Overview
Papers of playwright, novelist, and lesbian activist Ana María Simo.
Dates
- Creation: 1940-2003
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is closed while being processed.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Ana María Simo is held by Ana María Simo during her lifetime. After Simo's death, copyright in her papers will pass to Kelly Cogswell. After the deaths of Simo and Cogswell, copyright will transfer to the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
9.6 linear feet ((9 cartons, 1 file box, 1 half file box) plus 2 folio+ folders, 1 oversize folder, 1 supersize folder, 1 folio photograph folder, 1 archived web site)Collection includes family and personal documents such as passports, school records, etc.; correspondence; files on her activism; writings; reviews; clippings; photographs; memorabilia; posters; audiovisual material including interviews, How to Kill Her, Dyke TV segments; etc.
BIOGRAPHY
Playwright, novelist, and activist, Ana María Simo was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, in 1943, and moved to Havana on the eve of the 1959 revolution. She began working as a journalist at age 15 and was 18 when her first book, The Fables, was published by Ediciones El Puente, a project co-directed by Simo (1961-1965) along with the poet José Mario Rodriguez. Simo moved to Paris in 1967, studying sociology and linguistics, and was active in Gouines Rouges (Red Dykes), the MLF (Mouvement de Libération des Femmes), and the FHAR (Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire). In the mid-1970s she settled in New York, where she began writing in English and was associated with Maria Irene Fornes' experimental theater workshop. Many of her plays (Ted and Edna, Going to New England, Exiles, and Alma) were produced in New York at the INTAR Hispanic American Arts Center and other venues. She was the co-founder of Medusa's Revenge theater, the direct action group Lesbian Avengers, the national cable program Dyke TV, and The Gully online magazine. A short feature film, How to Kill Her, was widely screened at festivals in the United States and abroad.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2018-M131
The papers of Ana María Simo were acquired from Ana María Simo in August 2018.
Processing Information
Container List: December 2018
By: Ana María Simo.
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This container list provides a basic inventory and description of the Simo papers. More extensive processing work may be undertaken in the future.
- Title
- Simo, Ana María. Papers of Ana María Simo, 1940-2003: A Container List
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch01628
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.