Contents and Arrangement
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Cops and Writers: Crime and Punishment in Literature and Real Life, 1994 April 18

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Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This panel brings together for the first time authors who write about crime and officials in the criminal justice system and law enforcement. The primary questions they address are how the writers who focus on crime view actual crime and issues of law and order. Conversely, how do judges, prosecutors and police officials view the way they are depicted in novels, television and movies? As a writer of novels, Judge Edwin Torres links both sides of the panel. He speaks about the "complexity of the criminal mind" and cautions against our fascination with criminals. Richard Condon describes the criminal justice system as "unstructured" where the lowest level of the structure--police officers--do the primary decision making. Joyce Carol Oates talks about her immersion in serial killer books and how much she identifies with victims of violence. Michael Sheehan, also a reporter, is captivated by detective work and says that readers are "fascinated with the underbelly of the city". Evan Hunter and Ed McBain began careers in pulp magazines. Their interest is in how a crime story opens with a murder, a change, that we hope will be righted. He speaks of our fears of being a victim. Linda Wolfe describes some of the unbelievable stories she hears as a true crime writer and the charm of some of the murderers. Walter Mosley reads a text about justice for criminals and as well for the larger society. He also speaks of social crime, poverty, and lack of jobs while the focus of the panel has been on homicide. Kempton concurs and speaks about the "ghettoizing of violence." Mosley references Rodney King, the advent of video evidence, and African American fears of police. McBain disagrees about whether fear of police is felt more by blacks claiming all are afraid of a police state. The Q&A includes questions about bad crime writing and the interrelationship between criminal and police.

3 video cassettes (U-matic (KSP-60)), including one blank tape

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by name of the program and chronologically within.

Collection History

Appraisal

Approximately 100 linear feet of material was separated in 2010, including duplicate material, clippings, general administrative and logistical files, general membership files, general reference files, publications (transferred to Firestone Library general collections) and extraneous material.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jennifer Bowden with the assistance of Jennifer Watkins in 1994. Finding aid written by Jennifer Bowden with the assistance of Jennifer Watkins in 1994.

Reprocessed by Regine Heberlein in 2010.

Original audiovisual media were digitized in 2015-2017 as part of a grant-funded digitization project in collaboration with PEN America. Description of audiovisual materials was enhanced by Kelly Bolding in 2018, using description provided by PEN America.

In 2022, restrictions on the P.E.N. Writers' Fund files were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The 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.

Online access to most digitized audiovisual media in the collection is available through the PEN America Digital Archive site.

Credit this material:

Cops and Writers: Crime and Punishment in Literature and Real Life; P.E.N. American Center Records, C0760, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (rcpxm): Box 280