Norman O. Brown papers

Collection

Identifier: 1000-232

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Norman O. Brown papers consist of documents pertaining to Norman O. Brown’s various publications, namely Life Against Death and Love’s Body – both of which are published by Wesleyan University Press – as well as “Apocalypse,” an address given by Norman O. Brown to the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity at Columbia University, published by Harper’s magazine, and his book Closing Time. The majority of the collection is made up of drafts of the two books and correspondence, much of which can be considered “fan mail,” although critics can be found as well.

Dates

Creation: 1950-1973

Creator

Brown, Norman Oliver, 1913-2002 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

University records - Copyright held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the creator - In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted

Biographical / Historical

Norman O. Brown was a writer and social philospher. Born in 1913, he recieved his education at Clifton College and then Balliol College at the University of Oxford. He would recieve his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in classics.

After befriending composer John Cage, Brown would become a professor of Classics at Wesleyan. His work Life Against Death was published by Wesleyan Press in 1959.

Norman O. Brown passed away on October 2, 2002.