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Richard M. Peabody Gargoyle Magazine collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS2040

Collection Scope and Content

This collection contains material accumulated and generated by Richard Peabody, specifically during his tenure as founder, editor and publisher of Paycock Press (1976-1990). The collection primarily consists of reference material, such as community arts promotional literature and literary publications, in which some of Peabody's work appears and which he used as source material for his book.

Also included in the collection is correspondence from contributing Gargoyle authors and artists and general correspondence from writers, who submitted their work for consideration in the publication. Graphics, negatives and page mechanicals document the production of Gargoyle and other Paycock Press publications, Administrative material generated in the course of business is included, as well.

This collection is a valuable historical record of the publication process of a major literary magazine in the Washington DC area and is an excellent resource for information on literary organizations and cultural institutions during the 1970s and 1980s.

The collection measures approximately 84 linear feet. Material in the collection dates from ca. 1970 to 1992 and exemplifies Peabody's intimate familiarity with the Washington metro area.

This collection is part of the Washington Writers Archives at Gelman Special Collections, which includes original manuscripts and records from writers's organizations in the Washington D.C. area.

Dates

  • circa 1976-2009

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Some records may be restricted.

Restrictions on Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Historical or Biographical Note

Richard Myers Peabody, Jr. (1951- ) is a life long resident of the Washington DC area and has been a central figure in the literary intellectual life of the city. Peabody was one of the founding editors and publisher of Gargoyle magazine, a highly regarded Washington DC literary journal that published 36 issues between 1976 and 1990. Gargoyle magazine, which Peabody funded almost completely with his modest personal income, published the work of local writers as well as the literary compositions of internationally known authors, such as T.C. Boyle and Charles Bukowski. Peabody also ran an independent publishing company, Paycock Press, for which he designed, edited and published twelve books from 1976 to 1990.

Peabody is the author of three books of poetry, Sad Fashions (1990), Echt & Ersatz (1985), and I'm in Love with the Morton Salt Girl (1979), as well as a volume of short fiction entitled Monaural (1980). He has also edited several collections, including D.C. Magazines: A Literary Perspective (1982), Mavericks: Nine Independent Publishers (1983), Mondo Barbie (1993) and Coming to Terms: A Literary History of Abortion (1994). He has published numerous poems and fictional articles in Here!, Unicorn Times, Carousel, Trouser Press, The American Magazine, New South Writing, as well as many others.

A Washington, DC native, Peabody earned his degrees from local universities a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Maryland in 1973 and a masters in Art Literature from The American University in 1975. He attended Georgetown Writer's Conference in the summer of 1975. Peabody has taught creative writing courses and workshops at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland, at Georgetown University and at the University of Maryland.

Gelman Library retains an extensive collection of Peabody's Gargoyle magazine, as well as the book, D.C. Magazines: A Literary Retrospective, which he edited in 1981. The Peabody Gargoyle Magazine Collection is part of the Washington Writers Archives (WWA) at the Gelman Library's Department of Special Collections. WWA includes original manuscripts and records from writer's organizations in the Washington, DC area. Other collections in this archive include The David McAleavey Papers, which contains videotaped footage of Peabody speaking at the Washington Writing Conference, The Grace Cavalieri Papers, The Poetry Committee of the Greater Washington Area Records and The Word Works Records.

Gargoyle Magazine was an American anthology including poetry, fiction, articles, art, photos, interviews, satire, reviews, long poems, parts of novels and collages of European and American writers and artists. The magazine was founded in Bethesda, Maryland in 1976 by Richard Peabody, Russell Cox and Paul Pasquarella. Thirty eight issues were published between 1976 and 1990. Contributors were paid with one copy of the magazine in which their work appeared. The magazine is indexed in the Index of American Periodical Verse. In 1979, Peabody's independent publishing company, Paycock Press, began publishing books.

Extent

84 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection contains material accumulated and generated by Richard Peabody, specifically during his tenure as founder, editor and publisher of Paycock Press. The collection primarily consists of reference material, such as community arts promotional literature and literary publications, in which some of Peabody's work appears and which he used as source material for his book.

Collection Organization

Organized into six series: Publications, Correspondence, Reference files, Productions files, Administrative files, and Flyers and brochures.

Acquisition Information

In 1990, Richard Peabody donated a collection of community arts promotional literature to George Washington University's Gelman Library. The literature promoted cultural events in the Washington, DC area during the years ca. 1976 and 1992. Three years later, the library purchased the Richard M. Peabody Gargolye Magazine Collection, which was added to his previous donation. Peabody retained all literary property and copyright ownership of the material.

Series 6 Gift of Richard Peabody, 02/18/2010 (Accession 2010.006).

Title
Guide to the Richard M. Peabody Gargoyle Magazine collection, circa 1976-2009
Status
Completed
Author
Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
Date
2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository

Contact:
2130 H Street NW
Washington 20052 United States of America