Christopher Hewitt Papers, 1963-2004, undated

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Summary

Creators:
Hewitt, Christopher, 1946-2004
Abstract:
Christopher Hewitt was a gay poet, disabled activist, recovered alcoholic, editor, and college teacher. His papers include poetry, prose, correspondence, journals and diaries, photographs, sketches, drawings, and audio-visual materials.
Extent:
4.0 boxes + 3 oversized items (3 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Christopher Hewitt Papers (GLC 67), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

Hewitt's poetry, prose, interviews, and libretti based on his work, form the majority of the collection. The drafts of his work appear in notebooks and journals which are later typed and often re-edited. There is a small amount of correspondence, a handful of sketch pads with Hewitt's drawings, some photographs, subject files, and audiotapes of his readings and performances. There are three videotapes, one of which is the film Crip Shots, a documentary about artists with disabilities.

Biographical / historical:

Christopher Hewitt was a gay writer and disabled activist. He was born on February 2, 1946 in Nottingham and grew up in the villages of Welland and Upton-on-Severn in Worcestershire, England. He was born with a brittle bone condition called osteogenesis imperfecta and used a wheelchair from the age of nine. His writing addresses the issues of disability, discrimination, and communication.

He received an M.A. in English from the University of California, Davis in 1976, and an M.F.A . in Poetry at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1981. He taught Creative Writing and English at Fordham University, John Jay College, and University of San Francisco. Christopher Hewitt was also Associate Editor of Art & Understanding, a magazine in which writers and artists respond to the AIDS crisis.

He published two chapbooks of poetry: The Careless Days, and The Infinite Et Cetera. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The American Poetry Review, The Observer Poetry Prize Anthology, Salmagundi, Cimarron Review, and other magazines. His translation of the Rumanian poet Nina Cassian has appeared in Life Sentence: The Selected Poems of Nina Cassian, published by Norton (1990) and Anvil Press (England, 1990).

Hewitt wrote the libretti for two song cycles, Metamorphosis and Amours, music by Benton Hess, which were performed in New York City and Oberlin, Ohio. He also wrote the libretto for a cantata Cantata V: Raggedstone Hill, music by Dennis Riley, which was performed in New York City.

Hewitt died due to complications from pneumonia on July 13, 2004 in San Francisco. He was survived by his mother Joan Hewitt.

Acquisition information:
The Christopher Hewitt Papers were donated by Robert Guter, September 29, 2005.
Arrangement:

The Papers are arranged into 7 series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2: Writings (Subseries 2A. Notebooks, Journals, Drafts; and, Subseries 2B. Typescripts); Series 3. Artwork; Series 4. Subject Files; Series 5. Published Material; Series 6. Photographs; and, Series 7. Audiovisual Materials.

Physical location:
The collection is stored onsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.

Terms of access:

Copyright retained by the Christopher Hewitt estate. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Christopher Hewitt Papers (GLC 67), Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Website