Manuscripts

Writings

Description: Drafts and galleys of Babitz's books Slow Days, Fast Company (1977); Sex and Rage: Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time (1979); L.A. Woman (1982); Black Swans (1993); and Two By Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night (1999); as well as the unpublished manuscripts for Travel Broadens (1963) and drafts of the unrealized Bonnie and Clyde (2001) and Russia (2001). Articles and stories include drafts of early work for publication in Rolling Stone, Coast magazine and others; and stories later published in the collection I Used to Be Charming: The Rest of Eve Babitz (2019). Also includes several screenplays, incomplete drafts, and copies of clippings and publications featuring Babitz's published work.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1963-2000s
Call number: mssBabitz
Creator: Babitz, Eve(Opens in new tab)
Provenance

Unpublished and unrealized manuscripts

Manuscripts

Manuscript draft of the unpublished Travel Broadens (1963), based on Babitz's experiences in Europe, and typescript drafts of the unrealized Russia (1996-2001) and Bonnie and Clyde (2001).

mssBabitz

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Dance research

Manuscripts

Primarily negatives and contact sheets but also a few prints of dancers at various Los Angeles locations, and some dance-related ephemera. Appears to be related to Babitz's book Two by Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night.

mssBabitz

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Eve Babitz papers

Manuscripts

Materials documenting the life and career of writer and artist Eve Babitz. Writings includes drafts and galleys of her books Slow Days, Fast Company (1977), Sex and Rage: Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time (1979), L.A. Woman (1982), Black Swans (1993), and Two By Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night (1999); as well as articles and stories; screenplays; unpublished manuscripts; and collected clippings and publications. The Personal series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence with friends, family, and publishing contacts; biographical and family items; and Babitz's notebooks and datebooks. Photographs are of Babitz, her friends and family, and the Los Angeles area, including hundreds she took with a Brownie camera documenting her friends and social sphere from 1968 to 1971. Artwork primarily consists of collages Babitz made between 1967 and1970, some commissioned for publication or album artwork. Collage subjects include musician friends and acquaintances including Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, Stephen Stills, Ginger Baker, and Noel Harrison; commissioned work featuring Marilyn Monroe and Liza Minnelli; and pastoral and abstract scenes. There are also drawings and paintings dating from the early to mid-1960s.

mssBabitz

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Articles and stories N-W

Manuscripts

Primarily typescript drafts and photocopy drafts of articles and stories, many of which appeared in magazines or the 2019 collection I Used to Be Charming. Grouped alphabetically with a few titles housed separately in original folders or housing: A New Yorker's Foolproof Guide to L.A., Power Seducts, The Ruscha Rainbow, and Valley High. Many stories in this box document Babitz's 1997 accident and recovery, including The Raymond, Waiting for Songs, and Weathering Heather. Some drafts include notes from publishers and revisions.

mssBabitz

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Photographs

Manuscripts

Photographs and negatives of Eve Babitz, her family and friends, and the Los Angeles area, including hundreds taken by Babitz of friends and gatherings during the years 1969-1972. Photo subjects from this time include Jackson Browne, the Byrds, Black Oak Arkansas, Glenn Frey, Steve Martin, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons (38 images), and Dan Wakefield; and several Los Angeles locations including Echo Park and the Griffith Observatory. There are also photos from the late 1980s of friends and gatherings and a trip to Miami. Family photographs include Eve Babitz from childhood to the 2000s, her cats, her parents Sol and Mae Babitz, sister Mirandi Babitz, and their family home. Scrapbooks and photo albums feature snapshots of friends and family, with one album dedicated to the Slow Days, Fast Company book release party in 1977. There is also significant material related to dance in Los Angeles, which appears to be related to Babitz's book Two by Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night.

mssBabitz

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Correspondence - friends and family incoming/outgoing

Manuscripts

Incoming letters and cards from friends, some unsigned or unidentified; and the majority of Babitz's outgoing correspondence. Babitz's outgoing correspondence is primarily from the late 1960s to early 1970s and includes carbon copies, drafts, and unsent letters and postcards. There is also incoming and outgoing family correspondence (mid 1950s to mid 1960s) with her parents Sol and Mae Babitz, sister Mirandi Babitz, and a few other relatives.

mssBabitz

Writings

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Unpublished and unrealized manuscripts

Dance research

Eve Babitz papers

Articles and stories N-W

Photographs

Correspondence - friends and family incoming/outgoing