Summary
Creator
- Hopkins, Lee Bennett (Person)
Abstract
Lee Bennett Hopkins was a poetry anthologist, author, and educator. This collection of personal and professional papers documents Hopkins’s 50-year career in the field of children’s literature. Included in these papers are correspondence, manuscript drafts, clippings, publications, and related personal materials.
Dates
- Creation: 1849-2022
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1950-2019
Extent
46 Linear Feet (Housed in 40 Paige boxes, 4 expandable poster boxes, one 21x25 drop front box, and one 12x15 drop front box.)
Background
Biographical / Historical
Lee Bennett Hopkins was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1938. Hopkins spent much of his early life in Newark, New Jersey. In 1960, Hopkins graduated with a degree in education from Newark State Teachers College (now Kean University). He spent his early career teaching 6th grade in Fair Lawn, New Jersey before returning to school to receive a Master of Science at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Hopkins worked for Scholastic Magazines from 1968-1976 when he transitioned into a career as a full-time writer. In recognition for his work in the field of education, Hopkins received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Kean University in 1980.
Throughout his career, Hopkins received numerous awards and recognitions, including the University of Southern Mississippi medallion for contributions to Children’s Literature, the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, and the Florida Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016, Hopkins was awarded the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal and in 2017 he was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Hopkins is the founder of the Annual Lee Bennett Hopkins Writing Institute for Children, as well as the founder of several awards including the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Poetry, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, and the Lee Bennett Hopkins SCBWI Poetry Award. In 2015, Hopkins married his partner of 50 years, Charles Egita, after the state of Florida legalized same-sex marriage. Hopkins passed away on August 8, 2019, in Cape Coral, Florida at the age of 81.
Scope and Contents
The Lee Bennett Hopkins papers documents the life and career of Lee Bennett Hopkins, 1931-2019. Lee Bennett Hopkins was an author, educator, and poetry anthologist. This collection contains correspondence, manuscript drafts, clippings, publications, audiovisual materials, illustrations/prints, and memorabilia relating to Hopkin’s life, career, and legacy. Throughout his over 50-year career, Hopkins published numerous children’s books, young-adult novels, journal articles, and over 100 poetry anthologies.
This collection includes files relating to several of Hopkins’s notable works like his young-adult novels Mama and Mama and Her Boys. Additionally, the papers contain materials pertaining to Hopkins’ autobiographical poetry collection, Been to Yesterdays, which won the Christopher Award in 1995. Various unpublished manuscripts are also included in this collection, like play scripts for Trudy’s Palace and By Prospectus Only.
Personal and professional correspondence constitute the majority of this collection. Throughout his career, Hopkins corresponded with several notable children’s authors like Theodor Geisel (Dr. Suess), Maurice Sendak, Beverly Clearly, Roald Dahl, and Shel Silverstein. In his papers, Hopkins collected clippings and publications related to these authors and preserved hand-drawn illustrations given to him by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Suess).
This collection is arranged in the following five series: Author and illustrator files, Awards and recognitions, Illustrations and prints, Manuscripts and research files, and Personal materials.
Physical Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Penn State University Libraries catalog via the link above. Archival collections may be housed in offsite storage. For materials stored offsite, please allow 2-3 business days for retrieval.
Custodial History
This material was created and collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Following his death, his husband Charles Egita facilitated transferring Hopkins' remaining papers to Penn State University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The first accession of this collection was donated to the Special Collections Library by Lee Bennett Hopkins in April 2018. Following Hopkins' death in 2019, Charles Egita facilitated the shipment of his remaining files to the Pennsylvania State University Libraries.
Separated Materials
After accession, two containers of books were separated from the collection and individually cataloged. During processing, Sarah Meyer removed financial documents and awards. The financial documents were securely destroyed, and the awards transferred to the Education Library for use.
Processing Information
This material was minimally processed at the point of accessioning by rehousing from original boxes and filing cabinets into archival boxes. This collection is unprocessed. As part of collection assessment, Robyn Dyke created a preliminary inventory based on existing folder titles which has been uploaded to provide additional access.
Lexy deGraffenreid and Mae Casey minimally processed the 2021 accession by rehousing materials into archival boxes and folders. They also removed materials from binders and foldered them.
Sarah Meyer processed this collection by arranging, inventorying, and housing materials. She intellectually arranged this collection into five series and inventoried the collection at file level.
Using These Materials
Repository Details
Part of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library Repository
104 Paterno Library
Penn State University
University Park 16802 USA
(814) 865-1793
spcollections@psu.edu
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Photocopies of original materials may be made available for research purposes at the discretion of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Photocopies or reproductions of original materials may be subject to fees as outlined by the Pennsylvania State University Libraries reproduction policies.
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Patrons seeking advice on the availability of unpublished materials for publication should consult relevant copyright law and laws of libel.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lee Bennett Hopkins Papers, 09945, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University.
- Title
- Guide to the Lee Bennett Hopkins papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Compiled by Sarah Meyer
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2021: Lexy deGraffenreid updated the approximated extent and general finding aid notes to minimum standard due to forthcoming acquisitions. She also added a Separated Materials note and Related Materials note.
- 2021: Lexy deGraffenreid uploaded a preliminary inventory of unprocessed additions, October 21, 2021
- 2022: Lexy deGraffenreid updated the dates and the extents due to a new accession.
- 2023: Sarah Meyer rewrote this finding aid following collections processing.