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Collection Overview

Creator:
Pitol, Sergio (1933-2018)
Title:
Sergio Pitol Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/qr46r0878
Dates:
1951-2011
Size:
23 boxes and 9.8 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-23
Language:
Spanish; Castilian

Abstract

Consists of the personal and literary papers of Mexican writer, translator, and diplomat Sergio Pitol.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The papers consist of Sergio Pitol's diaries, journals, notebooks, handwritten, typescript, and print out manuscripts of literary works, correspondence, personal documents, and papers of others about Pitol. There are manuscripts of unpublished works such as "Conversaciones con Sergio Pitol" (unpublished); and published manuscripts El desfile del amor, Domar a la divina garza, El viaje, and La vida conyugal. Correspondence includes letters from friends, writers, artists, literary critics, agents, and publishers such as Rosario Castellanos, José Donoso, Carlos Fuentes, Witold Gombrowicz, María Luisa Mendoza (la China), Carlos Monsivaís, Augusto Monterroso, José Emilio Pacheco, Octavio Paz, Elena Poniatowska, Manuel Puig, Juan Soriano, and Juan Villoro among others.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in the following way: Series 1: Diaries and Journals, Series 2: Notebooks, Series 3: Writings, Series 4: Correspondence, Series 5: Personal Documents, and Series 6: About Pitol.

Collection Creator Biography:

Pitol

Sergio Pitol Deméneghi was born in Puebla, Mexico, on March 18, 1933. He studied law at the Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City. In 1960, he became a member of the Mexican Foreign Service and served over a number of years as cultural attaché in Paris, Warsaw, Budapest, Moscow. In the 1980s he served as Mexico's ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Pitol's trips also include periods of study and work in Rome, Beijing, and Barcelona. Since 1993 he has lived in Xalapa, capital of the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Pitol's publications as translator include literary works by such authors as Jerzy Andrzejewski, Jane Austen, Giorgio Bassani, Kazimierz Brandys, Anton Chekhov, Joseph Conrad, Witold Gombrowicz, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. He also served as a professor at the UNAM, at the Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, and at the University of Bristol, England.

In 2005, Pitol received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world. Other major awards include the Premio Juan Rulfo (1999), Premio Herralde de Novela (1984), and the Premio Xavier Villaurrutia (1981). Pitol died on April 12, 2018.

Major published works:

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchase, 2008 (AM 2009-24).

Additions in December 2008 (AM 2009-52) and October 2015 (AM 2016-32).

Appraisal

Nothing was removed from the 2015 processing.

Processing Information

This collection was re-processed by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in November 2015. Finding aid written by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez in November 2015.

This collection was originally processed by Carolina Gamboa-Hoyos in October 2008. Finding aid written by Carolina Gamboa-Hoyos in November 2008.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Sergio Pitol Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/qr46r0878
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-23