Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Craig Lesley papers, 1964-2019
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Lesley, Craig
- Title
- Craig Lesley papers
- Dates
- 1964-2019 (inclusive)19642019
- Quantity
-
8.8 linear feet, (22 manuscript boxes and 1 flat box)
1 cassettes - Collection Number
- WCMss.727
- Summary
- Craig is the author of four novels and a memoir, along with numerous other works. The Craig Lesley Papers, which date from 1977 to 2013, houses materials related to author Craig Lesley's books, Storm Riders, Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood, Winterkill, River Song, and The Sky Fisherman.
- Repository
-
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Craig Lesley was born in The Dalles, Oregon in 1945. Lesley and his mother spent his childhood living in several towns throughout Eastern Oregon, including Madras, Pendleton, and Baker City. In 1963 he moved to Walla Walla to attend Whitman College, where he served as student body president in his senior year. After graduating from Whitman in 1967, Lesley went on to attend the University of Kansas, graduating with a Masters in English in 1970, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating in 1980 with a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing.
Craig is the author of four novels and a memoir, along with numerous other works. With his wife, Katheryn Stavrakis, he has also edited two anthologies of short fiction. Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, he has received a Breadloaf Fellowship, three Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Awards, the Western Writers of America Golden Spur Award for Best Novel, and an Oregon Book Award. In addition, Lesley has written book reviews for the New York Times and the Washington Post. He has been the recipient of several national fellowships. In 1991, Lesley was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Whitman College.
Since the 1970s, Lesley has served as Writer-in-Residence at Lewis and Clark College, and as Hallie Ford Professor of English at Willamette University. He also taught in the English department at Whitman College as an interim professor during the 2001-2003 school years. He has served as Senior Writer-in-Residence at Portland State University and as a faculty member of the Pacific University Masters in Fine Arts Program.
Lesley currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Katheryn Stavrakis, and has two adult children.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Craig Lesley Papers, which date from 1977 to 2013, houses materials related to author Craig Lesley's books, Storm Riders,Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood, and River Song. Published in 2000, Storm Riders follows a single father struggling to raise his adopted Native American son, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. This series includes Lesley's research materials on fetal alcohol syndrome, handwritten drafts and revisions, and a galley copy of the book. Published in 2005, Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood is a memoir about the men in Craig Lesley's life and a portrait of the rural Northwest communities he grew up in. Published in 1984, features Danny Kachiah, an Oregonian Nez Perce father, his son, Jack, and indigenous characters with a focus on fishing, traditions, and heritage. River Song was published in 1999 as the sequel to and features the same characters Danny Kachiah and his son Jack. Published in 1995, The Sky Fisherman is a coming of age story about a young man dealing with a string of tragedies including violence against Native Americans, a devastating fire, and murder, occurring in his small hometown in rural Oregon. This collection includes Lesley's research materials, handwritten and typed drafts and revisions, and galley copies for each book. Also included is correspondence, documentation of book awards Lesley received, and publicity and press clippings related to the books.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The donor retains copyright of the works. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Whitman College and Northwest Archives.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Burning Fence, 2001-2007Return to Top
This series, which dates from 2001-2007, includes materials related to Craig Lesley's memoir Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood. Published in 2005, Burning Fence is a memoir about the men in Craig Lesley's life and a portrait of the rural Northwest communities he grew up in. Materials include handwritten notes and drafts, correspondence, a draft copy with handwritten revisions, a galley copy, and materials related to publicity, appearances and presentations.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Appearances and presentations |
2005-2007 |
| 1 | 3-7 | Draft copy with handwritten revisions |
circa 2001-2005 |
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence |
2004-2005 |
| 1 | 8-11 | Galley of next to last draft |
circa 2001-2005 |
| 2 | 1 | Publicity |
2005, 2007 |
| 2 | 2-3 | Handwritten notes and drafts |
circa 2001-2005 |
Storm Riders, 1995-2005Return to Top
This series, which dates from 1995 to 2005, includes materials related to Craig Lesley's book Storm Riders.Published in 2000, Storm Riders follows a single father struggling to raise his adopted Native American son, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. This series includes handwritten notes and drafts, a galley copy, correspondence, research materials on fetal alcohol syndrome, awards, publicity, and materials related to appearances and presentations.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 4-5 | Appearances and presentations |
2000-2001 |
| 2 | 6 | Awards |
2000, 2005 |
| 2 | 7 | Correspondence |
1998-2005 |
| 2 | 8-11 | Draft |
circa 1995-2000 |
| 3 | 1-4 | Galley |
circa 1995-2000 |
| 3 | 5-8 | Handwritten notes and drafts |
circa 1995-2000 |
| 3 | 9 | Publicity |
2000-2001 |
| 4 | 1-2 | Research materials |
circa 1996-2000 |
River Song, 1984-1989Return to Top
This series, which dates from 1984-1989, includes materials related to Craig Lesley's book River Song. Published in 1999, River Song is the sequel to and features Danny Kachiah, an Orgonian Nez Perce father, his son, Jack, and indigenous characters with a focus on fishing, traditions, and heritage. Lesley worked on River Song from 1984 to 1989 and recieved a National Endownment for the Arts fellowship for the project. This series includes handwritten notes, research materials, drafts, two galley copies, correspondence, materials related presentations and appearances, publicity, and a radio interview.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 4 | 3 | Early draft |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 4 | Early draft: Big Hole Battlefield |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 5 | Early draft: Chapter three |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 6 | Early draft: Conclusion |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 7 | Early draft: Dug Bar rough draft materials |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 8 | Early draft: Klickitat |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 9 | Early draft: Medicine Tree |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 10 | Early draft: Medicine Woman |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 11 | Early draft: Pendleton |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 12 | Early draft: White Bird |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 13 | Early draft: White Salmon |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 4 | 14 | Early writing |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 5 | 1-6 | Early writing |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 5 | 7 | Early writing: Dug Bar ideas, extras |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 5 | 8 | Early writing: Inserts |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 6 | 1-3 | Galley copy |
circa 1988-1989 |
| 9 | 2 | Galley copy, author's extra set |
circa 1988-1989 |
| 9 | 1 | Galley copy, master proof |
circa 1988-1989 |
| 6 | 4 | Handwritten manuscript and ideas |
circa 1984-1986 |
| 6 | 5 | Interviews, lists, reviews |
1989 May 15-2005 November 29 |
| 6 | 6-7 | Later complete draft |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 1-4 | Later draft |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 13 | Later draft: Chapter 10 (Fishing Trouble) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 14 | Later draft: Chapter 11 (Pudge) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 1 | Later draft: Chapter 12 (Dug Bar) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 2 | Later draft: Chapter 12, with notes |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 3 | Later draft: Chapter 13 (became chapter twelve, Dug Bar), with notes |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 4 | Later draft: Chapter 13 (Left Hand) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 5 | Later draft: Chapter 14 (Attack) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 6 | Later draft: Chapter 14 (became chapter thirteen, Left Hand), with notes |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 7 | Later draft: Chapter 15 (Washat) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 8 | Later draft: Chapter 15 (Washat), with notes |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 5 | Later draft: Chapter 2 (Hood River) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 6 | Later draft: Chapter 3 (Spearfish) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 7 | Later draft: Chapter 4 (Medicine Woman) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 8 | Later draft: Chapter 5 (Pendleton) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 9 | Later draft: Chapter 6 (Big Hole Battlefield) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 10 | Later draft: Chapter 7 (The Healing) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 11 | Later draft: Chapter 8 (Wind River) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 7 | 12 | Later draft: Chapter 9 (Fishing) |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 9 | Later draft: Edits to chapter 4, Medicine Woman |
circa 1987-1989 |
| 8 | 10 | Notables [correspondence] |
1989 January 6-2003 December 31 |
| 8 | 11 | Presentations and appearances |
1989 March 10-2008 March |
| 8 | 12 | Publicity |
circa 1989-1990 |
| 8 | 13 | Radio interview, Studs Turkel |
circa 1989-1990 |
| 8 | 14 | Research |
circa 1984-1989 |
Winterkill, 1977-2013Return to Top
This series, which dates from 1977-1984, includes materials related to Craig Lesley's book Winterkill. Published in 1984, Winterkill features Danny Kachiah, an Oregonian Nez Perce father, his son, Jack, and indigenous characters with a focus on fishing, traditions, and heritage. This series includes handwritten notes, research materials, drafts, one galley copy, correspondence, and materials related presentations and appearances, publicity, reviews, and awards. Also included in this series are materials related to two short stories, "Along for the Ride" and "Off the Main Road," and an original screenplay Elkmoon by Dick Hiner which is based on Winterkill.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 10 | 1 | Along for the Ride short story |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 10 | 2 | Awards |
1984-1997 February 21 |
| 10 | 3-5 | Complete draft |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 10 | 6 | Correspondence from Craig Lesley |
1980 June 30-1996 May 8 |
| 10 | 7 | Correspondence from Houghton Mifflin |
1980 June 17-1995 May 8 |
| 10 | 8 | Correspondence from Larry Kessenich, Houghton Mifflin |
1981 January 30-1987 May 4 |
| 10 | 9 | Correspondence, general |
1979 April 4-1990 February 5 |
| 10 | 10 | Draft copy 1 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 10 | 11 | Draft copy 2 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 11 | 1 | Draft copy 3 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 11 | 2 | Draft copy 4 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 11 | 3-5 | Draft copy 5 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 11 | 6 | Draft material for the latter half of the book |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 1 | Drafts and missing scene |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 2 | Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 1 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 3 | Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 2 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 4 | Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 3 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 5 | Drafts: Chapter 1 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 6 | Drafts: Chapter 2 with handwritten notes copy 1 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 7 | Drafts: Chapter 2 with handwritten notes copy 2 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 8 | Drafts: Chapter 3 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 9 | Drafts: Chapter 4 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 10 | Drafts: Chapter 5 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 11 | Drafts: Chapters 6 and 7 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 12 | Drafts: Chapter 9 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 13 | Drafts: Chapters 9 and 10 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 14 | Drafts: Chapters 11 and 12 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 15 | Drafts: Chapters 15 and 16 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 12 | 16 | Drafts: Chapters 15-17 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 1 | Drafts: Chapter 16 with handwritten notes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 2 | Drafts: Chapters 2-4 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 3 | Drafts: Chapters 5-7 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 4 | Drafts: Chapters 10-14 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 5 | Drafts: Chapter 17 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 6 | Drafts: Chapter 18 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 7 | Drafts: Early chapters 9 and 10 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 8 | Drafts: Elkcamp |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 9 | Drafts: Pendleton |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 10 | Drafts: White Bird |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 13 | 11-13 | Early drafts |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 1 | Early drafts |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 2-3 | Early work |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 4 | Early work, chapters 5 and 8 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 5 | Early writing cut |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 6-7 | Elkmoon: Original screenplay by Dick Hiner based on Winterkill, complete draft |
1990 March 30 |
| 14 | 8 | Fan letters |
1983 August 3-2012 February 9 |
| 9 | 3 | Galley copy |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 9 | Grant application |
1985 |
| 14 | 10 | Handwritten notes and ideas in hardcover notebook |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 17 | 4 | Handwritten notes and ideas in spiral notebook |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 11 | Kathy's comments |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 12 | Narrative account materials and loose draft pages |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 13 | Notables [correspondence] |
1984 February 10-1990 February 5 |
| 14 | 14 | Notables [correspondence] |
1989 June 6-2013 December 20 |
| 14 | 15 | Notes/revisions |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 14 | 16 | Off the Main Road short story |
circa 1982 |
| 14 | 17 | Off the Main Road short story |
1982 June 4 |
| 15 | 1 | Outtakes |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 15 | 2 | Outtakes: Chapters 2-5 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 15 | 3 | Outtakes: Danny Rides Bull Cyclops |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 15 | 4-6 | Presentations and appearances |
1984 March 13-2012 May 31 |
| 15 | 7 | Publication and photograph |
1984-1987 June 21 |
| 15 | 8 | Publicity and reviews |
1979 January 24-2012 March |
| 16 | 1-2 | Publicity and reviews |
1979 January 24-2012 March |
| 16 | 3 | Research |
1986 April 4-1988 March 5 |
| 16 | 4 | Research |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 16 | 5 | Responses to questions |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 16 | 6 | Revisions |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 16 | 7 | Revisions, chapters 8-9 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 16 | 8 | Revisions, chapters 10-12 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 17 | 1 | Revisions, chapters 13-16 |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 17 | 2 | Short story |
circa 1977-1984 |
| 17 | 3 | Winterkill: Houghton Mifflin version |
circa 1977-1984 |
Sky Fisherman, 1964-2019 (bulk 1989-1995)Return to Top
This series, which dates from 1964-2019 (bulk 1989-1995), includes materials related to Craig Lesley's book The Sky Fisherman. Published in 1995, The Sky Fisherman is a coming of age story about a young man dealing with a string of tragedies including a devastating fire, racist violence, and several murders, occurring in his small hometown in rural Oregon. This series includes handwritten notes, drafts, two galley copies, correspondence, research materials, awards and publicity materials, and materials relating to panel appearances.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 23 | 1-2 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Appearances, panels, etc. |
1990-2012 |
| 23 | 3 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Awards |
1996-2012 |
| 23 | 4 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: From Mr. Lesley |
1989-2019 |
| 23 | 5 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Houghton Mifflin |
1989-2019 |
| 18 | 1 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Notables |
1989-2019 |
| 18 | 2 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Select general |
1989-2019 |
| 18 | 3 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early draft |
1989-1994 |
| 18 | 4 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: A and W Truth |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 5 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Combine rapids section |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 6 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Coop |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 7 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Chapter 6 |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 8 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Dinner |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 9 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Elks |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 10 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Fire, copy 1 |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 11 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Fire, copy 2 |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 12 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Gateway |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 13 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Memorial |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 14 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Rapids chapter |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 15 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Sniffy |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 16 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Store/camp |
1992-1993 |
| 18 | 17 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: The flood |
1992-1993 |
| 19 | 1 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 2 |
1989-1994 |
| 19 | 2 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 1 |
1989-1994 |
| 23 | 6 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 2 [1 of 2] |
1989-1994 |
| 19 | 3 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 2 [2 of 2] |
1989-1994 |
| 19 | 4-5 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work "Gateway" changed to "Sky Fisherman" |
1989-1994 |
| 20 | 1 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work mid section well-marked |
1989-1994 |
| 20 | 2-3 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Galley |
1995 |
| 20 | 4-5 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Galley returned to publisher with connections |
1995 |
| 20 | 6 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway chapters 1-10, submitted to Houghton to set contract |
1989-1994 |
| 21 | 1 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway (novel summary) |
1989-1994 |
| 21 | 2 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway summary |
1989-1994 |
| 21 | 3 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Oregon Council on Teachers of English Oregon English Journal volume XX, muber 1, Spring |
1998 |
| 21 | 4 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Outtakes |
1989-1994 |
| 21 | 5 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Publicity [1 of 2] |
1994-2007 |
| 23 | 7 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Publicity [2 of 2] |
1994-2007 |
| 21 | 6 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Research |
1964-1987 |
| 21 | 7 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Third section novel |
1994 |
| 21 | 8-9 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Typed chapter 17 to end clean copy [1 and 2 of 3] |
1989-1994 |
| 22 | 1 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Typed chapter 17 to end clean copy [3 of 3] |
1989-1994 |
| 22 | 2 | Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Unrevised and revised prologue |
1989-1994 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Fathers and sons
- Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Geographical Names
- Oregon--Social life and customs
Occupations
- Novelists, American--20th century --Biography
Dana Bronson, West Bales
2021
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