Contents and Arrangement
Philip Roth Letters to Blake Bailey, 2012-2015
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Includes printouts of lengthy letters from Roth to Bailey including essays on various aspects of his life intended as source material for his biography. There is a letter titled "Grandma's File," which encloses a photocopy of a letter sent by Roth to his grandmother in October 1952, while he was a junior at Bucknell College. Many of the letters pertain to Roth's romantic relationships, including with "Maggie" (Margaret Martinson Williams) and Barbara Sproul. Others relate to Roth's experiences with depression and physical pain, his friendships, and refuting claims made by others about him. There is also a printout of an email from Blake Bailey (September 10, 2012) that includes a transcript of recordings of President Richard Nixon talking with H.R. Haldeman and Charles Colson about Roth.
- Arrangement
Arranged by material type.
Collection History
- Appraisal
No materials were removed from the collection during 2018 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
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:
Philip Roth Letters to Blake Bailey; Benjamin Taylor Collection of Philip Roth Materials, C1609, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (mss)
- Boxes B-001210
