The collection best illustrates Stevenson's career as a writer and advocate of social justice and labor causes. There is very little concerning his “other” careers as teacher and publicist, and little directly concerning his involvement with the Hollywood Ten. However, the concerns which activated the members of the Ten later were themes which pervade much of Stevenson's writing, as do the effects of the blacklist. Other interests of Stevenson's included the Southwest and its Indian and Hispanic peoples. All of his interests came together in his monumental work, The Seed, and his writings on the Gallup, New Mexico labor struggles. The papers have been arranged in five series: Personal Papers and Correspondence; Articles, Essays, and Political Writings; Books; Scripts; and Stories. The Photographs are listed separately at the end of the Container List.
PERSONAL PAPERS AND CORRESPONDENCE includes biographical materials and writing credits (listed by Stevenson), tributes from Stevenson's memorial service, genealogies of the Stevenson family, and miscellaneous other papers of his relatives. Despite the presence of these documents, the precise relationships between Stevenson and members of his family are a little difficult to ascertain. There is also a folder of papers documenting his military service, address books, business papers composed of contracts and royalty statements, and diaries which he kept during a 1912 European trip and during his World War I service. Among the photographs accompanying the collection are several albums and snapshots taken during the 1912 trip and while Stevenson was stationed in Paris during the war. Other photographs were taken later in Stevenson's life; many depict Stevenson and the members of his family, and scenes of the Southwest.
Stevenson's correspondence includes both personal and business correspondence and is arranged alphabetically and chronologically. The correspondence consists mainly of letters to editors and statesmen on public issues, and concerning his writings.
Other personal papers contain a variety of materials. There are small files of contracts, organizational papers, and correspondence from the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers and New York Theatrical Press Agents, documenting Stevenson's employment with those organizations. Stevenson's files concerning the California Quarterly are partially administrative files, and contain editorial letters, subscriptions, letters from readers, and drafts of articles and poems submitted for publication. (Issues of the California Quarterly are available in the University of Wisconsin Library.) Stevenson's involvement in the John Reed Club is illustrated by a history, minutes, reports, constitution, and by-laws.
In addition to files of newspaper clippings and a scrapbook of his own activities, Stevenson kept large reference files for use in his writing. Where possible, the reference materials have been filed with the writing for which they were used. In this series, however, are located those reference materials not clearly identified with a particular writing. These include writings, notes, clippings, and other items on aesthetic theory, folklore, the Haymarket Riot, Navajo Indians, and the 1919 Seattle strike and the attack on the I.W.W. Hall in Centralia, Washington. Also present are 59 small notebooks of information and memoranda compiled by Stevenson for use while writing. Most appear to pertain to The Seed.
Other materials include reviews of Stevenson's play Declaration and the film The Story of G.I. Joe. From his 1933 tenure as superintendent of Base Camp #1, on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico, there are miscellaneous administrative memoranda pertaining to camp complaints, wage increases, orders for food and supplies, and other routine matters.
ARTICLES, ESSAYS, AND POLITICAL WRITINGS consist of published and unpublished manuscript materials on a variety of topics. The series also includes biography, book reviews, editorials, and speeches. All of these are arranged alphabetically by title, except for book reviews which are placed first in the series and arranged alphabetically by the title of the book reviewed. Stevenson's political writings chiefly concern the House Un-American Activities Committee, articles and pamphlets concerning the Gallup, New Mexico, mine workers' labor struggle, the Korean War, and cultural and artistic expression.
Within the BOOKS series are numerous drafts of Stevenson's published and unpublished novels, a travel book, and a text book, all arranged son's published and unpublished novels, a travel book, and a text book, all arranged alphabetically by title. Most voluminous are the drafts and revisions of the volumes comprising The Seed. Individual volumes are arranged under the title, The Seed, in the order in which they were written. Also present are first drafts of The Edge of the Nest; first, second and final drafts of The Gospel According to St. Luke's; drafts and notes of “The Pig-Iron Venus”; and rough and first drafts of New Mexico: An Autobiography. The published books include a number of Stevenson's full-length books in English and translated into foreign languages, and anthologies in which a piece written by Stevenson appears.
SCRIPTS contain notes, treatments, rough and final drafts of plays, and scripts for radio, television, and films. Among those included are Big Wind (1933), What It Takes (1935-1936), The Story of G.I. Joe (1944-1945), The Girl in White (1952), and La Rosa Blanca (1960). The scripts are arranged alphabetically.
The STORIES series contains the original manuscripts of published and unpublished fiction stories and novelettes, with notes and reference material, arranged alphabetically by title.
The PHOTOGRAPHS have been arranged in three photo lots. Most of the photos have been annotated or identified by Stevenson, although many of the individuals are identified only by initials. They include many portraits and snapshots of Stevenson and members of his family; albums of photos from a 1912 Stevenson family European trip and from Stevenson's World War I service; and photos of Paris (1919), of skiing, ski jumping, and Stevenson at a tuberculosis sanatorium at Saranac Lake, New York (1920), of the Southwest (1930s-1950s), and of the Zuni Indian Reservation while Stevenson was public works camp superintendent (1933).
