Title: Virginia M. Burke Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1938-1977

Creator:

• Burke, Virginia M.

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 37

Quantity: 2.8 cubic ft. (7 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English professor which include professional and personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, drafts of published works, copies of works submitted for publication, reviews, and notes. The professional correspondence includes thank you letters, letters of inquiry, rejection and acceptance letters from publishers, and routine correspondence with colleagues. The personal correspondence deals primarily with Burke's battle against heart disease. A large portion of the collection concerns Burke's involvement with professional organizations, particularly the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English (WCTE). The collection also reflects her interest in Black literature. She taught courses in Black literature, and she served on the advisory board for the Negro-American Literature Forum, which later became the Black American Literature Forum.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0037

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Virginia Marie Burke was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts on May 19, 1916. She graduated from Hopedale High School in 1934. She received her B.S. from Worcester State College in 1938, her M.A. from Boston University in 1942, and her Ed.D. from Columbia University in 1956. She taught English and foreign languages in high schools in Massachusetts from 1938-1946. She started as an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1956, and remained with the University until her death in 1978.

She was an active member of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English, serving as the organization's president in 1964. She was also active in the National Council of Teachers of English, serving as the chair of the Committee on Convention Newsletters from 1959 to 1962. She was a nationally known authority on Black literature, and she served on the advisory board of the Negro-American Literature Forum, which later became the Black American Literature Forum. She was listed in Contemporary Authors (1974).

Papers of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English professor. The majority of the collection focuses on Burke's involvement in professional organizations, and her writing.

The collection consists of routine professional correspondence, personal correspondence, copies of published works, copies of papers submitted for publication, copies of published works, newspaper clippings, and notes.

Most of the correspondence documents Burke's activities with a number of professional organizations. The personal correspondence primarily deals with vacations, holidays, or Burke's personal fight against heart disease.

The collection also documents the activities and goals of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English, for the years 1958-1964. Included are copies (1958-1963) of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English (WCTE) Newsletter titledEnglish Language Arts in Wisconsin.

Materials from Burke's research project on Fred Newton Scott, a University of Michigan English professor who specialized in rhetoric, are included in the collection. The project was started in 1964, and appears to have been discontinued in 1965. The type of materials present are grant proposals, financial statements, and routine correspondence.

Burke was interested in the civil rights movement, and that interest is reflected in the collection. Many of her writings address problems of inequality between blacks and whites, and she was particularly concerned with the lack of black professors at UWM in the 1960s and 1970s. Her views on these subjects are scattered throughout the collection.

Burke published a number of papers, and when possible, a printed copy of the published work has been included in the collection. When a printed copy was not located, the most recent draft of the work was retained. Drafts of published books were not retained, as the books are available at the UWM Libraries.

The files are organized alphabetically by subject, then chronologically.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• UW-Milwaukee Dept. of English Records. UWM Archival Collection 127.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

An unknown person donated the collection sometime before 1989.

Processing Information

Vincent Totka processed the collection in August through November 1992 at the Archives.

Box   1 Folder   1	Academic Activities, 1976-1978
Box   1 Folder   2	Cardiac Kids, 1976
Box   1 Folder   3	Censorship, 1957-1963
Box   1 Folder   4	College Selection Nominating Committee, 1976-1977
Box   1 Folder   5	Commencement Address, 1958
Box   1 Folder   6	Conference on College Composition and Communication, 1972
Box   1 Folder   7	Conference on English Education, 1963-1971
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   8	1944-1965
Box   1 Folder   9	1966-1968
Box   1 Folder   10	1969
Box   1 Folder   11	1970-1973
Box   1 Folder   12	1974-1977
Box   2 Folder   2	undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Correspondence, Business and Personal, 1972
Box   2 Folder   3	Course Survey, 1968
Box   2 Folder   4	Dissertation, 1956
Box   2 Folder   5	Examination for Ph.D, 1976
Box   2 Folder   6	Fillers, 1976
Box   2 Folder   7	Fort Valley State College, 1970
Box   2 Folder   8	Gay Literature, 1976-1977
Box   2 Folder   9	Lay Reader Program, 1959-1961
Box   3 Folder   1	Library Journal Book Reviews, 1976-1978
Box   3 Folder   2	Milwaukee Area Technical College, Communication Skills 151, 1975
	National Council of Teachers of English
Box   3 Folder   3	Annual Programs, 1963-1967
Box   3 Folder   4	Committee on Publications, 1952-1963
Box   3 Folder   5	Constitution, 1958
Box   3 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1973-1974
Box   3 Folder   7	Handbooks, 1963
Box   3 Folder   8	History Committee, 1965
Box   3 Folder   9	Newsletter, 1963-1966
Box   3 Folder   10	Newsletter Project, 1959-1962
Box   4 Folder   1	Pre-Convention Study Groups, 1964
Box   4 Folder   2	Teacher Load, 1959-1960
Box   4 Folder   3	Negro American Literature Forum, 1971-1976
Box   4 Folder   6	Negro Stereotypes, 1971-1975
Box   4 Folder   5	New Century Project, 1970-1971
Box   4 Folder   6	Newspaper Clippings, 1956-1977
	Papers
Box   4 Folder   7	Advanced Composition for Future Teachers of English, 1962
Box   4 Folder   8	Black Literature for Whom?, 1972
Box   4 Folder   9	Crisis in Composition, 1961
Box   4 Folder   10	Freak Heart
Box   4 Folder   11	How Not to Find that Irish Ancestor, 1976
Box   4 Folder   12	Images of the Alcoholic in Literature, 1976-1977
Box   4 Folder   13	Immortal Womanhood, 1942
Box   4 Folder   14	Lost Dimension in Canto V of Dante's "Inferno," 1962
Box   4 Folder   15	Mummy Didn't Mean No Harm, 1974
Box   4 Folder   16	New Era in the Teaching of English, 1959
Box   4 Folder   17	Newsletters in Affiliate Work, 1966
Box   4 Folder   18	Once Upon a Shamrock Time, 1973
Box   4 Folder   19	Open Heart: A Hole in Her Heart, 1956
Box   5 Folder   2	Paragraph: Dancer in Chains, 1965
Box   5 Folder   1	Paragraph in Context, 1969
Box   5 Folder   13	Personal, 1939-1978
Box   5 Folder   3	Problems in Oral English, 1967
Box   5 Folder   4	Purpose in Writing, 1962
Box   5 Folder   5	Rhetoric and Composition: A Brief Historical Review, 1963
Box   5 Folder   6	Shape of the Breakthrough in English, 1960
Box   5 Folder   11	Student Papers by Burke, 1949
Box   5 Folder   7	Teaching of Language in High School, 1963
Box   5 Folder   8	Turn of the Tide in Composition?, 1965
Box   5 Folder   12	Untitled Drafts, 1973
Box   5 Folder   9	Veil and the Vision, 1977
Box   5 Folder   10	Zora Neale Hurston and Fannie Hurst as They Saw Each Other, 1977
Box   5 Folder   14	Photographs, 1962
Box   5 Folder   15	Poetry, 1966-1976
Box   5 Folder   16	Reviews, 1963-1976
Box   5 Folder   17	Royalty Reports, 1968-1976
Box   6 Folder   1	Scott Project, Correspondence, 1964
Box   6 Folder   2	Scott Project, Funding, 1964-1965
Box   6 Folder   3	Scott Project, Itinerary, 1964
Box   6 Folder   4	Sicily, 1972
Box   6 Folder   5	Television Course in the Humanities, 1958
Box   6 Folder   5	Twayne Publishers, 1973
Box   6 Folder   7-8	Untitled Novel, 1974
Box   6 Folder   9	United States English Educators People-to-People Delegation, 1977
	Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English
Box   7 Folder   1	Annual Financial Reports, 1960-1963
Box   7 Folder   2	Bulletins for Administration, 1961-1963
Box   7 Folder   3	College and University Conference, 1964
Box   7 Folder   4	Constitution, 1958
Box   7 Folder   5	Convention Programs, 1959-1963