Sally Rinard papers

The Sally Rinard Papers focus on Rinard's writing career as a poet, novelist, book reviewer, and an award-winning journalist. Comprising 15 linear feet with an additional 17 boxes of oversize material, the collection spans the dates 1914-2008, with the bulk of material dating between 1950 and 2008.

Sally Rinard's career as a journalist is the subject of the first series of the papers, which is by far the most extensive, consisting of scrapbooks, research notes and gathered printed material, computer drafts of articles, clippings of published work, as well as periodicals and awards. Each subseries chronicles Rinard's work at a different publication, or her freelance work.

Surbseries I.A. consists of a single scrapbook of clippings and tear sheets which document Rinard’s internship at the The News Journal during the summer of 1964 and articles from 1967 when Sally Rinard returned to work at the paper. Additionally, the scrapbook includes clippings regarding Rinard’s father, Richard Rinard, who was an editor at The News Journal.

Subseries I.B. Copy editor assistant at Good Housekeeping, includes two scrapbooks which are filled with clippings and magazine pages illustrating Rinard's editing for the magazine.

Subseries I.C. Market editor, feature writer, and columnist for Women’s Wear Daily, is a more substantial and varied group of material. In addition to twelve scrapbooks, there are issues of periodicals, books, loose clippings, and printed supplements, all of which represent Rinard's writing and editing for Women's Wear Daily, and particularly her column Eye View. There are also ten color sketches and a framed watercolor of clothes and lingerie designs created by fashion designer Fernando Sanchez, whose work appeared in the magazine.

Subseries I.D. is a single notebook in which Rinard recorded notes and a variety of ideas for freelance writing. Kept during the 1980s, the notebook has information on the history of the University of North Carolina and the R. J. Reynolds Company, among other topics.

Subseries I.E. Book reviews written for the The New Journal, consists of a single folder of clippings of Rinard's book reviews written in 1986 and 1987.

Beginning in 1994 and continuing until months before her death in 2008, Sally Rinard was a freelance writer for Delaware Today magazine. Subseries I.F. Writer for Delaware Today, contains contracts, drafts of articles, magazine stationery, extensive research files, notes, and printed articles written by Rinard for the magazine. Rinard wrote occasional feature articles and reviews, but in 2004 she began writing a regular column titled Gabby, in which she reported the inside scoop on Delaware's social scene, setters, and events, particularly events related to Delaware's non-profit organizations. In preparing each column she researched the organization prior to attending an event. At events participated in the proceeding and interviewed attendees. Some of her notebooks in which she recorded these conversations, as well as the files she accumulated on each of the organizations are available in this series. The files of research material fall generally into two categories arranged alphabetically: one by topic and another by the organizations.

As a freelance journalist, Rinard was also an award-winning contributor to Out & About Magazine from 1997 to 2008. She wrote feature articles, a column titled The Sexes, and a regular review of current movies titled At the Cinema. Subseries I.G. Writer for Out & About Magazine, details this work through computer generated drafts of articles and reviews, scrapbooks containing her movie reviews, computer diskettes, notebooks in which she recorded her reactions and thoughts while viewing individual films, extensive files for films she reviewed, programs and realia from film festivals she attended, and clippings of articles about particular films or trends in films.

The file for an individual film may include a press kit, production notes, photographs, clippings, music, film clips, posters, and other material acquired by Rinard for use in writing her review of a film. Although most of the material was sent to Rinard in press kits, she added clippings, reviews, notes and postcards to the files, which are arranged alphabetically by film title.

The final two subseries focus first on the awards Rinard received for her journalistic efforts; and second, files detailing her professional press affiliations.

The second series of the collection, II. Creative writing, archives files related to Rinard's creative work between 1952 and 1982. Subseries II.A. Juvenalia, provides a sample of some of Sally Rinard's earliest writing as a young person. Other samples of her early writing are pasted in the 1959-1966 scrapbook in Series IV.D.

Subseries II.B. Novels, represents one of Rinard's successful creative ventures, namely her novel, Pretensions, pubished in 1985. Files include correspondence, research for the novel, early drafts, rewrites, and various editions of the book. Research and drafts for second unpublished novel, tentatively titled Hustle, which Rinard worked on over the years is also present.

The final two subseries II.C. Poetry and II.D. Plays and stories consist of small groups of poems, stories, and one play written by Rinard. Rinard did have several of her poems published, including one in the The Greensboro Review.

Sally Rinard was instrumental in the founding of The Delaware Literary Connection, Inc. which is the focus of the third series of these papers. The series includes organizational records such as incorporation and tax documents, financial papers, board agenda and minutes, correspondence and programs, membership lists, photographs and signs, as well as files related to readings and workshops sponsored by the Delaware Literary Connection. The organization published a regular newsletter, Facets, and an anthology of work by Delaware writers titled Terrains. The production files for both are available in this series.

The final series of the Sally Rinard Papers comprises her personal papers. In this series some of Rinard's personal passions and interests are documented. The first subseries, IV.A. Interest in Mind, Body, Spirit connections, identifies one of Rinard's life-long interests, that of understanding how the human mind, body and spirit interact and consequently, exploring the realm of human spirituality in all forms. She was particularly interested in Tarot and five of her personal decks of cards are archived here. Rinard was also keenly aware of contemporary fashion, an interest fostered in her early journalism career and continued throughout her life, as evidenced in the material in subseries IV.F. Fashion interests.

Rinard's childhood and teenage years are represented in several subseries, namely, IV.B. Family material and life events, IV.C. Education, and IV.D. Photographs and other images. Rinard's high school experience is evidenced in the Tower Hill School yearbooks and a combination scrapbook and photograph album of her high school days. Included in this scrapbook are a letter and postcard from John Updike, as well as an original cartoon and letter written by “Barney Smith” creator Fred Lasswell.

Other highlights among these subseries are a photograph album and the letters Sally Rinard wrote to her mother during her 1967 tour of the world and a pastel portrait of Sally Rinard by Jack Robertson. There are also five phonograph recordings of contemporary writers reading their work during the 1950s, including T. S. Eliot, Robert Frost and Dylan Thomas.

Throughout her adult life Sally Rinard was an active volunteer. In New York City, she helped kids start a newsletter at The Friendly Place, an East Harlem library, and worked with the Literacy Volunteers of New York. Rinard continued to volunteer after her return to Delaware, where she served on benefit ball committees for the American Heart Association and for Child, Inc. and walked in AIDS Delaware's annual “Walk for Life” fund raisers. These activities are chronicled in subseries IV.E. Volunteer work and among the organization files in subseries I.F. because Rinard frequently included these events in her Gabby.

Subseries IV.G. Articles regarding Rinard, consists of a single file of clippings of newspaper articles which either feature or mention Rinard. Other articles about Rinard or her writing are found throughout the collection, such as reviews and interviews related to the publication of her novel, Pretensions.

Subseries IV.H. Items related to personal correspondence, includes a few cards and letters written to Rinard but is chiefly her personal stationery, calling cards, address book and other office realia.

The posters housed in subseries IV.I. consist of a variety of printed pieces, some produced for book promotions, some advertising New York museum exhibitions and others commemorating Delaware events. Two of the book publication posters are signed by Chuck Berry and Gary Trudeau. Several of Delaware posters are also signed by the artists, including Edward Loper, Phillip Wikoff, and Janet Dixon.

The final subseries in the personal papers is IV.J. Realia, which also reflects several of Rinard's personal interests. There are cotton t-shirts from several local fundraising events which she attended, coasters from New York and Delaware bars and breweries, a collection of match books and boxes from Delaware restaurants, and a souvenir magnetic chess board from the Spassky-Fischer chess match held in 1972. One of Sally Rinard's hobbies was the creation of paper decoupaged collages. Six decoupaged boxes and one framed collage created by Rinard are among the realia.