Summary Information
Thomas Bontly Papers
1955-2010
1955-1996
- Bontly, Thomas, 1939-2012
UWM Manuscript Collection 272; Accession 2009-005; Accession 2012-029
- 8.4 cubic ft. (21 boxes)
- plus additions of 3.4 cubic ft. (4 boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
The collection documents the creative writing process of former
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English Professor Thomas Bontly. The collection contains
drafts and typescripts of his early and academic works, novels, and short stories. Some
manuscripts of published works include critiques from publishing house editors. The
collection also contains the author's notes from 2008 explaining each work to help
understand the creative writing process.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0272 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Thomas Bontly was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1939. He attended the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, where he received a B.A. with Honors in 1961. The following year he held
a Rotary International Fellowship at Cambridge University, England, where he studied the
English novel at Corpus Christi College. In 1962 he marrried the former Marilyn Mackie of
Madison and began his doctoral study at Stanford University. He completed his Ph.D. in
English and American literature in 1966, writing his dissertation on the novels of Henry
James. While at Stanford, Bontly also held a Wallace Stagner Creative Writing Fellowship and
completed his first novel, The Competitor, which was
published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1966 as a "Maxwell Perkins Commemorative Novel."
In the fall of 1966 Bontly joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
(UWM), where he taught literature and creative writing for 35 years, retiring in 2001.
During that period, he published three novels (The Adventures of a
Young Outlaw, 1974; Celestial Chess, 1979; and
The Giant's Shadow, 1989), 24 short stories, five critical
essays and various reviews. His fiction received three awards from the Council for Wisconsin
Writers, an organization he later served as president (2000-2002). He also held a Fulbright
Fellowship to Justus Liebig Universitat in Germany in 1984.
Bontly was the first coordinator of UWM's Creative Writing Program (1974-1977) and served
two later terms in that position. He also served as department chair (1979-1982) and
coordinator of literary studies (1991-1994). He worked extensively with graduate students,
directing approximately 50 M.A. theses and 12 doctoral dissertations.
Bontly passed away on June 29, 2012.
Chronology of Completed Works
| 1960 |
"Man Who Hated the Sea"
|
| 1966 |
The Competitor
|
| 1967 |
"Eurydice"
|
| 1970 |
The Birthright (unpublished)
"or a Civilized Man" ("The Birth Day")
|
| 1971 |
"The Coward"
|
| 1972 |
"The Dimestore Romance" (unpublished)
"Eight Meetings" ("The Demon")
|
| 1973 |
"How I Learned About Sex"
"Missing Person"
"The Universal Bazaar" (unpublished)
|
| 1974 |
The Adventures of a Young Outlaw
"Desdemona" (unpublished)
|
| 1975 |
"The Dry Season" ("Man, Boy, Fish") (unpublished)
|
| 1976 |
"The Blue Smile"
Ducks on a Pond (unpublished)
|
| 1978 |
"The Guardian" ("The
Frightened Child")
|
| 1979 |
Celestial Chess
"One Year"
|
| 1980 |
"Shells" (unpublished)
"Suburban Snow"
|
| 1982 |
"The Fundamental Things of Life"
|
| 1984 |
"The Companions"
|
| 1985 |
"Instinct"
|
| 1987 |
"Act of Faith"
"The Reading" ("The Voyager")
|
| 1989 |
Giant's Shadow
"Re-Encounter"
|
| 1990 |
The Handyman (unpublished)
|
| 1992 |
Lucky's Blues (unpublished)
|
| 1993 |
"The Sisters"
|
| 1996 |
Taming the Dark Horse (unpublished)
|
| 1997 |
"December Dreams"
|
Scope and Content Note
Scope and content notes for each series are included in the contents list.
Arrangement of the Materials
This collection was received in, and is organized in, multiple parts. Additional materials
have not been physically or intellectually arranged and interfiled, and researchers may need
to consult more than one part of the collection to locate similar materials.
The collection is arranged into the following series.
-
Early and Academic Works,
1955-1977, 2008
-
Novels, 1962-1996, 2008
-
Short Stories, 1960-1997
The collection contains two additional accessions.
Other Finding Aids
Finding aid for accession 2012-029 available in the Archives.
Preferred Citation
Citation Guide for Primary Sources
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all
members of the public in accordance with state law.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin
Statutes 19.21-19.39).
Thomas Bontly donated his papers to the Archives Department in April 1998 (accession
1997-044). Thomas Bontly donated additional materials in August 2009 (accession 2009-005).
Marilyn Bontly donated additional materials in November 2012 (accession 2012-029).
Sarah Ethier (supervised by Christel Maass) processed the collection in November 2008.
Christel Maass added an additional box, which was overlooked during initial processing, to
the collection in October 2009. Christel Maass updated the finding aid to include
information about accessions 2009-005 and 2012-029 in July 2013. Christel Maass minimally
processed accession 2009-005 in February and March 2018.
Contents List
|
UWM Manuscript Collection 272
|
Papers, 1955-2008, (bulk bulk
1955-1996)
8.4 cubic ft. (21 boxes)
|
|
|
Series: 1. Early and Academic Works, 1955-1977
, 2008
: The early works (box 1) include materials relating to early stories; drafts of the
novel Confessions of a Young Outlaw; the one-act play
The Mermaid Tavern, which was written, produced, and
published at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and other plays written in a UW
playwriting class. The author included some personal notes, compiled in 2008, about
his early works.
The academic works (box 2) consist of materials relating to
Bontly's dissertation on Henry James and other related articles.
|
|
|
Early Works
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Author's Notes, 2008
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
College Workshop Stories, 1957-1961
|
|
|
Confessions of a Young Outlaw,
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
First Draft, 1961-1962
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Subsequent Drafts (Incomplete), 1962
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
The Mermaid Tavern,
1960-1962
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
Miscellaneous Early Stories, 1960-1961
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
Plays Written in a UW Playwriting Class,
1960
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Very Early Stories, 1955-1959
|
|
|
Academic Works
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
Creative Writing Text, undated
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
Dissertation Plans and Proposals,
undated
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Introduction to "Stratagems and Spoils"
Article, 1967-1968
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4
|
James Essays, late 1960s
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
James: Doctoral Dissertation, 1965-1966
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Melville Article, late 1960s
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Sabbatical Proposals, 1977
|
|
|
Series: 2. Novels, 1962-1996, 2008
: This series contains drafts and typescripts relating to four published novels: The Competitor (1966), The Adventures
of a Young Outlaw (1974), Celestial Chess
(1979), and The Giant's Shadow (1989); and five
unpublished novels, The Birthright, Ducks on a Pond, Lucky's
Blues, The Handyman, and Taming the Dark Horse.
Bontly's notes on each work
are included in the front of the first box of each box series. These notes provide
useful context concerning his writing process.
|
|
|
Published Works
|
|
|
Box
21
|
The Adventures of a Young Outlaw,
1963-1974
|
|
|
Box
5-9
|
Celestial Chess,
1962-1978
|
|
|
Box
3-4
|
The Competitor,
1966
|
|
|
Box
10-12
|
Giant's Shadow,
1984-1988
|
|
|
Unpublished Works
|
|
|
Box
13
|
The Birthright,
1966-1970
|
|
|
Box
17
|
Ducks on a Pond,
1971-1976
|
|
|
Box
20
|
The Handyman,
1989-1990
|
|
|
Box
18-19
|
Lucky's Blues,
1986-1992
|
|
|
Box
20
|
Taming the Dark Horse,
1993-1996
|
|
|
Series: 3. Short Stories, 1960-1997
: This series includes a selection of published (boxes 14-15) and unpublished (box 16)
short stories, arranged in alphabetical order, as well as author's notes explaining
the background and significance of the stories included in the collection.
|
|
|
Published Works
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
1
|
"Act of Faith",
1987
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
2
|
"The Blue Smile",
1976
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
3
|
"The Companions",
1984
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
4
|
"The Coward",
1971
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
5
|
"December Dreams",
1997
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
6
|
"Eight Meetings" ("The Demon"), 1972
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
7
|
"Eurydice",
1967
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
8
|
"For a Civilized Man" ("The Birth Day"),
1970
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
9
|
"The Fundamental Things of Life",
1982
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
1
|
"The Guardian" ("The Frightened Child"),
1978
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
2
|
"How I Learned About Sex",
1973
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
3
|
"Instinct",
1985
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
4
|
"Man Who Hated the Sea",
1960
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
5
|
"Missing Person",
1973
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
6
|
"One Year",
1979
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
7
|
"The Reading" ("The Voyager"), 1987
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
8
|
"Re-Encounter",
1989
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
9
|
"The Sisters",
1993
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
10
|
"Suburban Snow",
1980
|
|
|
Unpublished Works
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
1
|
"The Collection",
undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
2
|
"Desdemona",
1973-1974
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
3
|
"The Dimestore Romance",
1972
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
4
|
"The Dry Season" ("Man, Boy, Fish"),
1975
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
5
|
"The King James Version",
undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
6
|
"Shells",
1980
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
7
|
"The Universal Bazaar",
1969-1973
|
|
|
Accession 2009-005
|
Teaching and Subject Files, 1966-2000
Additions of teaching and subject files, dating 1966 to 2000. Most of the files
are from courses Bontly taught for the UWM Dept. of English, and include syllabi, course
plans, bibliographies, exams, and lecture notes. Also included are some files relating
to Bontly's activities as chair of the department (1979-1982) and as director of the
Creative Writing graduate program, including grants, development of the creative writing
and other graduate programs for the Dept. of English.
2.4 cubic ft. (3 boxes)
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Course Materials, 1970-2000, undated
|
|
|
Box
2
|
Course Materials; English Department and Creative Writing Program Materials;
and Summer Writers' Conference Materials, 1966-2000, undated
|
|
|
Box
3
|
Lecture Notebooks, 1969-2000, undated
|
|
|
Accession 2012-029
|
Manuscript Novels and Non-fiction Pieces,
1975-2010
Additions of manuscript novels and non-fiction pieces, including reviews and
talks, dating from 1975 to 2010.
1 cubic ft. (1 box)
|
|
|
Novels
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Fading Rainbow (unpublished),
1988-2006
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Unnamed Sequel to Giants Shadow,
1992-1997
|
|
|
Box
1
|
New Revisions to Lucky's Blues,
1986-1989, 2002-2006
|
|
|
Box
1
|
Non-fiction Essays, Reviews, and Talks,
1975-2010
|
|
|
