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Cage 593
Alfred Borrello
Papers, 1946-1988

Alfred Borrello donated the contents of this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 1988. It was accessioned (MS88-01) in January of 1988 and later processed by Liza R. Rognas in August 1992.

Number of containers: 9
Linear feet of shelf space: 5.5
Approximate number of items: 1,100

BIOGRAPHY

Alfred Borrello was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1931. He received his B.A. in English at St. John's University in 1952 and served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955. After earning his M.A. at New York University in 1956, Borrello returned to St. John's where he graduated with a Ph.D. in English in 1965.

Borello's teaching career began at Mercer County Community College in Trenton, New Jersey. He was chairman of both the English department and the division of Liberal Arts at Mercer from 1967-1969. In 1969 Borrello moved to the Kingsborough College of the City University of New York as an associate professor of English.

Borrello's published works center around a small group of English novelists and poets. In 1969 he published "A Concordance of the Poetry in English of Gerard Manley Hopkins" with Scarecrow Press. They also published his dictionary on E.M. Forster a few years later. He wrote on the lives and literary accomplishments of such authors as H.G. Wells, Gabriel Fielding, Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene and for years he was associate editor of the Evelyn Waugh Newsletter. The research for Borrello's book on Gabriel Fielding brought him into close contact with Fielding and his family; the friendship, begun in 1967, grew into a long and affectionate relationship. Much of the correspondence between Borrello and the Fielding family was a lively dialog concerning the theological and moral aspects of Catholicism, a religion they shared. Borrello's passion for opera and the theatre is evidenced in the correspondence as well; there are hundreds of theatre programs and playbills in this collection dating from 1946.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The contents of the collection are arranged into five series: Correspondence; Gabriel Fielding Manuscripts and Typescripts; Alfred Borrello Manuscripts and Typescripts; Theatre and Opera Programs and Playbills; and Ephemera, News Clippings and Oversize items. Following the first two folders labeled "General Correspondence," the Correspondence series is alphabetically arranged by folder title; Thereunder each folder is arranged chronologically. Series two and three contain the writings of Fielding and Borrello arranged alphabetically by folder title. The playbills and programs in the fourth series are arranged chronologically by year. The contents of the fifth series, Ephemera, are arranged according to size of item. Some interesting items include: Thank You letter signed by Nelson A. Rockefeller, Dec. 17, 1970; Note from Lillian Hellman, signed Nov. 22, 1974; Letter from William Carlos Williams, Feb. 20, 1952; 1976 Playbill "A Musical Jubilee" autographed by Lillian Gish; 1976 Playbill "Paul Robeson" autographed by James Earl Jones; Letters from Muriel Spark, e e cummings, Anthony Powell, Horace Gregory (mainly copies dated 1952 and 1969); Fielding's "Maude in the Bodkin's Eye"; "Shine on the Rain" script by Traynor and Borrello, and a portrait of Gabriel Fielding.

SERIES LIST

SERIES: DESCRIPTION                                                    CONTAINER

Series 1: Correspondence                                                  1-2
Series 2: Gabriel Fielding Manuscripts & Typescripts                      2
Series 3: Alfred Borrello Manuscripts & Typescripts                       2-4
Series 4: Theatre and Opera Playbills & Programs                          5-8
Series 5: Ephemera, News Clippings & Oversize Items                       9

CONTAINER LIST

Box Folder   Description
 
Series 1: Correspondence
 
11General Correspondence Received, 1958-1980
2General Correspondence Sent, 1968-1980
3Anthony Burgess, 1968
4Concordance (re: Gerald Manely Hopkins), reed 1968-1970
5Concordance, sent, 1968-1970
6Gabriel Fielding Corr. with Publishers, 1956-1963
7Corr. From Fielding and Family, 1967-1986
8Corr. To Fielding and family, 1967-1980
29E.M. Forster Dictionary, 1969-1972
10Erle Stanley Gardner (copies), 1968
11Fielding Book , Corr. Received, 1967-1974
12Fielding Book, Corr. Sent, 1967-1971
13Southern Illinois University Press, Received
14Southern Illinois University Press, sent
15Miriam Kessler Taura, 1977-1978
16Evelyn Waugh Family & Newsletter
17Writers, 1952, 1969 (Marianne Moore, ee cummings, Horace Gregory...)
 
Series 2: Gabriel Fielding Manuscripts and Typescripts
 
18Short Story: "After the Parrot"
19   "Figs in Spring"
20   "Maude in the Bodkin's Eye"
21Speech: Delivered Bryan Hall, 1966 WSU
22Speech: Copy of Fielding's talk on "Greenbloom"
23Transcript: 1968 Interview with Fielding
 
Series 3: Alfred Borrello Manuscripts and Typescripts
 
24Dissertation: "H.G. Wells' Art of the Novel", 1965
25Draft of Fielding Book, incomplete
326   Intro. & Ch.2, 1969
27   Preface & Notes
28   Longhand Draft, Notes on "The Birthday King" chapter.
29   Draft, Chapter Notes, Chronology, Bibliography.
30   Incomplete Early Draft
31   Drafts, Intro., "A Type of Mourning" Chapter.
32   Drafts, Ch. 1 "In the Beginning"
33   Drafts, Notes, Intro., Ch.1 (1967)
34   1st draft, Notes, Ch.4, "Through Streets Broad and Narrow"
35   Longhand first draft, Notes, Ch.6, "Gentlemen in Their Season"
36"Gabriel Fielding", Copy #1
37"H.G. Wells: Author in Agony" (incomplete, on copy paper)
38"H.G. Wells: Author in Agony" (partial typed draft)
39"H.G. Wells: Author in Agony" (editor's copy, complete)
440"H.G. Wells: Author as Teacher" (partial draft)
41"H.G. Wells" (partial draft)
42"H.G. Wells" (published bibliography, 1968 photocopy)
43Notes: "Brotherly Love", Fielding Book
44   "Eight Days," Fielding Book
45   Publicity, Agents, Personal Notes on Fielding
46   Background, titles, Fielding Book
47Play: "Michelangelo's Models," by Robert Patrick, 1980
48Screen Play: Nieman-Marcus American Express Holiday GiftGiving Survey" (1988 complete script & drafts)
49Script: "Shine on the Rain," by P. Traynor and A. Borrello
50Short Story: "Going Downtown on the Number 3 Bus," by Irene K Danial, early draft. Edited by A. Borrello
51Personal Papers
 
Series 4: Theatre and Opera Playbills & Programs
 
5Playbills and Programs, 1946-1970
6Playbills and Programs, 1971-1978
7Playbills and Programs, 1978-1982
8Playbills and Programs, 1982-1988
 
Series 5: Ephemera, News Clippings and Oversize Items
 
952Ephemera: Miscellaneous Items (award, theatre tickets, 1968 color photo of Fieldings, Metropolitan Opera Libretto Translation ca 1950)
53Letter from William Carlos Williams to A. Borrello Feb. 20, 1952. Laminated original written on menu.
54Newspaper Article (1970) New York Times Review of Books on E.M. Forster
55Articles: Literary Reviews, Critiques and interviews w/ G. Fielding, includes New York Times Saturday Review article by Fielding.
56Literary Descriptions: Birthday King, Brotherly Love, In the Time of Green Bloom, Through Streets Broad and Narrow. Source unknown.
Gabriel Fielding Portrait: print of pencil sketch signed by Fielding to A. Borrello.