Mark Dintenfass Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: LU-MS-233

Staff Only

The Mark Dintenfass Papers, 1957-2020 (bulk 1963-2006), document Dintenfass’s professions as both a fiction author and a professor of English at Lawrence University. The collection primarily contains manuscripts and documents about his published and unpublished writings, materials from his time as an English professor and theater director at Lawrence University (1968-2006), and correspondence with various colleagues, students, publishers, friends and family.

Dates

1957-2020 (bulk 1963-2006)

Creator

Dintenfass, Mark (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Lawrence University does not hold the copyright for all materials in this collection. Uses beyond those allowed for fair use under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) require the researcher to secure permission from the copyright holder.

Extent

12.96 Linear Feet (21 containers)

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Mark Dintenfass was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1941. He earned a Master’s in Dramatic Literature from Columbia University (1964) and served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years after graduation. When he returned to the States in 1966, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop (1968) and became a professor of English at Lawrence University in 1968. He taught courses in English, creative writing, and theater. He served as an English professor at Lawrence University until his retirement in 2006 and was a professor emeritus from 2006 onward. While at Lawrence University, he published six novels: Make Yourself an Earthquake (1969), The Case Against Org (1970), Figure 8 (1974), Montgomery Street (1978), Old World, New World (1982), and A Loving Place (1986).

Arrangement

This collection is organized into eleven (11) series.

Series 1: Biographical information contains pieces written about Dintenfass, interviews, data sheets and resumes, as well as photographs of him and his family.

Series 2: Correspondence primarily contains letters written to Dintenfass and/or his wife Phyllis Dintenfass from 1963-2020, with the bulk of letters dating from 1963-1991. The letters are generally from publishers, literary agents, fellow authors, Lawrence University colleagues and students, as well as friends and family. The letters are organized chronologically.

Series 3: Honors and Awards contains documents regarding two recognitions that Mark Dintenfass received for his work as a fiction author, the Harold U. Ribalow Prize and Notable Wisconsin Author.

Series 4: Lawrence University Records documents Dintenfass’s work as an English professor at Lawrence University. The files generally contain notes regarding courses he taught and lectures that he gave, dating from 1968-2003. The series also contains memorandums and documentation of his promotion in 1984 as well as his retirement in 2006.

Series 5: Manuscripts contains handwritten and typed manuscripts of published and unpublished novels written by Dintenfass. The manuscripts date from approximately 1966-1986 and are organized chronologically.

Series 6: Published Works primarily contains reviews and newspaper clippings about Dintenfass’s published books, including two scrapbooks, dating from 1969-1989. There are also files regarding events that Dintenfass participated in as an author, royalty statements for his published works, and galley proofs for his book Old World, New World.

Series 7: Screenplays contains typed and handwritten manuscripts for original screenplays written by Dintenfass, dating from 1970-1979, organized chronologically.

Series 8: Student Records documents Dintenfass’s time as a college student at Columbia University, as well as his Masters work at Columbia University and the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Materials include course work and assignments, notebooks he kept during his education, as well as his Columbia University Master’s essay and University of Iowa Master’s thesis. Records in this series date from 1957-1968 and are generally organized chronologically.

Series 9: Subject Files contains files about family, close friends, and colleagues. Of note is Phyllis Dintenfass’s publication of the book Teaching Reading, the poetry of Elisabeth Koffka (history professor at Lawrence University) that was sent to Dintenfass, and work that Dintenfass did for Roy Pinney, professional photographer and journalist from New York. Files are organized alphabetically.

Series 10: Theater contains documents relating to Dintenfass’s theater direction while at Lawrence University from 1981-2006. Materials include programs, flyers, reviews and newspaper clippings, photographs, as well as some production planning documents.

Series 11: Writings documents Dintenfass’s writing outside of his novels. Types include articles (such as articles he wrote for Columbia University’s student newspaper Columbia Spectator), book reviews, short stories, and his notebooks. Dintenfass’s writings date from 1962-1994 and are organized by type and thereunder chronologically, except for a run of undated writings which are organized alphabetically by title.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Mark Dintenfass, summer 2021.

Separated Materials

A VCR of David Ives "All In the Timing," which was directed by Mark Dintenfass, was removed and added to the University Video Recordings Collection (LU-RG13-004).