HTM_WCMss727.xml Guide to the Craig Lesley Papers Lesley, Craig Papers Dana Bronson, West Bales Whitman College and Northwest Archives 2021
345 Boyer Avenue Walla Walla, WA 99362 Business Number: 509-527-5922 Archives@whitman.edu https://library.whitman.edu/archives/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-05-11. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. 2021 Revised to incorporate the 2021-004 accession by West Bales 2022 Revised to incorporate the 2022-013 accession by West Bales 2023 Revised to incorporate the 2022-033 accession by Sofia Solares Whitman College and Northwest Archives Craig Lesley papers Lesley, Craig WCMss.727 8.8 linear feet 22 manuscript boxes and 1 flat box 1 cassettes 1964-2019 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. English .

Collection is open for research.

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.

The audio cassette has not been digitized. If you are interested in receiving an access copy, please contact the Whitman College and Northwest Archives.

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, Winterkill 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 Winterkill 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.

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.

 Oregon--Social life and customs Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Fathers and sons Novelists, American--20th century --Biography Burning Fence 2001-2007

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.

 Appearances and presentations 2005-2007 1 1 Draft copy with handwritten revisions circa 2001-2005 1 3-7 Correspondence 2004-2005 1 2 Galley of next to last draft circa 2001-2005 1 8-11 Publicity 2005, 2007 2 1 Handwritten notes and drafts circa 2001-2005 2 2-3 Storm Riders 1995-2005

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.

 Appearances and presentations 2000-2001 2 4-5 Awards 2000, 2005 2 6 Correspondence 1998-2005 2 7 Draft circa 1995-2000 2 8-11 Galley circa 1995-2000 3 1-4 Handwritten notes and drafts circa 1995-2000 3 5-8 Publicity 2000-2001 3 9 Research materials circa 1996-2000 4 1-2 River Song 1984-1989

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 Winterkill 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.

 Early draft circa 1984-1986 4 3 Early draft: Big Hole Battlefield circa 1984-1986 4 4 Early draft: Chapter three circa 1984-1986 4 5 Early draft: Conclusion circa 1984-1986 4 6 Early draft: Dug Bar rough draft materials circa 1984-1986 4 7 Early draft: Klickitat circa 1984-1986 4 8 Early draft: Medicine Tree circa 1984-1986 4 9 Early draft: Medicine Woman circa 1984-1986 4 10 Early draft: Pendleton circa 1984-1986 4 11 Early draft: White Bird circa 1984-1986 4 12 Early draft: White Salmon circa 1984-1986 4 13 Early writing circa 1984-1986 4 14 Early writing circa 1984-1986 5 1-6 Early writing: Dug Bar ideas, extras circa 1984-1986 5 7 Early writing: Inserts circa 1984-1986 5 8 Galley copy circa 1988-1989 6 1-3 Galley copy, author's extra set circa 1988-1989 9 2 Galley copy, master proof circa 1988-1989 9 1 Handwritten manuscript and ideas circa 1984-1986 6 4 Interviews, lists, reviews 1989 May 15-2005 November 29 6 5 Later complete draft circa 1987-1989 6 6-7 Later draft circa 1987-1989 7 1-4 Later draft: Chapter 10 (Fishing Trouble) circa 1987-1989 7 13 Later draft: Chapter 11 (Pudge) circa 1987-1989 7 14 Later draft: Chapter 12 (Dug Bar) circa 1987-1989 8 1 Later draft: Chapter 12, with notes circa 1987-1989 8 2 Later draft: Chapter 13 (became chapter twelve, Dug Bar), with notes circa 1987-1989 8 3 Later draft: Chapter 13 (Left Hand) circa 1987-1989 8 4 Later draft: Chapter 14 (Attack) circa 1987-1989 8 5 Later draft: Chapter 14 (became chapter thirteen, Left Hand), with notes circa 1987-1989 8 6 Later draft: Chapter 15 (Washat) circa 1987-1989 8 7 Later draft: Chapter 15 (Washat), with notes circa 1987-1989 8 8 Later draft: Chapter 2 (Hood River) circa 1987-1989 7 5 Later draft: Chapter 3 (Spearfish) circa 1987-1989 7 6 Later draft: Chapter 4 (Medicine Woman) circa 1987-1989 7 7 Later draft: Chapter 5 (Pendleton) circa 1987-1989 7 8 Later draft: Chapter 6 (Big Hole Battlefield) circa 1987-1989 7 9 Later draft: Chapter 7 (The Healing) circa 1987-1989 7 10 Later draft: Chapter 8 (Wind River) circa 1987-1989 7 11 Later draft: Chapter 9 (Fishing) circa 1987-1989 7 12 Later draft: Edits to chapter 4, Medicine Woman circa 1987-1989 8 9 Notables [correspondence] 1989 January 6-2003 December 31 8 10 Presentations and appearances 1989 March 10-2008 March 8 11 Publicity circa 1989-1990 8 12 Radio interview, Studs Turkel circa 1989-1990 8 13 Research circa 1984-1989 8 14 Winterkill 1977-2013

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.

 Along for the Ride short story circa 1977-1984 10 1 Awards 1984-1997 February 21 10 2 Complete draft circa 1977-1984 10 3-5 Correspondence from Craig Lesley 1980 June 30-1996 May 8 10 6 Correspondence from Houghton Mifflin 1980 June 17-1995 May 8 10 7 Correspondence from Larry Kessenich, Houghton Mifflin 1981 January 30-1987 May 4 10 8 Correspondence, general 1979 April 4-1990 February 5 10 9 Draft copy 1 circa 1977-1984 10 10 Draft copy 2 circa 1977-1984 10 11 Draft copy 3 circa 1977-1984 11 1 Draft copy 4 circa 1977-1984 11 2 Draft copy 5 circa 1977-1984 11 3-5 Draft material for the latter half of the book circa 1977-1984 11 6 Drafts and missing scene circa 1977-1984 12 1 Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 1 circa 1977-1984 12 2 Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 2 circa 1977-1984 12 3 Drafts: Chapter 1 copy 3 circa 1977-1984 12 4 Drafts: Chapter 1 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 5 Drafts: Chapter 2 with handwritten notes copy 1 circa 1977-1984 12 6 Drafts: Chapter 2 with handwritten notes copy 2 circa 1977-1984 12 7 Drafts: Chapter 3 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 8 Drafts: Chapter 4 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 9 Drafts: Chapter 5 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 10 Drafts: Chapters 6 and 7 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 11 Drafts: Chapter 9 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 12 Drafts: Chapters 9 and 10 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 13 Drafts: Chapters 11 and 12 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 14 Drafts: Chapters 15 and 16 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 15 Drafts: Chapters 15-17 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 12 16 Drafts: Chapter 16 with handwritten notes circa 1977-1984 13 1 Drafts: Chapters 2-4 circa 1977-1984 13 2 Drafts: Chapters 5-7 circa 1977-1984 13 3 Drafts: Chapters 10-14 circa 1977-1984 13 4 Drafts: Chapter 17 circa 1977-1984 13 5 Drafts: Chapter 18 circa 1977-1984 13 6 Drafts: Early chapters 9 and 10 circa 1977-1984 13 7 Drafts: Elkcamp circa 1977-1984 13 8 Drafts: Pendleton circa 1977-1984 13 9 Drafts: White Bird circa 1977-1984 13 10 Early drafts circa 1977-1984 13 11-13 Early drafts circa 1977-1984 14 1 Early work circa 1977-1984 14 2-3 Early work, chapters 5 and 8 circa 1977-1984 14 4 Early writing cut circa 1977-1984 14 5 Elkmoon: Original screenplay by Dick Hiner based on Winterkill, complete draft 1990 March 30 14 6-7 Fan letters 1983 August 3-2012 February 9 14 8 Galley copy circa 1977-1984 9 3 Grant application 1985 14 9 Handwritten notes and ideas in hardcover notebook circa 1977-1984 14 10 Handwritten notes and ideas in spiral notebook circa 1977-1984 17 4 Kathy's comments circa 1977-1984 14 11 Narrative account materials and loose draft pages circa 1977-1984 14 12 Notables [correspondence] 1984 February 10-1990 February 5 14 13 Notables [correspondence] 1989 June 6-2013 December 20 14 14 Notes/revisions circa 1977-1984 14 15 Off the Main Road short story circa 1982 14 16 Off the Main Road short story 1982 June 4 14 17 Outtakes circa 1977-1984 15 1 Outtakes: Chapters 2-5 circa 1977-1984 15 2 Outtakes: Danny Rides Bull Cyclops circa 1977-1984 15 3 Presentations and appearances 1984 March 13-2012 May 31 15 4-6 Publication and photograph 1984-1987 June 21 15 7 Publicity and reviews 1979 January 24-2012 March 15 8 Publicity and reviews 1979 January 24-2012 March 16 1-2 Research 1986 April 4-1988 March 5 16 3 Research circa 1977-1984 16 4 Responses to questions circa 1977-1984 16 5 Revisions circa 1977-1984 16 6 Revisions, chapters 8-9 circa 1977-1984 16 7 Revisions, chapters 10-12 circa 1977-1984 16 8 Revisions, chapters 13-16 circa 1977-1984 17 1 Short story circa 1977-1984 17 2 Winterkill: Houghton Mifflin version circa 1977-1984 17 3 Sky Fisherman 1964-2019 (bulk 1989-1995)

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.

 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Appearances, panels, etc. 1990-2012 23 1-2 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Awards 1996-2012 23 3 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: From Mr. Lesley 1989-2019 23 4 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Houghton Mifflin 1989-2019 23 5 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Notables 1989-2019 18 1 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Correspondence set 1: Select general 1989-2019 18 2 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early draft 1989-1994 18 3 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: A and W Truth 1992-1993 18 4 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Combine rapids section 1992-1993 18 5 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Coop 1992-1993 18 6 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Chapter 6 1992-1993 18 7 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Dinner 1992-1993 18 8 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Elks 1992-1993 18 9 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Fire, copy 1 1992-1993 18 10 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Fire, copy 2 1992-1993 18 11 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Gateway 1992-1993 18 12 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Memorial 1992-1993 18 13 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Rapids chapter 1992-1993 18 14 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Sniffy 1992-1993 18 15 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: Store/camp 1992-1993 18 16 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 1: The flood 1992-1993 18 17 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early writing set 2 1989-1994 19 1 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 1 1989-1994 19 2 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 2 [1 of 2] 1989-1994 23 6 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work copy 2 [2 of 2] 1989-1994 19 3 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work "Gateway" changed to "Sky Fisherman" 1989-1994 19 4-5 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Early work mid section well-marked 1989-1994 20 1 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Galley 1995 20 2-3 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Galley returned to publisher with connections 1995 20 4-5 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway chapters 1-10, submitted to Houghton to set contract 1989-1994 20 6 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway (novel summary) 1989-1994 21 1 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Gateway summary 1989-1994 21 2 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Oregon Council on Teachers of English Oregon English Journal volume XX, muber 1, Spring 1998 21 3 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Outtakes 1989-1994 21 4 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Publicity [1 of 2] 1994-2007 21 5 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Publicity [2 of 2] 1994-2007 23 7 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Research 1964-1987 21 6 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Third section novel 1994 21 7 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Typed chapter 17 to end clean copy [1 and 2 of 3] 1989-1994 21 8-9 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Typed chapter 17 to end clean copy [3 of 3] 1989-1994 22 1 Series 5: Sky Fisherman: Unrevised and revised prologue 1989-1994 22 2