book Covers of Publications by Members, undated
Brochure - Old and New Versions, 2002-2007, inclusive
Conference, 10th Anniversary, Dec 8, 2000
Contact Lists, 1997-2002, inclusive
Contact Lists, 1997-2013, inclusive
Cook, Blanche Wiesen, 1995, inclusive
Correspondence, 1993-2000, inclusive
Correspondence, 2001-2003, inclusive
Correspondence, 2002-2011, inclusive
Correspondence, 2010-2014, inclusive
Cover Letter and Questionnaire Drafts for Mailing, Aug 2002, inclusive
Dona Munker New Chair Women Writing Women's Lives (CD containing 48 images and 2 videos), Fall 2011, inclusive
Finances, 1991-2001, inclusive
Floppy Discs (administrative files), 1996 , 2002, inclusive
Flyers, 1995, inclusive
Grant Proposal (New York Council for the Humanities), 2000-2001, inclusive
Gail Hornstein Speaking to the Women Writing Women's Lives Seminar on the subject of Agnes's Jacket (CD containing 1hr 50 minute audio recording), May 4, 2009, inclusive
History and Origins (misc. notes on co-founders)
Issues/Controversies, 2009, inclusive
Issues: "France", 2006, inclusive
Issues: "Ideologically Skewed", 2003, inclusive
Issues: "Intimidated", 2002, inclusive
Issues: "Plagiarism (as it affected B. Wineapple and Carolyn Burke)", 2005, inclusive
Jane Cumberbatch - Joseph F. Murphy Institute Liaison to WWWL, 2002-2015, inclusive
Mary Ann Caws on CUNY GC President Frances Horowitz's "Woman to Woman" (VHS), Dec 8, 2000, inclusive
Member Obituaries, 2017-2018, inclusive
Membership Applications (not comprehensive), 1996-2011, inclusive
Membership Applications: A-J, 1992-2001, inclusive
Membership Applications: K-M, 1992-2001, inclusive
Membership Applications: N-Z, 1993-2002, inclusive
Membership Directory, 2003-2004, inclusive
Membership: General, 1992-2002, inclusive
Membership: General, 2020
Membership Lists, 1991-1998, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1994, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1995, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1996, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1997, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1998, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 1999, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 2000, inclusive
Membership Questionnaire, 2001, inclusive
Memoir Course (never materialized), 2007, inclusive
Menus, undated, inclusive
Mission Statement, 2002, inclusive
Mission Statement, Guidelines, Group Archives, 1995-2004, inclusive
News Articles, 1994-1998, inclusive
Notes: General, 1991-1995, inclusive
Obituary/Memorial Material, 2001-2003, 2012, inclusive
Outreach Committee, 2004-2007, inclusive
Photographs from Meeting, May 5, 2008, inclusive
Photographs of Members, undated
Photographs of members, 2005-04-05
Policies and Procedures, 2011-2014, inclusive
Recording of Meeting (on CD), May 4, 2009, inclusive
Restaurants, 2004-2006, inclusive
Sample Form Letters, 2001-2003, inclusive
Sign-in Sheets, 2017-2019, inclusive
Special Events, 2011-2014, inclusive
Special Reports, 2011-2014, inclusive
Steering Committee Business, 1991-1995, inclusive
Steering Committee Business, 1996-1999, inclusive
Steering Committee Business, 2000-2003, inclusive
Steering Committee Correspondence, 1991-1995, inclusive
Steering Committee Correspondence, 1996-1999, inclusive
Steering Committee Correspondence, 2000-2006, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2010-2011, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2011-2012, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2012-2013, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2013-2014, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2014-2015, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2015-2016, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2016-2017, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2017-2018, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2018-2019, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2019-2020, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2020-2021, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2021-2022, inclusive
Steering Committee Documents, 2022-2023, inclusive
Steering Committee Meetings, 2006-2014, inclusive
Steering Committee Notes, undated, inclusive
Sue Shapiro -- Notes and Correspondence, 1992-1994, inclusive
Summer Survey, 2011-2014, inclusive
Tamiment Women's Lives (2 CDs containing 1hour 24 minute recording), May 3, 2010, inclusive
Topics, 1996-2001, inclusive
Women Writing Women's Lives Event Photographs, 2004-2007, inclusive
Writings on Biography: General, 1989-1998, inclusive
Series II: Claire Morris Stern Records, 1990-2010, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
Series II: Claire Morris Stern Records (1990-2010) contains the administrative files of Claire Morris Stern, who was a founding member of the organization and served as the chair of the Archive Committee. Her files contain correspondence, photographs, and materials related to special events including the Women Writing Women's Lives 20th Anniversary celebration.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in the order of provenance.
Redstockings, 2010
Early Organizational Records: Materials Inventory, 1992-2001, inclusive
Early Records, 1990, inclusive
Meeting Photographs, May 3, 2010, inclusive
20th Anniversary Meeting Materials, 2010, inclusive
Women Writing Women's Lives Brochures, undated
Member Publications, 2010, inclusive
Bingham Correspondence, 2007, inclusive
20th Anniversary Celebration, May 3, 2010, inclusive
10th and 20th Anniversary Materials, 2000, 2010, inclusive
Correspondence re: Meetings and Speakers, 2006-2007, inclusive
Correspondence re: Interviews with Founders, 2005-2007, inclusive
Series III: Session Records, 1991-2009, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series III: Session Records (1991-2009) contains announcements, attendance sheets, lectures and notes from the organization's monthly meetings. Names of lecturers are indicated in the folder title.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically with records grouped together by content.
List of Sessions by Year, 2002-2011
Session Records (Eunice Lipton), Oct 14, 1991
Session Records (Liz Wood), Nov 11, 1991
Session Records (Louise DeSalvo and Sue A. Shapiro), Dec 9, 1991
Session Records (Anne Higonnet and Nancy Mowll Mathews), Feb 10, 1992
Session Records (Blanche Wiesen Cook), Mar 8, 1992
Session Records (Sallie Bingham, Ellen Chessler, Nancy Rubin), Apr 13, 1992
Session Records (Shereen Brysac, Lisa Duggan, and Francine du Plessix Gray), May 11, 1992
Session Records (Ellen Chessler and Gloria Ehrlich), Oct 5, 1992
Session Records (Bell Chevigny), Nov 9, 1992
Session Records (Norah Chase and Nell Painter), Dec 14, 1992
Session Records (Deirdre Bair, Blanche Wiesen Cook, Francine du Plessix Gray and Aileen Ward), Jan 11, 1993
Session Records (Christie McDonald and Nancy Pittman), Feb 8, 1993
Session Records (Deirdre Bair, Carole Klein, and Louise DeSalvo), Mar 8, 1993
Session Records (Sharen O'Brien, and Joan Weimer), Apr 12, 1993
Session Records (Gail Hornstein), May 10, 1993
Session Records (Sallie Bingham, Dorothy Helly, and Nell Painter), Oct 4, 1993
Session Records (Joan Hendrick and Martha Saxton), Nov 8, 1993
Session Records (Joanne Grant and Grace Hechinger), Dec 13, 1993
Session Records (Nancy Kline and Brooke Kroegar), Jan 10, 1994
Session Records (Deborah Baker and Thadious Davis), Feb 14, 1994
Session Records (Harriet Hyman Alonso and Betty Caroli), Mar 14, 1994
Session Records (Barbara Lachman and Nancy Rubin), Apr 11, 1994
Session Records (Deirdre Bair, Blanche Wiesen Cook, and Louise DeSalvo), May 9, 1994
Session Records (Carole Klein and Joan Mellon), Oct 3, 1994
Session Records (Harriet Hyman Alonso, Patricia Bosworth), Nov 14, 1994
Session Records (Nell Painter and Brenda Silver), Dec 5, 1994
Session Records (Louise DeSalvo and Carol Stanger), Feb 6, 1995
Session Records (Beth Diefendorf and Glenn Shafer), Mar 13, 1995
Session Records (Meena Alexander and Paula Giddings), Apr 10, 1995
Session Records (Kathleen Brady and Honor Moore), May 8, 1995
Session Records (Jill Johnston and Suzannah Lessard), Oct 2, 1995
Session Records (Blanche Wiesen Cook), Nov 6, 1995
Session Records (Emily Mann), Dec 11, 1995
Session Records (Honor Moore), Feb 5, 1996
Session Records (Joan Acocella and Susan Hallgarth), Mar 11, 1996
Session Records (Liz Harlan), Apr 6, 1996
Session Records (Louise DeSalvo), May 13, 1996
Session Records, Oct 7, 1996
Session Records (Christina Baker and Christina Baker Kline), Dec 2, 1996
Session Records (Multiple Sessions), 1997-2015, inclusive
Session Records (Elizabeth Brunazzi and Bell Chevigny), Jan 13, 1997
Session Records (Susan Hertog and Stacy Schiff), Feb 3, 1997
Session Records (Joanne Grant and Linda Reed), Mar 3, 1997
Session Records (Margaret Gibson and Stephanie Strickland), Apr 14, 1997
Session Records (Betty Boyd Caroli and Nancy Rubin), May 5, 1997
Session Records (Norah Chase and Alix Kates Shulman), Oct 6, 1997
Session Records (Ed McCoyd and Lisa Paddock), Nov 3, 1997
Session Records (Claire Coss and Judith Sloan), Dec 8, 1997
Session Records (Louise Bernikow and Jane Marcus), Jan 5, 1998
Session Records (Bell Chevigny and Noel Riley Fitch), Feb 2, 1998
Session Records (Gail Levin and Patricia Valenti), Mar 2, 1998
Session Records (Nancy Kline and Brenda Wineapple), Apr 6, 1998
Session Records (Dorothy Kaufman and Pat Laurence), May 4, 1998
Session Records, Oct 5, 1998
Session Records (Dorothy O. Helly and Polly Howells), Nov 2, 1998
Session Records (Shareen Brysac, Blanche Weisen Cook, Dona Munker, and Ellen Schrecker), Dec 7, 1998
Session Records (Patty O'Toole), Jan 11, 1999
Session Records (Sydney Ladensohn Stern and Judith Hennessee), Feb 8, 1999
Session Records (Betty Caroli and Carol Stanger), Mar 8, 1999
Session Records (Elizabeth Brunazzi, Blanche Weisen Cook, and Ellen Schrecker), Apr 12, 1999
Session Records (Kathy Chamberlain and Cheryl Torsney), May 3, 1999
Session Records (Barbara Horn), Oct 4, 1999
Session Records (Alexandra Johnson and Molly Vaux), Nov 1, 1999
Session Records (Lois Beachy Underhill), Dec 6, 1999
Session Records (Nancy Kline and Carol Stanger), Jan 10, 2000
Session Records (Joyce Seltzer and Jane von Mehren), Feb 7, 2000
Session Records (Harriet Alonso and Barbara McManus), Mar 6, 2000
Session Records (Carole Klein and Marion Meade), Apr 3, 2000
Session Records (Carolyn Heilbrun), May 1, 2000
Session Records (Constance Rosenblum and Eve Golden), Oct 2, 2000
Session Records (Susan Brownmiller and Donez Xiques), Nov 6, 2000
Session Records (Christine Stansell), Dec 4, 2000
Session Records (Deborah Gorham and Joanne Grant), Jan 7, 2001
Session Records (Aileen Christianson), Feb 5, 2001
Session Records (Rachel Brownstein and Dana Heller), Mar 5, 2001
Session Records (Anne M. Wyatt-Brown), May 7, 2001
Session Records (Adrienne Block and Rachel Brownstein), Oct 1, 2001
Session Records (Joyce C. Harte and Wendy Orange), Nov 5, 2001
Session Records (Elizabeth Brunazzi and Sherry Gorelick), Dec 3, 2001
Session Records (Betsy Prioleau and Nancy Schoenberger), Jan 7, 2002
Session Records (Meena Alexander and Flavia Alaya), Feb 4, 2002
Session Records (Gail Hornstein), Mar 4, 2002
Session Records (Dona Munker), Apr 8, 2002
Session Records (Joanne Grant and Carla Peterson), May 13, 2002
Session Records (Jill Norgren), May 5, 2003
Session Records (Michael Nash), Dec 1, 2003
Session Records (Victoria Olsen), Feb 2, 2004
Session Records (Jennifer Fleishner and Diane Jacobs), Mar 1, 2004
Session Photographs, 2008-2009, inclusive
Session Records (Attendance Sheets), 2011-2014, inclusive
Seminar Session and Events Documents, 2017-2018, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Biographical Fiction/Fictional Biography", Jan 10, 2000, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Place", Nov 5, 2001, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Memoir and Biography" Alix Schulman and Brenda Wineapple, Apr 7, 2003, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Fathers", May 2, 2005, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Imperialist Women", Apr 2006, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Redheads", Sep 25, 2006, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Writing about Men", Oct 1, 2007, inclusive
Organizing Session Samples - "Chapter by Chapter - Finding a Form", Nov 2, 2009, inclusive
Series IV: Oral History Interviews, 2006-2009, inclusive
Extent
Extent
Extent
Extent
Extent
Scope and Contents
Series IV: Oral History Interviews (2006-2009) contains interviews with members of the group Women Writing Women's Lives. These interviews were conducted by other WWWL members and Tamiment director Michael Nash between 2006 and 2009. They discuss topics such as the founding of the writing seminar, and the ways in which participation in Women Writing Women's Lives shaped these authors' careers as biographers. The collection also contains several notes and biographical documents compiled in preparation for these interviews. Electronic Records include digital audio files of each interview.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by the interviewee's last name.
Bair, Diedre, January 12 - April 30, 2009, inclusive
Biographical notes, April 30, 2009
Interview transcript, January 12, 2009
Original CD
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Bernikow, Louise, April 7, 2006
Interview transcript
Original audiocassette
Original CDs
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Brownstein, Rachel, May 28, 2009
Interview transcript
Original audiocassette
Preservation copy
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Chase, Norah, May 30, 2008 - April 2, 2009, inclusive
First Interview -- Transcript and biographical materials, May 30, 2008
First Interview -- Original CD, May 30, 2008
First Interview -- Electronic Records
Digital materials
Second Interview -- Original CDs, April 2, 2009
Second Interview -- Preservation copy, April 2, 2009
Second Interview -- Electronic Records
Digital materials
Cook, Blanche Weisan, October 2, 2007
Interview transcript
Original CD
Electronic Records
Digital materials
DeSalvo, Louise, November 20, 2008
Interview transcript
Original audiocassette
Original CD
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Moore, Honor, October 19, 2007
Interview transcript
Original CD
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Munker, Dona, June 18, 2007
Interview transcript
Original CDs
Electronic Records
Digital materials
Painter, Nell, April 21, 2009
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
This interview's recording has distorted audio.
