Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences English Department J. Kerker Quinn Papers Finding Aid Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences English Department J. Kerker Quinn Papers Finding Aid Title: J. Kerker Quinn Papers, 1926-69
ID: 15/7/30
Primary Creator: Quinn, J. Kerker (1911-1969)
Extent: 24.4 cubic feet
Arrangement: By type of material and alphabetical or chronological thereunder.
Subjects: Accent, Bradley University, Creative Writing, Faculty Papers, Fiction, Ford Foundation, Little Magazines, Plays, Poetry, Short Stories, Stories
Formats/Genres: Papers
Languages: English
Papers of J. Kerker Quinn (1911-69), assistant professor of English (1936-69) and editor of Direction (1934-35) and Accent (1940-60), including personal and business correspondence with contributors, subscribers and colleagues; manuscripts of poetry, stories and plays; student papers from Bradley College (1930-34); contributions record (1940-61); files on "little magazines;" financial records; lecture and research notes; Ford Foundation fellowship program for creative writers files (1953-63); sheet music; playbills; poetry and fiction bibliographies; newspaper clippings; course materials; class records and student papers. Correspondents include Nelson Algren, Eric Bentley, Walter Van Tillburg Clark, Malcom Cowley, E. E. Cummings, Bill Gass, Henry Miller, Marianne Moore, Katherine Anne Porter, J. F. Powers, George Scouffas, Charles Shattuck, Wallace Stevens, Eudora Welty and Richard Wright.
This series includes published copies (1934-35, 1940-60) of Direction and Accent.
THIS SERIES HAS ACCESS RESTRICTIONS; PLEASE CONTACT AN ARCHIVIST.
John Kerker Quinn (1911-1969) was assistant in English (1936-44); instructor in English (1944-52); assistant professor of English (1952-57); and associate professor of English (1957-69) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He was a renowned educator perhaps best known as founder and editor of the pioneering literary journal Accent.
Quinn earned a bachelor's degree (1933) from Bradley University and a master's degree (1936) in English from UIUC. He served as editor of Direction (1934-35) and, most importantly, Accent (1940-60), a small literary magazine he founded to highlight achievements in contemporary writing. The publication became influential and featured avant-garde luminaries during its twenty-year run, such as E. E. Cummings (1894-1962), Langston Hughes (1902-1967), and Sylvia Plath (1932-1963). Its mélange of leading-edge critical reviews, short stories, and poetry defied traditional categories such as region or movement and inspired a host of similar literary magazines. Quinn also contributed to the development of the university's Festival of Contemporary Arts, serving on the planning committee.
Quinn died prematurely on October 27, 1969, of a heart attack suffered while teaching class.
Sources:
"Teacher Dies During Class," Daily Illini, 28 October 1969, https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19691028.2.9&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-J.+Kerker+Quinn+--------.
"J. Kerker Quinn and the Festival of Contemporary Arts," accessed June 3, 2020, https://archives.library.illinois.edu/langston-hughes/quinn/.
"Dandy and Fine: Accent to Ascent," accessed June 3, 2020, https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8998/dandyfineaccentt00univ.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
Bruce Michelson, "American Literature in the Cornfields, Stuart Pratt Sherman and J. Kerker Quinn," No Boundaries: University of Illinois Vignettes, ed., Lillian Hoddeson (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2004). Accessed June 4, 2020, https://books.google.com/books?id=02eFrTPIo4gC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=J+kerker+quinn&source=bl&ots=kI8vwI4pTd&sig=ACfU3U2GqtqFAHgv4aNrPrnrQ4dB0Ctymw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFuZuMpejpAhWXBc0KHRj_AnoQ6AEwDXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=J%20kerker%20quinn&f=false.
Accent
Bradley University
Creative Writing
Faculty Papers
Fiction
Ford Foundation
Little Magazines
Plays
Poetry
Short Stories
Stories
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1507030.pdf
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