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MSS 334 - Sybil Kein Creole History Collection: Inventory

SYBIL KEIN CREOLE HISTORY COLLECTION

(Mss 334)

INVENTORY

Earl K. Long Library

University of New Orleans

November 2006

Summary

Size:

Approximately 9 linear feet (18 boxes), plus 1 box of oversize material.

Geographic Locations:

Louisiana, especially New Orleans; Detroit and Flint, Michigan; as well as some material relating to Kein’s travels.

Inclusive Dates:

Nineteenth-century (photocopies of undated nineteenth-

century archival material) to 2005

Bulk Dates:

1968-2005.

Summary:

Personal, literary, and research papers of Sybil Kein. The

material pertains to Kein’s career as a poet, playwright,

musician, and academic.  In addition to charting the course

of Kein’s career, the central subject matter of the collection

is the history and culture of Louisiana’s Creoles of color.

Related Collections:

Marcus Christian Collection (Mss 11); Evelyn Soulé Kennedy (Mss 223)

Source:

Gift, 2005.

Access:

No Restrictions.

Copyright:

Physical rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.

Citation:

Sybil Kein Collection (MSS 334), Louisiana and Special Collections Department, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

Biographical Note

Sybil Kein was a New Orleans-born poet, playwright, musician, educator, and scholar who dedicated her life’s work to preserving the Louisiana Creole language and culture.

Sybil Kein was born Consuela Marie Moore on September 29, 1935, in New Orleans.  Her father was Frank P. Moore, a bricklayer, and her mother was Augustine Boudreaux, a homemaker and musician.  She came from a family of Louisiana Creole and Cajun descent, with a musical inclination that stretched back generations.  Her mother’s family, the Boudreauxs, came from Pointe Coupee Parish; her maternal grandfather, John Boudreaux played banjo with the New Orleans “Creole Serenaders Jazz Band.”  Both her mother, Augustine Boudreaux, and her grandmother, Viola Borsky Boudreaux, were accomplished pianists and singers.  Her brother, Deacon John, is a well-known New Orleans jazz, blues, and rock musician.  Her mother’s family is also related to the descendents of voodoo priestess Marie Laveaux.

Sybil Kein grew up speaking Creole French in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans, a neighborhood long known as a center for Creole culture.  She began studying music at Corpus Christi Elementary and Xavier Preperatory School, both schools that were historically associated with New Orleans Creoles of color.  She received a bachelor’s degree in viola and violin performance from Xavier University in 1964.  She auditioned for a position in the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, but was turned down because in the pre-Civil Rights era, the orchestra was still open to whites only.  Shocked by this reaction, Kein experimented with dance, painting, and sculpture before choosing a career as a writer, beginning with poetry and plays as her artistic media of choice.  Around this time she chose the pen name Sybil Kein, which means “prophetess, I am not.”  After playing folk music for public school students and raising three children through the 1960s, Kein went to Louisiana State University at New Orleans (now UNO), receiving a masters degree in theater arts and communications in 1972.  From there, she moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to study under renowned African-American poet Robert Hayden, receiving a Ph.D in American ethnic literature from the University of Michigan in 1975.

Already an instructor at the University of Michigan since 1972, her connection with the university led to a position as professor of English and theatre at UM’s Flint campus in 1975.  She remained in Flint for over twenty-five years, retiring from her faculty position in 2000.  Despite remaining in Flint for much of her life, Kein’s writing has always concerned New Orleans and Louisiana as her main subject matter.  In particular, her work has been instrumental in bringing the cultural contributions of Louisiana Creoles to a broader audience.  Her poetry and plays deal with themes of slavery, miscegenation, the color line, the dilemmas of mixed-race Creoles, and breaking down stereotypes between blacks and whites.

Her written works include over 1000 poems and 28 plays.  Her first volume of published poetry, Gombo People (1981), was the first book ever written in the Louisiana Creole language.  An expanded version of Gombo People was reprinted in 1998.  Other volumes of her poetry include Delta Dancer (1984), and An American South (1996).

Sybil Kein also made important contributions to Creole culture as a musician.  She recorded several albums of original songs, and also recovered and recorded little-known traditional Creole songs.  Her recordings include Serenade Creole (1987), Creole Ballads and Zydeco (1996), Maw-Maw’s Creole Lullaby and Other Songs for Children (1997), and Creole Classique (2000), which preserves the work of nineteenth century Creole composers.  She often performed with her brother, guitarist Charles Moore.

In addition to her artistic and literary contributions, Kein was a major originator of the newly-resurgent interest in scholarship on Creole history and culture.  She edited Creole: The History and Legacy of Lousiana’s Free People of Color, a major book of essays on Louisiana Creoles published in 2000.  She also wrote scholarly articles and given presentations on a number of  topics, including New Orleans jazz funerals, Mardi Gras Indians, Creole music and food culture, the use of Creole language, and African and Afro-Caribbean religions.

After retiring from her faculty position at the University of Michigan, Sybil Kein returned to live in New Orleans in January 2000.  Kein’s New Orleans home was flooded by the federal levee failures after Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005.  After the storm, she relocated to Natchitoches, Louisiana. In 2010 she moved near a daughter in Casa Grande and died there on October 28, 2022.

Bibliographical Sources:

Artist profile in Artist Grant Exhibition Recipients booklet, Pontiac Art Center, 1982.

“Biography and Achievements” section for Sybil Kein, Wines in the Wilderness: Plays by African-American Women from the Harlem Renaissance to the Present.  Edited by Elizabeth Brown-Guillory.  (New York: Praeger, 1990)  (Folder 190)

Biographical profile in Contemporary Authors, Volume 163, 1998. (Folder 245)

Lane, Cassandra “Sybil Kein: Writing the Creole Renaissance”  New Orleans Tribune, February/March 2001.  (Folder 190)

Diettinger, Cristina.  “In Search of Creole” Lousiana Life Spring 2002 (Folder 190)

More biographical information on Sybil Kein can be found in folders 244 through 249.

List of Series and Subseries

Series I:

Manuscripts and Published Works  [10.5 boxes].

Subseries I.1 Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana’s Free People of Color.

Subseries I.2 Articles and Prose by Sybil Kein.

Subseries I.3 Plays by Sybil Kein.

Subseries I.4 Poetry Volumes by Sybil Kein.

Subseries I.5 Journals and Anthologies in which Sybil Kein’s poetry appears.

Subseries I.6 Individual Poems and Songs by Sybil Kein.

Subseries I.7 Manuscript material by authors other than Sybil Kein.

Series II:

Correspondence [1.5 boxes].

Series III:

Newspaper Clippings [1 box].

Series IV:

Research Materials [2 boxes].

Series V:

Creole Periodicals [1 box].

Series VI:

Performance-Related Memorabilia [0.5 boxes].

Series VII:

Biographical Material on Sybil Kein [0.5 boxes].

Series VIII:

Miscellaneous [1 regular box, 1 oversized box].

 

Series Descriptions

I.

Manuscripts and Published Works 

This series consists of manuscripts and published volumes of Sybil Kein’s writings.  It is further subdivided into sub-series according to genre:  prose, poetry, plays, etc.  The series also contains editorial notes and some correspondence directly related to the publication of her work.

II.

Correspondence

This series consists of letters, postcards, and greeting cards received by Sybil Kein between 1958 and 2004.  The letters are from fellow poets and musicians, editors and publishers, fellow academics and Creole historians, friends, and family members.  Included in this series is correspondence with prominent African American poets Dudley Randall and Robert Hayden. 

III.

Newspaper Clippings

This series consists of clippings of articles from various newspapers and magazines, collected by Sybil Kein in the course of her career.    The clippings are arranged by subject, then by date within each subject.  Subjects include the artistic and academic career of Sybil Kein, Creole history and culture, New Orleans and Louisiana history and culture, Haitian and Caribbean culture, race relations and the nature of race, African-American literature, and voodoo.

Note that this series does not include book excerpts or copies of scholarly journal articles; these materials are to be found in the Research Materials series.

IV.

Research Materials

This series contains materials assembled by Sybil Kein during the course of her research.  It includes numerous photocopied book excerpts and articles from academic journals, photocopies of archival materials, poetry, sheet music and song lyrics, bibliographies, Creole language vocabularies, and handwritten research notes.  Most of the material is related to Creole history and culture, though some other subjects are represented as well.

V.

Creole Periodicals

This series contains issues of periodicals related to Creole history and culture.  They are arranged alphabetically.  While none of the titles collected here have a complete run, the collection includes numerous issues of Bayou Talk, Le FAROG Forum, and Louisiane.  Other titles are less well represented, with only a scattering of issues of each publication.

VI.

Performance-Related Memorabilia

This series contains material related to cultural, artistic, musical, and academic events that Sybil Kein either performed at or attended.  Materials include: programs, playbills, posters and flyers, event schedules, conference schedules, ticket stubs, contracts, press releases, album liner notes, song playlists, etc.   The series also contains miscellaneous Creole-related ephemera, some of which is related to performances, some of which is not.

VII.

Biographical Material on Sybil Kein

This series contains biographical material on Sybil Kein.  It includes biographical profiles written by herself and others, resumes, evaluations, photographs, etc. Biographical material can also be found in the Newspaper Clippings series (Series III).

VIII.

Miscellaneous

This series contains materials whose volume or nature did not warrant giving them a series of their own.

Container List

Series I:  Manuscripts and Published Works

This series consists of manuscripts and published volumes of Sybil Kein’s writings.  It is further subdivided into sub-series according to genre:  prose, poetry, plays, etc.  The series also contains editorial notes and some correspondence directly related to the publication of her work.

Subseries I.1:  Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana’s Free People of Color

Box 1:            Creole – ‘Version A’ Manuscript

This version consists of the complete text of the book, with a single double-spaced typescript for the whole manuscript.  There are no editorial comments or corrections.

  1. Title Page, Preface, Acknowledgements
  2. “Introduction” by Sybil Kein 
  3. Chapter 1:  “People of Color in Louisiana” by Alice Dunbar Nelson
  4. Chapter 2:  “Marcus Christian’s Treatment of Les Gens de Couleur Libre” by Violet Harrington Bryan
  5. Chapter 3:  “Placage and the Louisiana Gens de Couleur Libre” by Joan M. Martin
  6. Chapter 4:  “Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Lester Sullivan
  7. Chapter 5:  “The Yankee Hugging the Creole: Reading Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon.” By Jennifer DeVere Brody
  8. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature”  by Sybil Kein
  9. Chapter 7:  “Marie Laveau:  The Voodoo Queen Repossessed” by Barbara Rosendale Duggal
  10. Chapter 8:  “New Orleans Creole Expatriates in France:  Romance and Reality”  by Michel Fabre
  11. Chapter 9:  “Visible Means of Support:  Businesses, Professions and Trades of Free People of Color.”  by Mary Gehman
  12. Chapter 10:  “The Origin of Louisiana Creole” by Fehintola Mosadomi
  13. Chapter 11:  “Louisiana Creole Food Culture:  Afro-Caribbean Links”  by Sybil Kein
  14. Chapter 12:  “Light, Bright, Damn Near White:  Race, the Politics of Genealogy, and the Strange Case of Susie Guillory” by Anthony G. Barthelemy
  15. Chapter 13:  “Creole Poets on the Verge of a Nation.”  By Caroline Senter
  16. Chapter 14:  “Lost Boundaries:  Racial Passing and Poverty in Segregated New Orleans”  by Arthe A. Anthony
  17. Chapter 15:  “Creole Culture in the Poetry of Sybil Kein and Brenda Osbey”  by Mary L. Morton
  18. Notes on Contributors
  19. Accompanying Correspondence for ‘Version A’

Box 2:            Creole – ‘Version B’ Manuscript

            This version consists of the complete text of the book.  The various chapters appear in a variety of typescripts and formates, and some of them have handwritten editorial comments, corrections, or insertions.

  1. Cover photograph, Table of Contents, Acknowledgements
  2. “Introduction” by Sybil Kein  (several versions with handwritten editorial changes)
  3. Chapter 1:  “People of Color in Louisiana” by Alice Dunbar Nelson
  4. Chapter 2:  “Marcus Christian’s Treatment of Les Gens de Couleur Libre” by Violet Harrington Bryan
  5. Chapter 3:  “Placage and the Louisiana Gens de Couleur Libre” by Joan M. Martin
  6. Chapter 4:  “Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Lester Sullivan
  7. Chapter 5:  “The Yankee Hugging the Creole: Reading Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon.” By Jennifer DeVere Brody
  8. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature”  by Sybil Kein  (several versions with handwritten editorial changes)
  9. Chapter 7:  “Marie Laveau:  The Voodoo Queen Repossessed” by Barbara Rosendale Duggal
  10. Chapter 8:  “New Orleans Creole Expatriates in France:  Romance and Reality”  by Michel Fabre
  11. Chapter 9:  “Visible Means of Support:  Businesses, Professions and Trades of Free People of Color.”  by Mary Gehman
  12. Chapter 10:  “The Origin of Louisiana Creole” by Fehintola Mosadomi
  13. Chapter 11:  “Louisiana Creole Food Culture:  Afro-Caribbean Links”  by Sybil Kein
  14. Chapter 12:  “Light, Bright, Damn Near White:  Race, the Politics of Genealogy, and the Strange Case of Susie Guillory” by Anthony G. Barthelemy
  15. Chapter 13:  “Creole Poets on the Verge of a Nation.”  By Caroline Senter
  16. Chapter 14:  “Lost Boundaries:  Racial Passing and Poverty in Segregated New Orleans”  by Arthe A. Anthony
  17. Chapter 15:  “Creole Culture in the Poetry of Sybil Kein and Brenda Osbey”  by Mary L. Morton
  18. Notes on Contributors
  19. Accompanying Correspondence and Editorial Notes for ‘Version B’

Box 3:            Creole – ‘Version C’ Manuscript

This version consists of a partial text of the book, with heavy editorial comments, corrections, and additions by Sybil Kein throughout.  Four of the fifteen chapters are missing.

  1. “Introduction” by Sybil Kein (part); Title Page and Acknowledgements
  2. Chapter 2:  “Marcus Christian’s Treatment of Les Gens de Couleur Libre” by Violet Harrington Bryan  (2 versions)
  3. Chapter 3:  “Placage and the Louisiana Gens de Couleur Libre” by Joan M. Martin
  4. Chapter 4:  “Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Lester Sullivan  (typed manuscript, plus notes and faxes concerning revisions)
  5. Chapter 5:  “The Yankee Hugging the Creole: Reading Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon.” By Jennifer DeVere Brody
  6. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature”  by Sybil Kein  (part)
  7. Chapter 7:  “Marie Laveau:  The Voodoo Queen Repossessed” by Barbara Rosendale Duggal  (extensive revisions and accompanying notes and correspondence)
  8. Chapter 8:  “New Orleans Creole Expatriates in France:  Romance and Reality”  by Michel Fabre
  9. Chapter 10:  “The Origin of Louisiana Creole” by Fehintola Mosadomi (with Mosadomi’s notes)
  10. Chapter 11:  “Louisiana Creole Food Culture:  Afro-Caribbean Links”  by Sybil Kein  (part)
  11. Chapter 14:  “Lost Boundaries:  Racial Passing and Poverty in Segregated New Orleans”  by Arthe A. Anthony
  12. Chapter 15:  “Creole Culture in the Poetry of Sybil Kein and Brenda Osbey”  by Mary L. Morton
  13. Correspondence related to the Editing of ‘Version C’
  14. Additional Sybil Kein editorial notes for ‘Version C’

Box 4:            Creole – ‘Version D’ Manuscript

            This version consists of a partial text of the book, with a page proof format.  Editorial corrections are collected in a separate folder at the end of the text.  Chapter 13 is missing.

  1. Title Page, Table of Contents, Acknowledgements
  2. “Introduction” by Sybil Kein 
  3. Chapter 1:  “People of Color in Louisiana” by Alice Dunbar Nelson
  4. Chapter 2:  “Marcus Christian’s Treatment of Les Gens de Couleur Libre” by Violet Harrington Bryan
  5. Chapter 3:  “Placage and the Louisiana Gens de Couleur Libre” by Joan M. Martin
  6. Chapter 4:  “Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Lester Sullivan
  7. Chapter 5:  “The Yankee Hugging the Creole: Reading Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon.” By Jennifer DeVere Brody
  8. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature”  by Sybil Kein
  9. Chapter 7:  “Marie Laveau:  The Voodoo Queen Repossessed” by Barbara Rosendale Duggal
  10. Chapter 8:  “New Orleans Creole Expatriates in France:  Romance and Reality”  by Michel Fabre
  11. Chapter 9:  “Visible Means of Support:  Businesses, Professions and Trades of Free People of Color.”  by Mary Gehman
  12. Chapter 10:  “The Origin of Louisiana Creole” by Fehintola Mosadomi
  13. Chapter 11:  “Louisiana Creole Food Culture:  Afro-Caribbean Links”  by Sybil Kein
  14. Chapter 12:  “Light, Bright, Damn Near White:  Race, the Politics of Genealogy, and the Strange Case of Susie Guillory” by Anthony G. Barthelemy
  15. Chapter 14:  “Lost Boundaries:  Racial Passing and Poverty in Segregated New Orleans”  by Arthe A. Anthony
  16. Chapter 15:  “Creole Culture in the Poetry of Sybil Kein”  by Mary L. Morton
  17. Contributors
  18. Center Photographs
  19. Related Correspondence and Notes on Editorial Changes for ‘Version D’
  20. Selected Pages from Proofs, with Editorial Corrections, for ‘Version D’

Box 4, (Continued):           Creole – Individual Chapters and Fragments

            These are a number of versions of some of the chapters from Creole; some are reognizable as early versions of the chapters, while others are from one or more undetermined versions of the book.

  1. Dedication, Forward, “Introduction” by Sybil Kein
  2. An Early Introduction by Thadious M. Davis
  3. Chapter 1:  “People of Color in Louisiana” by Alice Dunbar Nelson (with editorial notes)
  4. Chapter 2:  “Marcus Christian’s Treatment of Les Gens de Couleur Libre” by Violet Harrington Bryan
  5. Chapter 4:  “Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Lester Sullivan  (part)
  6. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in the Literature of the South”  by Sybil Kein  (early version)
  7. Chapter 6:  “The Use of Louisiana Creole in the Southern Literature”  by Sybil Kein (part)

Box 5:

  1. Chapter 7:  “Marie Laveau:  The Voodoo Queen Repossessed” by Barbara Rosendale Duggal  (with editorial notes)
  2. Chapter 8:  “New Orleans Creole Expatriates in France:  Romance and Reality”  by Michel Fabre
  3. Chapter 9:  “Visible Means of Support:  Businesses, Professions and Trades of Free People of Color.”  by Mary Gehman
  4. Chapter 10:  “The Origin of Louisiana Creole” by Fehintola Mosadomi
  5. Chapter 11:  “Louisiana Creole Food Culture:  Afro-Caribbean Links”  by Sybil Kein  (part)
  6. Chapter 12:  “Light, Bright, Damn Near White:  Race, the Politics of Genealogy, and the Strange Case of Susie Guillory” by Anthony G. Barthelemy  (two versions, one with substantial editorial changes)
  7. Chapter 14:  “Lost Boundaries:  Racial Passing and Poverty in Segregated New Orleans”  by Arthe A. Anthony
  8. Chapter 15:  “Two New Orleans Poets: Sybil Kein and Brenda Osbey”  by Mary L. Morton  (early version)
  9. Chapter 15:  “Creole Culture in the Poetry of Sybil Kein and Brenda Osbey” by Mary L. Morton  (part)
  10. Index
  11. Potential Photographs and Illustrations for the Book
  12. Correspondence and Book Proposal

Subseries I.2:  Articles and Prose by Sybil Kein

Box 5, (Continued):

  1. “The Influence of Types of Religion as Found in Selected Works of Afro-American Writers.”
  2. “Teaching Afro-American Literature to Undergraduates: A Humanistic Approach,” 1977 or 1978
  3. “Between the World and Me: The Lost Black Artist,” 1978
  4. “Teaching Creative Writing to the Undergraduate Ethnic Student: Dreams Deferred, Dreams Denied,” 1978
  5. “Comme ye dit: The Use of the Creole Language in 19th and 20th Century Literature,” 1988
  6. “Contributions of the Gens de Couleur and their Descendants to an American South,” 1992
  7. “Louisiana Creole Food Culture: Afro-Caribbean Links,” 1993
  8. “The Celebration of Life in New Orleans Jazz Funerals,” 1995
  9. “A Quick Guide to Good Papers.”
  10. Miscellaneous Article Fragments and Prose Pieces by Sybil Kein

Subseries I.3:  Plays by Sybil Kein       

Box 6:

  1. Fragments of Early Plays, 1960s and 1970s
  2. “What’s Its Name,” 1969
  3. “The Reverend,” 1971
  4. “Somethin’ Pretty,” 1972
  5. “Satchmo!” (1977 version)
  6. “Satchmo!” (1977 version)
  7. “Satchmo!” (1977 version)
  8. “Satchmo!” (1977 and 2000)
  9. “Satchmo!” (2000 version, some edits and notes)

Subseries I.4:  Poetry Volumes by Sybil Kein

Box 6, (Continued):

  1. Selected Poems, no date
  2. Blood Rivers: Selected Poems, 1968 (two complete copies and loose poems)
  3. Blood Rivers: Selected Poems, 1968 (loose, not in order)
  4. Blood Rivers: Selected Poems, 1968
  5. Bessie, Bojangles, and Me, 1975

 

Box 7:

  1. Delta Dancer, 1984 (manuscript)
  2. Delta Dancer, 1984 (published book)
  3. Des Gardenias et Roses: Les Chansons Creoles, no date
  4. Des Gardenias et Roses: Les Chansons Creoles
  5. Des Gardenias et Roses: Les Chansons Creoles
  6. Des Gardenias et Roses: Les Chansons Creoles, 1986
  7. Des Gardenias et Roses: Les Chansons Creoles, 1986 (manuscript)
  8. An American South, 1990-1991 (manuscript)
  9. An American South, 1990,1991 (manuscript)
  10. An American South, 1990,1991 (manuscript)

Box 8:

  1. An American South, 1990,1991 (manuscript)
  2. An American South, 1990,1991 (manuscript)
  3. An American South, 1990,1991 (edited fragments, some handwritten)
  4. An American South, 1990,1991 (edited fragments, some handwritten)
  5. An American South, 1990,1991 (fragments and partial manuscripts)
  6. An American South, 1990,1991 (spiral bound, with certain poems marked)
  7. An American South, 1990,1991 (spiral bound)
  8. An American South, 1996  (published book)

Box 9:

  1. Gombo People, 1981 (first draft of manuscript)
  2. Gombo People, 1981 (excerpts)
  3. Gumbo People, 1999 (Complete manuscript – Section One)
  4. Gumbo People, 1999 (Complete manuscript – Section Two)
  5. Gumbo People, 1999 (Complete manuscript – Section Three)
  6. Gumbo People, 1999 (Complete manuscript – Section Four)
  7. Gumbo People, 1999 (list of corrections to manuscript)
  8. Gumbo People (Illustrations and promotional material from 1981 and 1999 versions)

Subseries I.5:  Journals and Anthologies in which Sybil Kein’s poetry appears

Box 9, (Continued):

  1. Ellipsis, Winter 1971 – 2 poems:  “The Girl from Voodoo Town” and “The Ballad of Nigger Rose”
  2. Ellipsis, March 1972 – several poems
  3. American Dream, 1973 – 1 poem:  “You Mentioned That as Black Men”
  4. World Order, Summer 1975 – 1 poem:  “House-wise”
  5. The Beloit Poetry Journal, Winter 1978-79 – 2 poems:  “Mo Oule Mourri Dan Lac La” and “Water Poems”
  6. New Orleans Review, Spring 1988 – 1 poem: “Soulangai”
  7. Immortelles: Poems of Life and Death by New Southern Writers, 1995 – 1 poem: “Zelime”
  8. A Rock Against the Wind:  African-American Poems and Letters of Love and Passion, 1996 – 1 poem: “Flowers”
  9. Trouble the Water:  250 Years of African-American Poetry, 1997 – 4 poems; table of contents only

Subseries I.6:  Individual Poems and Songs by Sybil Kein 

This subseries contains indvidual poems and songs by Kein, arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 10:

  1. “Anjelik-Ezili” to “Lovers and the Space Between”
  2. “Mala” to “When Two From Now”
  3. Untitled
  4. Poems and songs Sybil Kein treated as a unit

Other:

  1. Miscellaneous correspondence, contracts, and editorial comments associated with Sybil Kein’s published work

Subseries I.7:   Manuscript material by authors other than Sybil Kein

            This subseries contains the manuscripts of two books which were not written by Sybil Kein, but were presumably sent to her either for editing or for her general interest.  The first manuscript is Charles Suhor’s Jazz in New Orleans: The Postwar Years Through 1970.  (Scarecrow Press, Latham, MD: 2001)  The second is an unidentified anthology of poetry.  The subseries also contains two loose poems by Maxine Cassin.

Box 10, (Continued):

  1. Jazz in New Orleans – Title Page, Table of Contents, Introduction
  2. Jazz in New Orleans – Section One: “Jazz and the Establishment – From Flouting to Flaunting”
  3. Jazz in New Orleans – Section Two: “Revivals Beaucoup – Traditional, Dixieland, and Revivalist Jazz.”
  4. Jazz in New Orleans – Section Three: “An Invisible Generation – Early Modern Jazz Artists”
  5. Jazz in New Orleans – Appendices and References

Box 11:

  1. Unidentified Anthology of Poetry – Index of Authors, Table of Contents
  2. Unidentified Anthology of Poetry – Pages 1-49
  3. Unidentified Anthology of Poetry – Pages 50-99
  4. Unidentified Anthology of Poetry – Pages 100-149
  5. Unidentified Anthology of Poetry – Pages 150-212
  6. Two Poems by Maxine Cassin – ‘Autumnal’ and ‘August 6, 1985’

Series II:  Correspondence

This series consists of letters, postcards, and greeting cards received by Sybil Kein between 1958 and 2004.  The letters are from fellow poets and musicians, editors and publishers, fellow academics and Creole historians, friends, and family members.  Included in this series is correspondence with prominent African American poets Dudley Randall and Robert Hayden.

Box 11, (Continued):

  1. 1958-1973
  2. 1975-1977
  3. 1978
  4. 1979
  5. 1980
  6. 1981
  7. 1982
  8. 1983
  9. 1984
  10. 1985

Box 12:

  1. 1986-1987
  2. 1988
  3. 1989-1990
  4. 1991-1992
  5. 1993-1994
  6. 1995-1996
  7. 1997-2000
  8. 2001-2004
  9. Undated – Letters
  10. Undated – Greeting Cards and Postcards

Series III:       Newspaper Clippings

This series consists of clippings of articles from various newspapers and magazines, collected by Sybil Kein in the course of her career.    The clippings are arranged by subject, then by date within each subject.  Subjects include the artistic and academic career of Sybil Kein, Creole history and culture, New Orleans and Louisiana history and culture, Haitian and Caribbean culture, race relations and the nature of race, African-American literature, and voodoo.

Note that this series does not include book excerpts or copies of scholarly journal articles; these materials are to be found in the Research Materials series.

Box 13:

  1. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – 1950s and 1960s
  2. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – 1970s

(see also oversized folder 261)

  1. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – 1980s
  2. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – 1990s
  3. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – 2000-2004
  4. Articles relating to Sybil Kein – Undated
  5. Articles on Creole History and Culture – 1960s and 1970s
  6. Articles on Creole History and Culture – 1980s
  7. Articles on Creole History and Culture – 1990s
  8. Articles on Creole History and Culture – 2000-2005
  9. Articles on Creole History and Culture – Undated
  10. Articles on New Orleans/Louisiana Culture – 1970s and 1980s
  11. Articles on New Orleans/Louisiana Culture – 1990s
  12. Articles on New Orleans/Louisiana Culture – 2000-2003
  13. Articles on New Orleans/Louisiana Culture – Undated
  14. Articles on Haiti and Haitian Creole
  15. Articles on Dudley Randall, Broadside Press, or General African-American Literature
  16. “Together Apart: The Myth of Race.” (Times-Picayune Special Report, 1993)
  17. Articles on Race Relations and on African American Culture
  18. Articles on Voodoo and Brazilian Carnival

Series IV: Research Materials

            This series contains materials assembled by Sybil Kein during the course of her research.  It includes numerous photocopied book excerpts and articles from academic journals, photocopies of archival materials, poetry, sheet music and song lyrics, bibliographies, Creole language vocabularies, and handwritten research notes.  Most of the material is related to Creole history and culture, though some other subjects are represented as well.

Sybil Kein’s papers included photocopies of two complete books which were removed from this series of the collection:  James Haskins’ The Creoles of Color of New Orleans and Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes’ Our People and Our History.  These two books are available in the Louisiana Collection.

Box 14:

  1. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – African/Caribbean Religion and Culture
  2. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Creole History and Culture    (Folder 1 of 3)
  3. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Creole History and Culture    (Folder 2 of 3)
  4. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Creole History and Culture    (Folder 3 of 3)
  5. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Creole-Related Fiction, Satire, and Plays
  6. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Creole Writer Jean Toomer’s Essentials (unpublished manuscript)
  7. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – French and French Creole Languages

Box 15:

  1. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – New Orleans/Louisiana History and Culture
  2. Journal Articles and Book Excerpts – Miscellaneous
  3. Handwritten Notes, Bibliographies, Vocabularies, etc.
  4. Photocopies of Newspaper Articles Related to Creoles – Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
  5. Photocopies of Unidentified Nineteenth Century Manuscript Material – List of Names
  6. Poetry – Photocopied Excerpts
  7. Sheet Music and Song Lyrics

Series V:       Creole Periodicals

            This series contains issues of periodicals related to Creole history and culture.  They are arranged alphabetically.  While none of the titles collected here have a complete run, the collection includes numerous issues of Bayou Talk, Le FAROG Forum, and Louisiane.  Other titles are less well represented, with only a scattering of issues of each publication.

Box 16:

  1. Bayou Talk, 1990-1994
  2. Bayou Talk, 1995-1996
  3. Bayou Talk, 1997-2003
  4. The Creole Center News (5 scattered issues, 2000-2004)  [for a more complete run of this publication, please ask for Louisiana State Documents Collection, call number ES 137.7: CC]
  5. Creole Experience (1 issue, 1995)
  6. Creole Magazine  (5 scattered issues, 1990-1994)
  7. Creole Times (2 issues, 1999-2000)
  8. The Chicory Review (1 issue, 1988)
  9. Eh Toi!  (2 issues, 2001-2002)
  10. Le FAROG Forum, 1982-1983
  11. Le FAROG Forum, 1984-1988
  12. Louisiane, 1981-July 1982
  13. Louisiane, August-December 1982
  14. Louisiane, 1983-1984
  15. La Nouvelle Abeille (1 issue, 1984)
  16. Souvenirs (1 issue, 1980)

Series VI:      Performance-Related Memorabilia

            This series contains material related to cultural, artistic, musical, and academic events that Sybil Kein either performed at or attended.  Materials include: programs, playbills, posters and flyers, event schedules, conference schedules, ticket stubs, contracts, press releases, album liner notes, song playlists, etc.   The series also contains miscellaneous Creole-related ephemera, some of which is related to performances, some of which is not.

Box 17:

  1. Liner Notes and Album Covers for Sybil Kein’s Recordings
  2. Sybil Kein’s Events – 1954-1979
  3. Sybil Kein’s Events – 1980s
  4. Sybil Kein’s Events – 1990s
  5. Sybil Kein’s Events – 2000-2005
  6. Sybil Kein’s Events – Undated

(see also oversized folder 263)

  1. Events inside Louisiana at which Sybil Kein did not Perform
  2. Events outside Louisiana at which Sybil Kein did not Perform

Series VII:     Biographical Material on Sybil Kein

This series contains biographical material on Sybil Kein.  It includes biographical profiles written by herself and others, resumes, evaluations, photographs, etc. Biographical material can also be found in the Newspaper Clippings series (Series III).

Box 17, (Continued):

  1. Academic Papers on Sybil Kein
  2. Biographical Profiles
  3. Resumes and Vitae
  4. Self-Evaluations and Letters of Recommendation
  5. Photographs of Sybil Kein
  6. Miscellaneous Items Related to Sybil Kein’s Life and Career (certificates and awards, business cards, etc.)

Series VIII:    Miscellaneous

            This series contains materials whose volume or nature did not warrant giving them a series of their own.

Box 18:

  1. Academic and Alumni Materials
  2. Creole-Related Miscellany – Programs, Playbills, Conference Schedules, other Ephemera
  3. Deacon John (Sybil Kein’s musician brother)  (see also oversized folder 262)
  4. Music-Related Material
  5. Photographs of Subjects other than Sybil Kein  (see also oversized folder 264)
  6. Poetry-Related Material
  7. Religious Materials/Sybil Kein’s Family
  8. Travel and Tourism-Related Ephemera inside Louisiana
  9. Travel and Tourism Related Ephemera outside Louisiana
  10. Miscellaneous

Box 19:          Oversized Material

  1. Plaque reproducing a newspaper article on Sybil Kein, dated September 11, 1975.
  2. Show poster for Deacon John’s Jump Blues performance
  3. Oversized promotional material for Sybil Kein’s concerts
  4. Boxed set of photographs of New Orleans scenes by Leo Touchet

Index Terms

African Americans—Louisiana—History

Creole Culture

Creole History

Kein, Sybil

Poetry