Print

The Guide to the Dennis Cooper Papers
ca. 1970-2002
MSS 85

Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2596
Fax: (212) 995-3835
Email: fales.library@nyu.edu
URL: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/cdfa.htm

© 2002 Fales Library and Special Collections . All rights reserved.
New York University Libraries, Publisher
Processed by Camilla Fojas (1997-1998); 2002 Accretion processed by Brandon Stosuy, June - Sept., 2002. Media Material updated by Luke Martin and Brent Phillips, July, 2008.
Machine-readable finding aid created by Brian Stevens - derived from the Word finding aid, 2002. Description is in English.
2003, Cooper finding aid converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by one2two.xsl.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Dennis Cooper, 1953-
Title: The Dennis Cooper Papers
Dates: 1970-2002
Abstract: The Dennis Cooper Papers cover his career from approximately 1970 to 2002 and include correspondence and manuscripts of many notable literary and cultural figures, scrapbooks, manuscripts, collaborative projects, journals, journalism, reviews, business/production files for each book project, posters, videocassettes, and tapes. Dennis Cooper's creative output includes poetry, journalism and fiction that at times explores 'extreme subjects.' In the late 1970's, Cooper became involved with the nascent punk scene and began Little Caesar Magazine, and later, Little Caesar Press. He is the author of novels such as: Closer (1989) and Frisk (1992), has contributed to the Village Voice, Spin, The Advocate and L.A. Weekly , and co-curated an exhibit with Richard Hawkins entitled "Against Nature: A Group Show of Work by Homosexual Men." Presently, Cooper lives in Los Angeles.
Quantity: ca. 20 Linear feet in 25 Boxes
Call Phrase: The Dennis Cooper Papers
Return to top

Historical/Biographical Note:

Dennis Cooper was born on January 10, 1953 in Pasadena, California. His literary aspirations were explored early on and often took the form of imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, De Sade, and Baudelaire. He wrote poetry and stories in his early teens that explored scandalous and often extreme subjects. As a teenager, Cooper was an "outsider" and the leader of a group of poets, punks, stoners and writers. After high school he attended Pasadena City College and later Pitzer College where he encountered a poetry teacher who was to inspire him to pursue his writing outside of institutions of higher learning.

In 1976 Cooper went to England to become involved in the nascent punk scene transforming the visual/verbal aesthetic of punk into its written counterpart--see, for example, Closer. In the same year he began Little Caesar Magazine which included among other things an issue on and dedicated to Rimbaud. In 1978 with the success of the magazine, Cooper was able to found Little Caesar Press which featured the work of, among others, Brad Gooch, Amy Gerstler, Elaine Equi, Tim Dlugos, and Eileen Myles.

In 1979, Cooper became the director of programming at an alternative poetry space, Beyond Baroque, in Venice, California. During his tenure such artists as Tim Miller, Eric Bogosian and Jessica Hagedorn gave performances. He also curated shows that included works by Sheree Levin and Bob Flanagan, Peter Schjeldahl, Kenward Elmslie, Gerard Malanga, and Jack Skelley. In 1984, Cooper moved to New York City. In 1987 he met his Dutch boyfriend whom he soon followed back to Amsterdam. While exiled in Amsterdam he finished writing Closer which took as inspiration a postcard that featured an image of Mickey Mouse carved onto the back of a young boy. Cooper later won the Ferro-Grumley for gay literature for Closer.

While in Amsterdam he also wrote articles for different American magazines including the Village Voice. He soon returned to New York and began writing articles for Artforum and began working on his next novel, Frisk. In the next few years Cooper works on several different art and performance projects including co-curating an exhibit at LACE with Richard Hawkins entitled AGAINST NATURE: A Group Show of Work by Homosexual Men.

Presently, Cooper lives in Los Angeles. He has, after his final return to Los Angeles from New York, collaborated with a number of artists, including composer John Zorn, painter Lari Pittman, sculptors Jason Meadows and Nayland Blake, and others. In the Spring of 2000 he published the final novel, Period, of the series that began with Closer, followed by Frisk, Try, and Guide.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The Terror of Earrings. Arcadia, CA: Kinks Press, 1973.

Little Caesar. Ed. Dennis Cooper. Los Angeles: Little Caesar Press, 1976-1981.

Tiger Beat. Los Angeles: Little Caesar Press, 1978.

Antoine Monnier. Los Angeles: Anon Press, 1978.

Idols. New York: The Sea Horse Press, 1979.

Coming Attractions: An Anthology of American Poets in Their Twenties. Ed. Dennis Cooper with assistance by Tim Dlugos. Los Angeles: Little Caesar Press, 1980.

The Missing Men. Santa Barbara: Am Here Books/Immediate Editions, 1981.

The Tenderness of Wolves.Trumansburg, New York: Crossing Press, 1982.

My Mark. Los Angeles: Sherwood Press, 1982.

Safe. New York: Sea Horse Press, 1984.

Them. (play) Produced in New York, 1985.

He Cried. San Francisco: Black Star Series, 1985.

Against Nature: A Group Show of Work by Homosexual Men. Curators Dennis Cooper and Richard Hawkins. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 1988.

Closer. New York: Grove Press, 1989.

Idols. Revised Edition. New York: Amethyst Press, 1989.

Knife/Tape/Rope (play). produced in New York City, 1989.

The Undead (play). produced in Los Angeles at Mark Taper Forum, 1989.

Frisk. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.

Lust.Intro. Dennis Cooper. Los Angeles: The Advocate Liberations Publications, 1991.

Discontents: New Queer Writers. Ed. Dennis Cooper. New York: Amethyst Press, 1992.

Wrong: Stories. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1992.

Jerk. San Francisco: Artspace Books, 1993.

Try. New York: Grove, 1994.

Dear Dennis, Love Lari. Collaboration with Lari Pittman and Jonathan Hammer. San Francisco: Hammer Editions, 1995.

The Dream Police: Selected Poems, 1969-1993. New York: Grove Press, 1995. Horror Hospital Unplugged. New York: Juno Books, 1997.

Guide. New York: Grove Press, 1997.

Weird Little Boy. Collaboration with John Zorn, Nayland Blake and Casey McKinney. Tokyo and New York: Avant Records, 1998.

Raymond Pettibon. Intro. Dennis Cooper. Switzerland: Kunsthalle Bern/D.A.P., 1998.

Period. New York: Grove Press, 2000.

Raymond Pettibon. Intro. Dennis Cooper. New York: Phaidon, 2001.

Thom Friedman. Essay. Dennis Cooper. London: Phaidon, 2001.

My Loose Thread. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2002.

Return to top

Scope and Content Note

The archival portion of the Dennis Cooper Collection is the Dennis Cooper Papers. It is comprised of the correspondence and manuscripts of many notable literary and cultural figures, scrapbooks, manuscripts, collaborative projects, journals, journalism, reviews, business/production files for each book project, zines, posters, videocassettes, tapes, and materials from both Little Caesar Magazine and Little Caesar Press. The Cooper Papers contains an almost comprehensive collection of the early to present-day literary career of Dennis Cooper. Cooper's original organization of his papers was preserved as much as possible.

Original format for most materials.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

SERIES I: Book projects and related materials

subseries A contains 4 boxes of book project materials, including promotional materials, business records, manuscripts, reviews, scrapbooks, correspondence, and background materials.

subseries B contains 1 box of collaborative projects and works edited by Cooper. This subseries includes manuscripts, correspondence, business materials, photos, promotional materials, reviews, a CD and slides.

subseries C contains materials relating to Cooper's collaborative projects including a play written with Haasen and collaborations with Houston-Jones.

SERIES II: Book Projects and Correspondence of Writers and Artists

Contains the manuscripts, correspondence, reviews, promotional materials, interviews, slides, readings and announcements, clippings and newsletters of friends and colleagues of Cooper.

SERIES III: Journalism

Contains journalism written for magazines and newspapers including but by no means limited to Artforum , The Advocate , Art in America , Spin , and The Village Voice . Series 3 also contains journal articles that either remain unpublished or contain no information regarding the publications for which they were written.

SERIES IV: Biographical material

subseries A contains biographical materials including juvenilia, diaries, scrapbooks, a headshot, college materials, readings, reviews and correspondence from family members.

subseries B contains personal correspondence, including early rejection letters.

SERIES V: Beyond Baroque

Contains materials from Cooper's tenure at Beyond Baroque including correspondence, readings, reviews, writing workshop materials, press materials and photos.

SERIES VI: Little Caesar Magazine/ Little Caesar Press

subseries A contains materials relating to and of Little Caesar Magazine including correspondence, invoice and records, reviews, press materials, production materials, and mock-ups of several issues of the magazine.

subseries B contains all the materials relating to and of Little Caesar Press including manuscripts, mock-ups, cover art, posters, photos, and correspondence.

SERIES VII: Media Material. [Access copies may not be available for these materials yet. Check with the Fales archivist.]

subseries A contains all access copies for videotapes available to researchers.

subseries B contains all original video recordings given by Cooper including versions of "Knife/Tape/Rope" and Frisk. [Also see ACCRETION 2002]

subseries C contains all access copies for audio material available to researchers.

subseries D containts all original audio material given by Cooper.

SERIES VIII: Zines

Includes zines collected by Cooper.

SERIES IX: Posters

Contains posters of readings, announcements, and promotional advertisements. The Posters are located in the map case.

OVERSIZE:

There are 2 flat oversize boxes that contain oversize materials from series 6.

ACCRETION 2002:

The 2002 Accretion to The Dennis Cooper Papers focus on Period, the last installment of Cooper's George Miles cycle and My Loose Thread, his first full-length prose work outside said cycle in ten years. The accretion includes scrapbooks, manuscripts, notebooks, and videotapes relating to these works. In the case of Period there's a model house constructed of wood and filled with a hand-drawn representation of the novel's structure, a note to Ziggy, and images of haunted houses, George Miles, and various anonymous teenagers. Also included is a diaristic scrapbook on "Ideal Beauty."

The collection also makes available Cooper's Death and Sex File, which includes clippings from hundreds of magazines and newspapers spanning more than a decade.

There are a number of folders of Juvenalia from the 1960's and 1970's, including early poetry, journalism, prose, journals, correspondence, and Cooper's first novel written when he was an adolescent.

The correspondence in the 2002 Accretion includes photos of the reclusive author J.T. LeRoy and materials regarding Cooper's newest editorial project, the Little House on the Bowery series at Akashic Books.

Return to top

Arrangement

For the most part, folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author within each series.
Items of similar subject/format are grouped together in the 9 series with some exceptions. Oversized material is arranged together.
Return to top

Related Material at the Fales Library and Special Collections

Tim Dlugos Papers

Downtown Collection

Serpent's Tail/High Risk Archive

Between C& D Archive

David Wojnarowicz Papers

Return to top

Separated Material

Printed books in the collection have been removed and catalogued individually as part of the Downtown Collection.

Return to top

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers. Written permission must be secured for researchers to consult the J.T. Leroy photographs. Appointments are necessary for the use of manuscript and archival materials.

Use Restrictions

Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Director of Fales Library and Special Collections. For further information, contact:

Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2596
Fax: (212) 995-3835
Email: fales.library@nyu.edu
URL: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/cdfa.htm

Return to top

Access Points

Subject Names:

Bellamy, Dodie.
Boone, Bruce.
Brite, Poppy Z.
Clark, Tom, 1941-
Cooper, Dennis, 1953-
Dlugos, Tim.
Equi, Elaine.
Fecteau, Vincent.
Gerstler, Amy.
Glück, Robert
Gooch, Brad, 1952-
Hawkins, Richard.
Home, Stewart, 1962-
Indiana, Gary.
Jeppeson, Travis.
Killian, Kevin.
LeRoy, J.T., 1980-
Pera, Brian.
Sedaris, David.
Silverberg, Ira.
Skelley, Jack, 1956-
Stadler, Matthew.
Stark, Frances.
Tillman, Lynne.
Trinidad, David, 1953-
Waters, John, 1946-
Weissman, Benjamin.
Wojnarowicz, David.

Subject Organizations:

Subject Topics:

American literature--20th century.
Artists and community--United States.
Authors, American--20th century.
Avant-garde (Aesthetics)
Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center.
Gays, writings, American.
Literature, Experimental.
Little Caesar Press.
New York (N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century.
Poets, American--20th century.
Small presses--California--Los Angeles.
Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Intellectual life--20th century.

Subject Places:

California--Los Angeles
New York (State)--New York

Document Types:

Business records.
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Little magazines.
Magazines (periodicals)
Manuscripts for publication.
Manuscripts.
Newspaper clippings.
Posters.
Reviews.
Scrapbooks.
Sound recordings.
Video recordings.
Return to top

Administrative Information

Provenance

The Dennis Cooper Papers were purchased in June, 1997 from Cooper. Arrangements for the sale of the collection were negotiated through Ira Silverberg, literary agent for Cooper. Cooper initially organized the collection and packed the materials for shipment. The Library received a grant that allowed for the purchase of the collection.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); The Dennis Cooper Papers; MSS 85; box number; folder number;

Fales Library and Special Collections

, New York University Libraries.

Return to top

Container List

Series I: Book projects and related materials

Subseries A:

 Box   Folder   Item  Title  Date 
 1 1 Terror of Earrings, manuscript undated
 1 2 Terror of Earrings, reviews undated
 1 3 Tiger Beat, correspondence undated
 1 4 Tiger Beat, reviews undated
 1 5 Antoine Monnier, manuscript undated
 1 6 Idols, manuscript undated
 1 7 Idols, manuscript--typewritten with revisions undated
 1 8 Idols, correspondence undated
 1 9 Idols, contract undated
 1 10 Idols, JFK Jr. scrapbook undated
 1 11 Idols, JFK Jr. scrapbook cont. undated
 1 12 Idols, press and reviews undated
 1 13 Tenderness of Wolves, first draft undated
 1 14 Tenderness of Wolves, early draft undated
 1 15 Tenderness of Wolves, manuscript undated
 1 15a Tenderness of Wolves, correspondence undated
 1 16 Tenderness of Wolves/Safe, scrapbook undated
 1 17 Tenderness of Wolves, contract undated
 1 18 Tenderness of Wolves, reviews undated
 1 19 The Missing Men, correspondence undated
 1 20 He Cried, manuscript/review undated
 1 20a He Cried, correspondence undated
 1 21 My Mark, early draft undated
 1 21a My Mark, correspondence undated
 1 22 My Mark, background--Mark Lewis File undated
 1 23 My Mark, reviews/promotional material undated
 1 24 Safe, early drafts undated
 1 24a Safe, cont. undated
 1 25 Safe, final draft undated
 1 26 Safe, manuscript undated
 1 27 Safe, correspondence undated
 1 28 Safe, contract undated
 1 29 Safe, reviews undated
 1 30 Safe, production undated
 1 31 Closer, early drafts undated
 1 32 Closer, later draft undated
 1 33 Closer, galleys undated
 2 34 Closer, scrapbook undated
 2 35 Closer, correspondence undated
 2 36 Closer, background file--George Miles undated
 2 37 Closer, contract undated
 2 38 Closer, reviews undated
 2 39 Closer, press/production undated
 2 40 Closer, material on Closer undated
 2 41 Frisk, early manuscript "Tense" undated
 2 42 Frisk, early drafts undated
 2 43 Frisk, early drafts undated
 2 44 Frisk, early drafts undated
 2 45 Frisk, draft undated
 2 46 Frisk, draft undated
 2 47 Frisk, manuscript undated
 2 48 Frisk, correspondence undated
 2 49 Frisk, scrapbook undated
 2 50 Frisk, imagery undated
 2 51 Frisk, background material--Keanu Reeves file undated
 2 52 Frisk, background material--draft of Keanu Reeves interview by Cooper undated
 2 53 Frisk, background material--manuscript of Keanu Reeves interview by Cooper undated
 2 54 Frisk, reviews/promotional material undated
 2 55 Frisk, reviews/promotional material undated
 2 56 Frisk, reviews/promotional material undated
 2 57 Frisk, Passagen promotional material undated
 2 58 Frisk, unpublished essay by William Burroughs on Frisk/Closer undated
 2 59 Frisk, essay by Achy Obejas on Frisk undated
 2 60 Frisk, related manuscript--author unknown undated
 3 61 Frisk, film script draft undated