TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Scope and Content of the Collection
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Inventory of the Tia Chucha Press Records, 1989-1999
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2008. ©2008. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
|
| Creator | Tia Chucha Press |
| Title | Tia Chucha Press Records |
| Dates | 1989-1999 |
| Extent | 6.7 linear feet (13 boxes, 1 oversize box) |
| Abstract | Administrative and literary materials including correspondence, manuscripts, reports, and financial documents pertaining to the establishment and operation of publishing company Tia Chucha Press. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Tia Chucha Press |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 24 14 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Tia Chucha Press Records, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift of David Hernandez and the Guild Complex, 2000.
Processed by
Lisa Janssen, 2008.
Acknowledgements
This inventory was created with the generous support of the Poetry Foundation. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the Poetry Foundation.
Access
The Tia Chucha Press Records are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Tia Chucha Press Records are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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History of Tia Chucha Press
Small press publishing company founded in Chicago by poet and activist Luis Rodriguez.
Tia Chucha Press was established by Luis Rodriguez in 1989. Rodriguez grew up in Los Angeles, the son of first generation Mexican immigrants. As a teenager, he became involved in East Los Angeles street gangs while also participating in political activism. After several arrests, he was able to break away from street life and attend college to study journalism at East Los Angeles College and UC Berkeley. He moved to Chicago in 1985 to write and edit for the nationally published revolutionary newspaper People's Tribune.
He became active in Chicago's burgeoning poetry scene and started Tia Chucha to publish his own poetry collection, Poems Across the Pavement. Named after his Aunt Jesusita, an important creative influence in his youth, the mission statement of Tia Chucha was to publish, "quality, cross-cultural voices in literature," and, "offer a window into worlds often neglected by most mainstream media and publishing." The press was fed by the vibrant Chicago poetry "bar-and-cafe" literary scene of the 1980s and 1990s which emphasized dramatic spoken work performances and poetry slams. The press became part of the Guild Complex non-profit arts organization in 1991. Tia Chucha books featured striking design elements, and published minority and alternative authors. Many authors whose early work were published by Tia Chucha, including Elizabeth Alexander (Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural poet), Michael Warr, and Rodriguez himself, continued onto award-winning writing careers. In 2000, Rodriguez returned to Los Angeles and founded Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural and Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley where the press continues to operate today.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Administrative and literary materials including correspondence, manuscripts, reports, and financial documents pertaining to the establishment and operation of publishing company Tia Chucha Press.
Administrative materials include correspondence and statements from printers, distributors, designers, and other vendors, sales and financial reports, publicity, author queries, and grant applications. The Books series contains manuscripts, design layouts, and correspondence with authors including Elizabeth Alexander, Ricardo Sánchez, and Michael Warr. Guild Complex materials include meeting minutes, grant applications, promotional materials, financial documents, by-laws, and materials pertaining to the Prism youth writing workshops.
Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of each series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.
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Organization
Papers are organized in the following series:
- Series 1: Administration, 1989-1999. Box(es) 1-5
- Series 2: Books, 1989-1999. Box(es) 6-11
- Series 3: Guild Complex, 1992-1999. Box(es) 12-13
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Alexander, Elizabeth, 1962-
- Guild Complex (Chicago, Ill.)
- Rodriguez, Luis J., 1954-
- Sánchez, Ricardo, 1941-
- Tia Chucha Press -- Records and correspondence
- Warr, Michael, 1941-
Subjects
- Poetry -- 20th century
- Small presses -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Book design
- Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Poetry slams
- Poets, American -- 20th century
- Poets, Latin American
- Publishers and publishing -- Illinois -- Chicago.
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Container List
Series 1: Administration, 1989-1999 |
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| Materials pertaining to the administration of Tia Chucha Press including correspondence and statements from printers, distributors, designers, and other vendors. Also financial and sales reports, publicity, author queries, and grant applications. The series contains a significant amount of correspondence in the form of submission queries and some general correspondence, but most correspondence with authors regarding published books is filed in Series 2: Books. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Advertising, 1991-1996 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Author events, readings, 1991, 1996, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Awards, prizes, 1991-1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Book design (includes author photos and correspondence with designer Jane Kremsreiter), (see also oversize box), 1990-1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Book fairs, festivals, 1993-1999, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Book orders, 1989-1997, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Brochures, catalogs, 1992-1997, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 8-9 | Correspondence - general, 1991-1999 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence - submissions, queries, requests, 1990-1993 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11-16 | Correspondence - submissions, queries, requests, 1994-1997 | |||||||||
| 3 | 17 | Correspondence - submissions, queries, requests, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 3 | 18 | Desk copy requests, 1991-1996 | |||||||||
| 3 | 19 | Directories, 1991-1996, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 20 | The Distributors, 1990-1996 | |||||||||
| 3 | 21 | Distribution - miscellaneous, 1991-1997 | |||||||||
| 3 | 22 | Establishment of Tia Chucha Press, 1989-1991 | |||||||||
| 3 | 23 | Financial reports, budgets, 1992-1995 | |||||||||
| 3 | 24 | Form letters, 1991-1995, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 25 | Grants - miscellaneous, 1991-1996 | |||||||||
| 3 | 26 | Illinois Arts Council grant, 1991-1992 | |||||||||
| 3 | 27 | Independent Literary Publishers Association - sales reports, statements, 1989-1992 | |||||||||
| 3 | 28 | Independent Literary Publishers Association - catalogs, 1990-1991 | |||||||||
| 3 | 29 | Inland Book Company, 1991-1995 | |||||||||
| 3 | 30 | Internal memos, 1994-1999, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 31 | Invoices - miscellaneous, 1991-1998, n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 32 | Lannan Foundation, 1992-1998 | |||||||||
| 4 | 33 | Mailing lists, ca. 1991-1998 | |||||||||
| 4 | 34 | McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 1989-1997 | |||||||||
| 4 | 35-36 | National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) - grant materials, 1993-1999 | |||||||||
| 4 | 37 | Northwestern University Press - miscellaneous correspondence, catalogs, 1995-1998 | |||||||||
| 4 | 38 | Northwestern University Press - sales reports, 1995-1997 | |||||||||
| 5 | 39-40 | Northwestern University Press - sales reports, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 5 | 41 | Notes, phone messages, 1991-1998 | |||||||||
| 5 | 42 | Payments, 1991-1994, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 43 | Permissions, 1993-1998 | |||||||||
| 5 | 44 | Press releases, announcements, 1992-1996, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 45 | Publicity - miscellaneous, 1991-1997, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 46 | Reviews, requests for review copies, 1990-1997 | |||||||||
| 5 | 47 | Rodriquez, Luis - miscellaneous, 1992-1998, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 48 | Royalties, 1994-1997 | |||||||||
| 5 | 49 | Small Press Distribution, 1991-1995 | |||||||||
| 5 | 50 | Stationary, business cards, ca. 1990s | |||||||||
Series 2: Books, 1989-1999 |
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| Contains correspondence, manuscripts, artwork, contracts, publicity, and other materials pertaining to the editing, production, and distribution of books published by Tia Chucha Press. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically by author. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 6 | 51 | Alexander, Elizabeth - Body of Life, 1996-1997 | |||||||||
| 6 | 52 | Buscani, Lisa - Jangle, 1992-1993 | |||||||||
| 6 | 53 | Carbó, Nick - El Grupo McDonald's, 1995 | |||||||||
| 6 | 54 | Carbó, Nick - Secret Asian Man, 1999 | |||||||||
| 6 | 55 | Cumpian, Carlos - Armadillo Charm, 1995-1996 | |||||||||
| 6 | 56 | Dixon, Melvin - Love's Instrument, 1994-1995 | |||||||||
| 7 | 57 | Dream in Yourself - A Collection of Literary Workds from Gallery 37, 1997 | |||||||||
| 7 | 58 | Duhamel, Denise & Maureen Seaton - Exquisite Politics, 1996-1997 | |||||||||
| 7 | 59 | Fitzpatrick, Tony - The Coming of the Locusts, 1991-1992 | |||||||||
| 7 | 60 | Glancy, Diane - The Relief of America, 1999-2000 | |||||||||
| 7 | 61 | Hawley, Mary Kathleen - Double Tongues, 1992-1993 | |||||||||
| 7 | 62 | Hayes, Terrance - Muscular Music, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 7 | 63 | Hernandez, David - Rooftop Piper, 1991, 1999 | |||||||||
| 7 | 64 | I Represent - A Collection of Literary Works from Gallery 37, 1995-1996 | |||||||||
| 8 | 65 | Maciel, Olivia (editor) - Shards of Light, 1995-1998 | |||||||||
| 8 | 66 | Mori, Kyoko - Fallout, 1993-1995 | |||||||||
| 8 | 67 | Okita, Dwight - Crossing with the Light, 1991-1995 | |||||||||
| 8 | 68 | Open Fist - An Anthology of Young Illinois Poets, 1993, n.d. | |||||||||
| 8 | 69 | Plumpp, Sterling D. - Blues Narratives, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 8 | 70-71 | Power Lines - A Decade of Poetry from Chicago's Guild Complex, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 9 | 72-74 | Power Lines - A Decade of Poetry from Chicago's Guild Complex, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 9 | 75 | Rodriguez, Andrés - Night Song, 1993-1994 | |||||||||
| 9 | 76 | Rodriguez, Luis - Poems Across the Pavement (see also oversize box), 1989 | |||||||||
| 9 | 77 | Salach, Cin - Looking for a Soft Place to Land, 1995-1996 | |||||||||
| 10 | 78-80 | Sánchez, Ricardo - The Loves of Ricardo, 1995-1997 | |||||||||
| 10 | 81 | Sheehan, John - Leaving Gary, 1996-1997 | |||||||||
| 10 | 82 | A Snake in the Heart (spoken word CD), 1993-1994 | |||||||||
| 10 | 83 | Suárez, Virgil - You Come Singing, 1998 | |||||||||
| 11 | 84-85 | Suárez, Virgil - You Come Singing, 1998 | |||||||||
| 11 | 86 | Tate, Marvin - A Schoolyard of Broken Dreams, 1994 | |||||||||
| 11 | 87 | Walden, Gale - Same Blue Chevy, 1991-1996 | |||||||||
| 11 | 88-89 | Weaver, Afaa M. - Talisman, 1996-1999 | |||||||||
Series 3: Guild Complex, 1992-1999 |
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| Meeting mintues, financial materials, by-laws, promotional materials, reports, and materials pertaining to the Prism youth writing workshops. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 12 | 90 | Annual and three-year plans, 1994-1999 | |||||||||
| 12 | 91 | Board of Directors meeting minutes, 1992-1999 | |||||||||
| 12 | 92 | Budget and expenses, 1995-1999, n.d. | |||||||||
| 12 | 93 | By-laws and policies, ca. 1990s | |||||||||
| 12 | 94 | Correspondence, 1992-1999, n.d. | |||||||||
| 12 | 95 | Finance and Development Committee meeting minutes, 1995, 1997 | |||||||||
| 12 | 96 | Fliers and brochures, 1995-1999, n.d. | |||||||||
| 12 | 97 | Grant application, 1997 | |||||||||
| 12 | 98 | Guild Books (store), 1992-1993 | |||||||||
| 12 | 99 | Miscellaneous documents, 1993-1995 | |||||||||
| 12 | 100 | Prism workshops - correspondence and administrative materials, 1996-1999 | |||||||||
| 12 | 101 | Prism workshops - grant applications, 1995-1998 | |||||||||
| 12 | 102 | Prism workshops - notes, 1997-1998, n.d. | |||||||||
| 12 | 103 | Prism workshops - sign-in sheets, 1997-1998 | |||||||||
| 13 | 104-105 | Prism workshops - student submissions, 1998-1999 | |||||||||
| 13 | 106 | Programs, events, 1994-1999 | |||||||||
| 13 | 107 | Reports, 1992-1995 | |||||||||
| 13 | 108 | Warr, Michael - biographical information, n.d. | |||||||||