Tom Robbins papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Cabell Library
James Branch Cabell Library
Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 842003
901 Park Avenue
Richmond, VA 23284-2003
Contact for questions and access:
POC: SCA Staff
Phone: (804) 828-1108
Fax: (804) 828-0151
Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Tom Robbins Papers, Collection Number M 90, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Summary

Extent:
17 Linear Feet
Creator:
Burke, Libby and Robbins, Tom, 1932-
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Tom Robbins Papers, Collection Number M 90, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of the literary manuscripts for all of Robbins' novels and a few of his other works. It includes handwritten drafts, typed versions of drafts, and galley proofs. There is a small collection of correspondence to Robbins from his fans, dating 1997 through 2006; some correspondence from Robbins from 2006; and journal and newspaper articles written by or about Robbins from various Seattle publications and others, dating 1967-1978.

Biographical / historical:

Tom Robbins (1932-) is an American author based in Seattle who has published eight novels in a style described as satirical, non-linear, and often wildly poetic. He is probably best known for Even Cowgirls Get the Blues published in 1976 and made into a 1993 film that starred Uma Thurman and a large cast of notable stars. Robbins was the narrator of the film. He has also published a children's book and a collection of non-fiction essays, reviews, and short stories

Robbins was born July 22, 1932 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. His parents were George Thomas Robbins and Katherine Belle Robinson. He has two younger sisters. The Robbins family moved to Warsaw, Virginia in 1942. After he graduated in 1950 from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, Robbins enrolled at Washington and Lee University. He left that school after his sophomore year and enlisted in the Air Force in 1953. He spent a year in Korea and two years in the Special Weather Intelligence unit of the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska. He was discharged in 1957 and returned to Virginia where he enrolled at Richmond Professional Institute (RPI is the forerunner to Virginia Commonwealth University).

Robbins lived in Richmond's Fan District and became part of the local bohemian art scene. He was a regular at a number of bars on W. Grace Street, including the Village Cafe. He was an editor for the RPI student newspaper, the Proscript. He also wrote columns for the paper, " Robbin's Nest" and "Walks on the Wild Side", which contained early elements of his characteristic irreverent writing style.

He graduated from RPI with a degree in journalism in 1959. He worked briefly for the Richmond Times-Dispatch as a copy editor before moving to Seattle in 1962 to seek a Master's degree at the Far East Institute of the University of Washington. In Seattle for the next several years he held a number of jobs including working for the Seattle Magazine; and hosted a weekly " underground" radio show at KRAB-FM. Robbins said that it was in 1967, while writing a review of a Doors concert, that he found his literary voice.

In the late 1960s he moved to South Bend, Washington, where he wrote his first novel. In 1970, Robbins moved to La Conner, Washington where he has written his subsequent work. He has been married to Alexa D'Avalon since 1987. He has three sons, all from previous marriages.

Robbins has published non-fiction essays in national magazines, including Esquire and Playboy, as well as regional Seattle periodicals. His first novel, Another Roadside Attraction, was published in 1971.

A Bibliography of Robbins' monographs:

Guy Anderson, photographs by Bob Peterson, designed by Don Scott: Gear Works Press, 1965. First book written by Robbins.

Another Roadside Attraction, Balantine, New York, 1971.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976.

Still-Life with Woodpecker, Bantam, New York, 1980.

Jitterbug Perfume, Bantam, New York, 1984.

Skinny Legs and All, Bantam, New York, 1990.

Half Asleep In Frog Pajamas, Bantam, New York, 1994.

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Bantam, New York, 2000.

Villa Incognito, Bantam, New York, 2003.

B Is for Beer, Bantam, New York, 2009.

Wild Ducks Flying Backward: The Short Writings of Tom Robbins, Bantam, New York, 2005.

Conversations with Tom Robbins, edited by Liam O. Purdon and Beef Torrey, University Press of Mississippi, 2011.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Tom Robbins in 1999-2000 with subsequent donations. Libby Burke, a friend of Robbins from Seattle, Washington, donated a number of articles by and about Tom Robbins from various Seattle publications.
Arrangement:

The collection is organized with the seven novels in chronological order, with later donations of newspaper writings filed in chronological order and followed by fan correspondence.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard