Papers of Harry Northup, Los Angeles poet, screen actor, and editor and founding member of Cahuenga Press. The papers largely comprise Northup's literary correspondence; his writings, including notebooks and journals, working papers, poem drafts, and manuscripts for collected published works, such as materials for THE RAGGED VERTICAL and REUNIONS; and materials related to his acting career. Of particular significance are Northup's notebooks which often chronicle and reflect his experiences as a screen actor. The collection documents Northup's talks and poetry readings with audiocassette and videocassette recordings and documents his work as an editor and founding member of the Cahuenga Press. Also included are photographs, newspaper clippings from his early stage acting career, and theater memorabilia. The papers are arranged in twelve series: 1) ORIGINAL FINDING AID, 2) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 3) CORRESPONDENCE, 4) WRITINGS, 5) TALKS AND READINGS, 6) TEACHING MATERIALS, 7) NOTEBOOKS, 8) CAHUENGA PRESS, 9) FILM AND TELEVISION SCRIPTS, 10) AUDIO CASSETTE RECORDINGS, 11) VIDEO RECORDINGS, and 12) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.
Harry Northup Papers, 1940 - 2002 (MSS 598)
Extent: 15 Linear feet (36 archives boxes, 2 cardfile boxes, and 1 oversize folder)
Harry E. Northup was born in Amarillo, Texas, on September 2, 1940, and grew up in Ordville and Sidney, Nebraska. Harry began acting at age 14 in community and high school theatre. After a brief tour of duty as a radioman in the U.S. Navy between 1958-1961 he attended Nebraska State Teachers College at Kearney, where he performed in leading roles. In 1962, he worked in summer stock, where he got his Equity card. In 1963, Northup moved to New York City where he met Leland Hickman in Frank Corsaro's Method acting class. Hickman introduced him to poetry.
After moving to Los Angeles, Northup acted in film and television roles to support his career as a poet with parts in Martin Scorsese's first six films including TAXI DRIVER and MEAN STREETS. He has acted in over thirty-six films, numerous television shows and series, and has worked with directors such as Jonathan Demme, who directed PHILADELPHIA and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Northup's first book of poetry entitled AMARILLO BORN was published in 1966. He has had seven additional volumes of collected works published including THE JON VOIGHT POEMS (circa 1973), EROS ASH (circa 1976), ENOUGH THE GREAT RUNNING CHAPEL (1982), THE IMAGES WE POSSESS KILL THE CAPTURING (1988), THE RAGGED VERTICAL (1996), REUNIONS (2001), and GREATEST HITS, 1966-2001 (2002). Northup's poetry has appeared in small magazines and literary journals, especially TEMBLOR and BACHY. His work is diaristic in nature, drawing from life and emotional experiences, and often emphasizes the long poem. In 1985, Northup completed his bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied verse with Ann Stanford.
Two of Northup's books, THE RAGGED VERTICAL and REUNIONS, were published by Cahuenga Press, which he co-founded in 1989. The press was created in order to promote and inspire the work of its founders, Harry Northup, Holly Prado, Jimm Cushing, Phoebe MacAdams, Bill Mohr, and Celia Woloch. Northup works as an editor and writer at Cahuenga Press.
Along with the written word, Northup is an adamant supporter of the spoken word. New Alliance Records has released his "Personal Crime," new and selected poems from 1966-1991 on CD and cassette audio recordings and "Homes" on CD. He has participated in numerous public poetry readings and talks and organized a weekly on-going reading series entitled "Gasoline Alley Readings." Poets who participated include Holly Prado, Bill Mohr and Lewis MacAdams.
Harry Northup lives in Los Angeles with his wife, poet Holly Prado Northup.
The papers of Harry Northup document Northup's career as a poet, editor and actor. The collection also illustrates his journal-like writing style, as defined by his notebooks, working poem drafts, and collected manuscripts. Materials also include literary and professional correspondence; biographical materials including photographs and memorabilia; spoken word readings with audio and videotapes; teaching materials; and a range of film and television screenplays. Northup's work as an editor is reflected in the Cahuenga Press materials, which includes organizational records and published works. The collection is arranged in twelve series: 1) ORIGINAL FINDING AID, 2) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 3) CORRESPONDENCE, 4) WRITINGS, 5) TALKS AND READINGS, 6) TEACHING MATERIALS, 7) NOTEBOOKS, 8) CAHUENGA PRESS, 9) FILM AND TELEVISION SCRIPTS, 10) AUDIOCASSETTES, 11) VIDEO RECORDINGS, and 12) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.
Additions to the papers of poet Harry Northup.
Recent literary materials from 2005.
Additions to the papers of poet Harry Northup.
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.
Container List
- Special Collections & Archives
- UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla CA 92093
- ©2016 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
- Contact Us
