James Herod Papers, 1968-2007
1 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consist of copies of the author's two published books; about a third of his estimated fifty essays; several pamphlets; a limited series of mostly email correspondence dating from the turn of the millennium; and a small set of papers documenting workplace policies and politics. Of special interest are the thorough correspondence with George Salzman; the hard-to-find Autonomous Marxism: An Annotated Course Syllabus and Bibliography , by Harry Cleaver; and the set of documents pertaining to the Lucy Parsons Center.
The subject matter is diverse: topics include the destruction of capitalism, radical democracy, play, anarchism, health, the politics of protest, HIV and AIDS, commercial films, sectarianism, revolution, indigenism, majority rule, and schooling.
Many of the materials represented in this collection have been published on Mr. Herod's website http://jamesherod.info. Additional essays appear there, along with notes on a variety of topics.
It is hoped that one day additional materials from the website will be included in this collection. Noticeably missing from both locations are photographs, older correspondence, and any supporting ephemera or newspaper documentation.
Many items in the collection have been edited or annotated by Mr. Herod. Some have been written under pen name Jared James.
The James Herod Papers are arranged in four series: CORRESPONDENCE; ESSAYS; PUBLICATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES; and WORKPLACE ACTIVISM.
CORRESPONDENCE. The Correspondence series consists of personal correspondence as well as general correspondence in the form of open letters or participation in online forums. It consists mostly of e-mail written between 1998 and 2001. Personal correspondence consists almost entirely of email exchanged with George Salzman. General Correspondence includes open letters and participation in online forums.
ESSAYS. The collection includes 17 of about fifty essays spanning the author's adult life from 1968 to the present.
PUBLICATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES include the privately published Papers from the Struggle (1987) and Getting Free (1998 and 2007). It also includes the author's pamphlets and book reviews from What's Left in Boston . The collection includes a copy of Harry Cleaver's Autonomous Marxism: An Annotated Course Syllabus and Bibliography.
WORKPLACE ACTIVISM documents the author's time spent with the Boston Typographical Union, Dorchester Community News, and, most notably, with the Lucy Parsons Center (formerly the Red Book Store).
Other publications were donated with the collection but have been cataloged in other parts of the Labadie Collection. These include:
The New York City Star (first two issues)
What's Left in Boston (set of twenty-five issues)
Jill Boskey's The Split at The Liberated Guardian
Pamphlets and other materials from The Committee of Returned Volunteers