The Holly Prado Papers include material spanning the career of poet Holly Prado, from examples of early efforts written in her youth in the 1950s, through her professional work into the early 2000s, with the greatest portion of material dating from the 1970s and 1990s. Prado's personal journals, dating from 1960 - 1999, make up the largest portion of the collection. Influenced by Jungian psychology, Prado has described journals an important tool for "nourishing" her writing. The second largest group of material consists of poetry, sometimes including more than one draft, annotations, and corrections. The balance of the collection includes personal and professional correspondence, notes, and materials relating to Prado's active involvement with teaching and literary events.
Holly Prado Papers, 1952-2007 (MSS 597)
Extent: 14.8 Linear feet (37 archives boxes, 2 oversize folders)
Poet Holly Prado was born in 1938 in Lincoln, Nebraska. She received a B.A. from Albion College in 1960. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles, where she remained to become an active, influential member of the Southern California literary community as a poet, educator, and regular participant in live poetry readings and literary events. She married actor and poet Harry Northup in 1990.
Prado has been involved in poetry and literary education for all age groups since the mid-1960s. She taught English at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles (1965-1972), participated in a Poetry in the Schools Program sponsored by the Department of Labor and National Endowment for the Arts (1973-1974), and has taught numerous writing workshops offered through a variety of schools and organizations. As of 2006 she is included as a faculty member of the University of Southern California Master of Professional Writing Program.
Prado began writing for publication while still in college, but attributes a 1970 writing workshop taught by Alvaro Cardona-Hine with helping her develop her mature style. Prado's first published collection was Nothing Breaks Off at the Edge (1976). Her other published collections include Losses (1977), Specific Mysteries (1990), Esperanza: Poems for Orpheus (1998), and These Mirrors Prove It: Selected Poems and Prose, 1970-2003 (2005). Her poetry has also appeared in various anthologies, poetry journals, and magazines such as Ms. and Rolling Stone. In addition to poetry, Prado has contributed essays and reviews to several periodicals, notably the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and published two books of prose, Feasts (1976) and Gardens (1985). Prado became a founding member of the Cahuenga Press Poets Publishing Cooperative in 1989 with James Cushing, Phoebe MacAdams, and Harry Northup.
Prado's work is often noted for her use of a mythic voice and references to classical myths and mysteries. In the introduction to her collection Greatest Hits (2000), she described the work in Specific Mysteries and Word Rituals (released as a spoken word recording in 1993) as "ceremonies making words sacred." Jungian psychology has also had a significant influence on Prado's work, especially her enthusiasm for keeping personal journals. In the literary journal Chrysalis (no. 7, 1979) she discussed personal journaling as an important tool for keeping in touch with the unconscious, developing intuitiveness, and exploring emotional states without self-censoring, as well as a means of "nourishing" writing intended for publication. Her personal journals record thoughts, experiences, and dreams and sometimes include drawings, photographs, or ephemera.
The Holly Prado Papers include material spanning the career of poet Holly Prado, from examples of early efforts written in her youth in the 1950s, through her professional work into the early 2000s, with the greatest portion of material dating from the 1970s and 1990s. Prado's personal journals, dating from 1960 - 1999, make up the largest portion of the collection. Influenced by Jungian psychology, Prado has described journals an important tool for "nourishing" her writing. The second largest group of material consists of poetry, sometimes including more than one draft, annotations, and corrections. The balance of the collection includes personal and professional correspondence, notes, and materials relating to Prado's active involvement with teaching and literary events. The collection is arranged in two sections: accessions processed in 2006, and an accession processed in 2008. There are several more unprocessed accessions from 2009-2013 not represented in this finding aid; consult a librarian for access.
Accessions Processed in 2006: The Holly Prado Papers include material spanning her career, from examples of early writings from the 1950s through her professional work into the late 1990s, with the greatest portion of material dating from the 1970s and 1980s. Prado's personal journals make up the largest portion of the collection. The second largest group of material consists of poetry, sometimes including more than one draft, annotations and corrections. The balance of the collection includes correspondence, notes, and materials relating to Prado's active involvement with teaching and literary events.
The 2006 accessions are arranged in ten series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) NOTES, 5) READINGS, 6) TEACHING MATERIALS, 7) CONFERENCES, 8) JOURNALS, 9) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, and 10) MISCELLANEOUS.
Accession Processed in 2008: These materials compliment the previous accession, and mainly include papers from the 1980s and 1990s.
The 2008 accession is arranged in four series: 11) CORRESPONDENCE, 12) WRITINGS, 13) READINGS, and 14) JOURNALS.
This collection has additional unprocessed materials not described in this finding aid. See the UC San Diego Library catalog record to view the acquisition dates and extent of unprocessed additions.