Research Catalog

Title

Rosa Guy papers.

Author

Guy, Rosa

Publication

ca. 1970-2010.

Supplementary Content

Finding aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

13.17 linear feet (35 boxes)

Summary

• Rosa Guy was an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author. With more than 20 published works, Guy was a respected literary voice of the Black experience and an active member of the Harlem community. Guy’s success enabled her to support herself and her family financially, exclusively, as an author and lecturer, a privilege not afforded many Black female authors of her time. Guy was born in Diego Martin, Trinidad, on September 1, 1922. Although there is some debate about the actual year she was born, most documents support 1922. Her parents, Henry and Audrey Cuthbert, emigrated from Trinidad to Harlem, New York, in 1927. Guy and her sister, Ameze, left Trinidad in 1932 and joined their parents in Harlem. Shortly after Guy’s arrival in Harlem, her mother fell ill and sent Guy and her sister to live in Brooklyn with a cousin. In Brooklyn, Guy was exposed to Garveyism and Black Nationalism, which help shape her worldview at a young age. After the death of her mother in 1934, Rosa and her sister lived in Harlem with their father until he passed in 1937, leaving the sisters orphaned. At the age of 14, Guy dropped out of Wadleigh High School and started working in a factory in the garment district to support her and her ailing sister, while they lived in foster homes and orphanages. In Guy’s own words she “had the good fortune of dropping--or of being dropped--out of the New York City school system at a very young age and so escaped its paralyzing effects.” In 1941, Rosa married Warner Guy and gave birth to Warner Guy, Jr., a year later. While her husband was serving in World War II, she continued to work in factories and sweatshops in the garment district of New York City. During that time, one of her co-workers introduced her to the American Negro Theatre, where she studied acting. After the end of World War II, Guy moved to Connecticut with her husband and son. Her marriage ended in 1950 and she returned to New York City with her son. The same year, Guy founded the Harlem Writers Guild with John O. Killens, John Henrik Clarke, Willard Moore, and Walter Christmas. The Guild provided an informal setting for aspiring black writers to critique one another’s work. As its membership grew and its reputation spread, it became one of the most influential Black literary organizations of its time. Its membership included Killens, Clarke, Moore, Christmas, Maya Angelou, Paule Marshall, Audre Lorde, Alice Childress, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Douglass Turner Ward. After years of sharpening her craft and briefly returning to school at New York University, Guy’s first book, "Bird at My Window", was published by J.P. Lippincott. Guy is well-known for her award winning triology about three Black girls coming of age in Harlem, which includes "The Friends", "Ruby", and "Edith Jackson". Her novel "My Love, My Love: or The Peaseant Girl", has been made into the award-winning musical "Once on This Island". Guy loved to travel and often found inspiration for her writings during her travels to Africa, the West Indies, and Europe. No matter where her travels took her, she always considered New York City home. On June 3, 2012, Guy lost her battle with cancer and passed away in New York City.
• The Rosa Guy papers contain material related to her personal life, her writing, and her professional career. The personal matter includes correspondence and biographical information. The material in the writing series includes drafts, notes, and proofs, among other documents, for Guy's published and unpublished writing. Professional papers consist of correspondence, grant applications, and materials related to professional organizations.

Subjects

• Angelou, Maya
• Dee, Ruby
• Harlem Writers Guild Inc
• Trinidadians > United States
• Authors, Caribbean
• Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars
• Writers' workshops
• Feelings, Tom
• Authors, Black
• African American women authors

Source (note)

• Purchased from the Estate of Rosa Guy, 2013.

Location of Other Archival Materials (note)

• Maya Angelou papers, Sc MG 830, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Call Number

Sc MG 903

OCLC

1231463622

Author

Guy, Rosa, creator.

Title

Rosa Guy papers.

Production

ca. 1970-2010.

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Location of Other Archival Materials

Maya Angelou papers, Sc MG 830, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Materials Separated from the Resource: Transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division: drawings and paintings. Transferred to the General Research and Reference Division: books. Transferred to the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division: audio materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270. Trasnferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs

Source

Purchased from the Estate of Rosa Guy, 2013.

Connect to:

Finding aid

Added Author

Guy, Rosa. My love, my love.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 903