Collections

The collection contains newspapers collected in conjunction with the University of Connecticut Libraries' exhibit, "The Ethnic American Press: Cultural Maintenance and Assimilation Roles." The collection is comprised of a broad spectrm of non-English and English language papers collected by Diana I. Rios, professor of communication sciences at the University of Connecticut.

Diane Di Prima, best known for her work as a Beat poet and writer, was born 6 August 1934 in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Swarthmore College (1951-1953). Di Prima has received National Endowment for the Arts grants in 1966 for Poets Press and in 1973. She writes nonfiction, autobiographies, journals, essays, poetry and plays.

Diaries dating from the 19th century provide information on mid-century farm life, social activities, local travel and education at a one room school. Two "thoughts diaries" of the same period give one man's views on Christianity, human nature and slavery. Travel journals from the later part of the century describe trips through European countries; these also contain information on transportation and lodging. Those dating from the 20th century reveal much about the life of a Connecticut female artist and her thoughts and feelings concerning World War II. Also included is the 1943 diary of a University of Connecticut coed and the 1902 diary of a Hartford store employee.

An artificial collection of diaries relating to Connecticut and other states and regions in the United States. Topics including farming, religion, military life, student life, travel, and the weather are documented.

Dick Gackenbach was born 9 February 1927, in Allentown, PA, the son of William and Gertrude (Reichenbach) Gackenbach. He attended Jameson Franklin School of Art, NY, and Abbott School of Art, Washington, DC. He worked for J. C. Penney Company (New York City, 1950-1972) as a paste-up artist and later, creative director. He went out on his own as a free-lance author and illustrator beginning in 1972 to the present. Mr. Gackenbach died in 2001.

The materials consist of photographs documenting the construction of Dickinson Hall and Wheelock Hall at Yale. Included are elevation drawings by James Gamble Rogers and construction views.

The major portion of the papers of Dickson H. Leavens, economist and faculty member of the Yale Mission College in China, is made up of family and business correspondence. In the family correspondence, conducted regularly over nearly two decades (1909-1922), Leavens reports on the activities of the College and on political events in China, particularly in Changsha and Hunan. With his business correspondents, who were largely members of the Yale-in-China staff, the main subject is mission activities. The papers also include Leavens' writings on the economics of silver and essays on the history of Yale-in-China. The subject files largely concern the administration and finances of the mission (1902-1940). Marjorie Leavens's correspondence with her family and friends from 1915 and 1927 contains accounts of domestic affairs and her observations on Chinese life. Also in the collection are newspaper clippings and photographs of Changsha during the riots of 1910, Java, and Hong Kong.

Collection features interviews and digital media captured from the internet or digital files donated by three distinct, activist organizations in Bridgeport: Justice for Jayson, an organization formed in response to a police shooting; Bridgeport Generation Now, a nonpartisan, grassroots social action network focused on civic action; and P.T. Partners, a group of residents of the P.T. Barnum low income housing complex that organizes for self-determination and against racism and oppression.

The Dimension Records document the creation and publication of Dimension by its founder and editor, A. Leslie Willson. The collection contains subject files concerning authors and translators of German literature; drafts of writings and translations published in Dimension; drafts and proofs for Dimension, including most issues in volumes 1-19 and several special issues; subscription and other business records for Dimension; writings and translations of A. Leslie Willson; a small amount of records relating to Willson's work at the University of Texas and in professional organizations; photographs and slides of German authors and artists and their work; drawings and prints by German artists; and audio and audiovisual recordings, including Gruppe 47 conferences, author readings, radio plays, lectures, and interviews. Materials pertaining to Dimension document its history and funding; publication of authors, artists, and translators; and production of individual issues. Also present are correspondence, writings, photographs, and sound recordings concerning Willson's broader professional and personal relationships with German authors and academic colleagues. The collection is a resource for the study of German literature, art, and literary translation during the 1960s-1990s, as well as the teaching of German literature in American universities during the same period.

The Diocesan Labor Institute was founded in 1942 by Joseph F. Donnelly, then a Waterbury parish priest, later a monsignor, and eventually Auxiliary Bishop of the Hartford Archdiocese. The main purpose of Institute was to instruct workers on Catholic social philosophy and on the basics of trade unionism.