University of Texas at Austin

Paul Kresh:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Collection in the Manuscript Collection at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Kresh, Paul, 1919-1997
Title: Paul Kresh Collection
Dates: 1940-1991 (bulk 1974-1981)
Extent: 16 boxes (6.72 linear feet)
Abstract: Paul Kresh, an author whose career included working as a publicist, record producer, and critic, wrote the first full-length biography of Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. The Paul Kresh Collection is divided into two series, I. Works by Kresh and II. Other Material, and includes items dating from 1940 to 1991. The bulk of the papers relates to Kresh’s biography of Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Magician of West 86th Street, and dates from 1975 to 1979.
Call Number: Manuscript Collection MS-04964
Language: English and Yiddish
Access: Open for research


Administrative Information


Acquisition: Gift, 1997 (G10977)
Processed by: Katherine Mosley, 2006
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Scope and Contents


Paul Kresh, an author whose career included working as a publicist, record producer, and critic, wrote the first full-length biography of Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. The Paul Kresh Collection is divided into two series, I. Works by Kresh and II. Other Material, and includes items dating from 1940 to 1991. The bulk of the papers relates to Kresh’s biography of Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Magician of West 86th Street, and dates from 1975 to 1979.
Among the papers are multiple drafts and fragments as well as research material, including copies of Singer’s manuscripts and correspondence, photographs of Singer, transcripts of numerous interviews Kresh conducted with friends, family, associates of Singer, and Singer himself, and copies of works about Singer. Kresh accompanied Singer on his trip to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize, and material relating to that trip is included. Galley proofs and Kresh’s correspondence regarding the book are also present.
Kresh also used material from The Magician of West 86th Street to write a juvenile biography of Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Story of a Storyteller, and that work is represented by drafts, proofs, and correspondence. Kresh’s other manuscripts included in the collection are typescripts of "Through Darkest Stockholm with Dauntless Isaac,""E. B. White’s Affable, Adaptable Animals Come to Life in Unabridged Recordings," and several drafts of his biography of George Gershwin, American Rhapsody: The Story of George Gershwin.
Kresh was also a music critic and writer who was involved in recording poetry and other readings. Series II. contains his correspondence about music articles, poetry recordings, and the 1978 Records of the Year Awards, as well as record catalogs, various flyers and brochures, and Kresh’s notes on recordings of radio broadcasts. A notebook contains Kresh’s notes on various stage productions, and a file on Sweeney Todd includes a transcript of an interview with Angela Lansbury. These items all date from 1974 to 1980.

Folder List