Title: James T. Farrell Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1935-1962

Creator:

• Farrell, James T. (James Thomas), 1904-1979

Call Number: Local History Manuscript Collection 16

Quantity: 1.1 cubic ft. (3 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

James T. Farrell was a novelist, journalist, and short story writer and very active in politics. He was a longtime friend of Frank Zeidler, former Milwaukee Mayor and socialist. He identified early in his life as a Communist and Marxist and was very active in Trotskyite politics, joining the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). As an author he became known for his realistic descriptions of the working class South Side Irish. In the early 1930s, he wrote his most famous works, the Studs Lonigan trilogy.

Note:

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Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-lhmc0016

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James T. Farrell was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 27, 1904 to a large, second-generation Irish-American family. His father, James, was a teamster and his mother, Mary, a domestic servant. At the age of 3 his parents were unable to provide for him and he was sent to live with his grandparents on Chicago’s south side. He attended the University of Chicago from 1925 to 1929 but did not graduate. He began to write seriously about 1925. He married Dorothy Butler in 1931 and they were divorced by 1940. He then married Hortense Alden in 1941; they had two sons, Kevin and John. The couple divorced in 1951. In 1955, he remarried his first wife Dorothy but they separated in 1958. He met Cleo Paturis in 1960 and she was his partner through the end of his life.

Farrell was very active in politics. He was a longtime friend of Frank Zeidler, former Milwaukee Mayor and socialist. He identified early in his life as a Communist and Marxist and was very active in Trotskyite politics joining the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). He served as the chairman of the SWP’s Civil Rights defense Committee from 1941-1945. In the later 1940s he parted ways with the SWP as it became more involved with Stalinism.

As a novelist, journalist, and short story writer, he became known for his realistic descriptions of the working class South Side Irish. In the early 1930s, he wrote his most famous works about the character Studs Lonigan in a trilogy by the same name. Also in the same lower class Irish setting was the Bernard Carr series and the Danny O’Neill series. In total Farrell produced 52 volumes not including those in progress at his death. Farrell was also a passionate baseball fan and wrote on the subject. In addition to articles, he wrote two baseball focused books, one published in 1957 called My Baseball Diary and the second, Dreaming Baseball, was written in the 1950s but not published until, well after his death, in 2007. Farrell died in New York City on August 22, 1979.

Collection includes newspaper clippings about Farrell’s life and copies of his editorials and articles. Included are typewritten editorials that may or may not be published, correspondence, poems, and photographs, three paperback copies of Farrell’s works and miscellaneous pamphlets and publications.

The subjects are arranged alphabetically. Within each subject, folders are generally arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each folder. The one exception is that typewritten editorials have been kept in their original order. The pages have been numbered, within each folder, in pencil to keep items in order.

Farrell, James T., 1935-1962, Collection 16. Local History Manuscript Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

• Frank P. Zeidler Papers. Local History Manuscript Collection 352.

Studs Lonigan : a trilogy

Studs Lonigan : a trilogy comprising Young Lonigan, The young manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment day

New Year's eve, 1929

The collected poems of James T. Farrell

Selected essays

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view Local History Manuscript Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

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

The materials were donated to Milwaukee Public Library by James T. Farrell during the years 1953-1958. Alexander Cappon, of the University of Kansas City Review, donated a selection of its issues that included Farrell in 1954. They were accessioned as a Local History Manuscript Collection.

Processing Information

Inventory by Jeffrey K. Carlin-Bartel, Volunteer Archivist, 2012. Processed by Casey Lapworth, 2018.

	Biographical
Box   1 Folder   1	Clippings, 1935-1958, undated
Box   3 Folder   1	Clippings, 1935-1957, undated
Box   1 Folder   2	Miscellaneous, 1953-1956, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Miscellaneous, 1954-1955, undated
	Clippings
Box   3 Folder   3	Non-English, 1947-1958
Box   1 Folder   3	Chicago, 1955
Box   1 Folder   4	Commentary, 1954
Box   1 Folder   5	General, 1955-1958
Box   1 Folder   6	Sports Illustrated, 1955
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   7	Frank Zeidler, 1948-1960
Box   1 Folder   8	General, Undated
	Editorials
Box   1 Folder   9-10	Clippings, 1953-1966, undated
Box   3 Folder   4	Clippings, 1940-1966
Box   3 Folder   5-9	Typewritten, 1957-1958
	Lectures
Box   1 Folder   11-12	undated
Box   3 Folder   10	1958, undated
	Pamphlets
Box   1 Folder   13	The Fate of Writing in America, 1946
Box   1 Folder   14	The Free Spirit, 1956
Box   1 Folder   15	A Free Voice at the Soviet Writers Congress, 1954
Box   1 Folder   16	General, 1950-1956
Box   1 Folder   17	Poems, 1963, undated
	Publications
Box   1 Folder   18-19	1950-1956
Box   2 Folder   1	The New Leader, 1951-1957
Box   2 Folder   2	Paperbacks (French Girls are Vicious; The Face of Time, Great Tales of City Dwellers), 1955-1956
Box   2 Folder   3-5	University of Kansas City Review, 1943-1953
Box   2 Folder   6	Speeches, 1948
Box   2 Folder   7	Surya Kumari (includes photographs), 1962