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West Virginia and Regional History Center
1549 University Ave.P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu
Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Unpublished
a&m 3740, Giardina papers 15 December 2016
The Director of the History Center, John Cuthbert, wants to administer this collection, during the lifetime of the author, Denise Giardina, in such a way as to respect the rights of the author in terms of copyright.
This specific direction will not be part of the online administrative resource record.
Instead, the Director said to put into the resource record a direction for staff to consult a curator for reference questions concerning copyright and the Giardina collection.
This direction would go into an unpublished "conditions governing use" note in the resource record.
A copy of this note will be placed in the electronic curatorial files (with "3740" in the filename), and in the paper curatorial files (under Giardina, the donor).
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Researchers may access born digital materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Denise Giardina, Author, Papers, A&M 3740, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Giardina, Denise, 2010/07/15
Biographical / Historical
Denise Giardina (1951- ) was born in Bluefield, West Virginia and spent her childhood in a McDowell County coal mining camp named Black Wolf. Giardina's father and other members of her family were employed by the coal company. The mine closed when Giardina was thirteen, and her family was forced to move to Charleston in search of work.
Giardina pursued higher education at West Virginia Wesleyan College, graduating 1973 with a Bachelor's degree in History. She continued on to do graduate work at Marshall University. Giardina considered ordination in the Episcopal Church and pursued a Masters in Divinity at the Virginia Theological Seminary of Alexandria, Virginia, which she received in 1979. Giardina decided to write rather than to be ordained, publishing her first historical novel, "Good King Harry", in 1984.
Giardina's next two novels, "Storming Heaven" (1987) and "The Unquiet Earth" (1992) draw on the author's childhood experiences growing up in a coal camp and on the history of the West Virginia coalfields. Giardina has published several other novels on historical subjects. She currently teaches at West Virginia State University and serves as an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church.
Scope and Contents
Papers of Appalachian author Denise Giardina, whose 1987 novel Storming Heaven received the W. D. Weatherford Award, and 1992 novel The Unquiet Earth received the American Book Award and the Lillian Smith Book Award for fiction. The collection includes research notebooks and draft manuscripts of her historical novels Good King Harry , Storming Heaven , The Unquiet Earth , Saints and Villains , and Emily's Ghost .
The collection also includes five 5.25 in. floppy computer disks containing electronic files and Giardina's notes, drafts for an unfinished and unpublished work of nonfiction entitled "The State of Appalachia", and a draft of a play about Senator Robert C. Byrd entitled "Robert and Ted." Digital files also include the script for a speech given by Giardina at a high school graduation.
Additional material pertains to her personal and professional life, covering topics including her childhood an Italian heritage, her travels, and her campaign for Governor of West Virginia in 2000.
Series include:
Series 1. Floppy Disks (undated), box 1
Series 2. Good King Harry (1984, undated), boxes 1-2
Series 3. Storming Heaven (undated), boxes 2-4
Series 4. The Unquiet Earth (undated), boxes 4-5
Series 5. Saints and Villains and Fallam's Secret (undated), box 5
Series 6. Emily's Ghost (2006-2009, undated), box 6
Series 7. Miscellaneous Manuscripts (2002-2013, undated), boxes 6-7
Addendum of 2014/06/30, Animals (undated), box 7
Addendum of 2016/12/15, Correspondence, Photographs, and Other Material (circa 1950-2008), boxes 8-10
Addendum of 2017/10/19, Photographs and Other Material (circa 1900-2016), box 11
Addendum of 2018/02/23, Saints and Villains and Other Material (circa 1979-1999, undated), box 12
Addendum of 2019/06/19, Family Records (1964-2019 and undated), boxes 13-14
Addendum of 2020/08/28, Draft and Other Material (1951-1983 and undated), box 15
Addendum of 2022/05/18, Graduation Speech Script (2022)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- American fiction -- West Virginia
- Authors -- Letters and papers
- Authors, American -- West Virginia
- Coal miners
- Coal mines and mining
- Giardina, Denise, 1951-
- West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection
Legacy Administrative Notes
processing; 2010/07/15; mrr.
Collection will remain off-line until it is re-processed into flat storage boxes. Project completed.
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!!preservation; 2010/07/15; mrr.
Five 5 in. floppy disks are to have their contents downloaded; sent email to Frank Tovar regarding this on 7/14; he said he would try to find a way to do this (2010/07/15).
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preservation; 2010/11/18; mrr
conversion of five inch floppies http://computer-convert.com/ from $35 to $100 per disk for conversion $5 fee for checking disks to determine if and how conversion can be done
http://www.excaliburdatarecovery.com/data_conversion.htm $200 fee for check disks to see if they are recoverable $600-800 total ellen lambert answered phone said someone from recovery office would call back
http://www.datarecoverymasters.com/floppydiskcopy.php if pc based, and disks are in still in good shape, $15 per disk if full data recovery process is required, $275 per disk
http://www.floppydisk.com/transfer.htm $30 to transfer data we would convert ourselves
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preservation; 2010/11/18; mrr.
Systems set up a five in. drive, but it didn't work.
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preservation; 2010/11/18; mrr.
email to John Cuthbert
Mike B. said we need to contact the donor of the 5.25 in. floppies to find out what we can about the set-up she was using to create the files on them. I assume this would mean the (text) software she was using, and the platform (whether mac, apple, windows, dos, etc.).
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preservation; 2011/04/03; mrr.
Information on the disks has yet to be downloaded.
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!!preservation; 2011/07/25; mrr.
Acidic material needs to be copied for preservation.
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digital content; 2013/10/01; jcm
Draft versions 4, 5, and 6 of play "Robert and Ted" have been copied from an email to the T-drive; text of the email was also copied to T-drive. Copies of the draft plays were printed and added to the collection.
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Legacy Formats -- Unpublished
archives and manuscripts; electronic records
Unpublished
English professor Anna Elfenbein informed curator Michael Ridderbusch about the unpublished material in box 3, folder 2, on 21 December 2018.
Container List
This series consists of five floppy disks with an attached sticky note from Giardina that identifies them as containing backups for The State of Appalachia and The Unquiet Earth .
This series pertains to Giardina's first novel, Good King Harry (1984), a fictional re-telling of the life of Henry V of England. This series contains four notebooks: one containing research notes, the other three containing manuscript drafts. The research notebook contains news clippings, maps, and other material, some which was collected during Giardina's time studying abroad in England in 1972. The three draft notebooks contain the fourth notebook of the first draft, the first notebook of the second draft, and the last notebook Giardina used before she began to type a final version of the novel for her agent.
This series regards Storming Heaven (1987), a historical novel that tells the story of the coal town of Annadel, West Virginia through the eyes of its residents, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain. This series contains five notebooks. There are two research notebooks, the first of which is also the last notebook in Series 2. The remaining three notebooks contain draft versions of the novel. The first research notebook contains research notes, news clippings, and photocopies, most regarding labor and Charleston history, and other material. The second research notebook contains Giardina's earliest notes for Storming Heaven . The draft manuscript notebooks include the second and third notebooks of the first draft and the first notebook of a revised draft.
In the second notebook of the first draft of Storming Heaven (green notebook in box 3, folder 2) is an episode that was not included in the finished novel; it is titled "From the Diary of Lytton Davidson" and appears on pages 298-310.
This series regards The Unquiet Earth (1992), a historical novel and sequel to Storming Heaven . The series consists of three notebooks, each of which contains an early draft version of the novel.
This series regards Saints and Villains (1998), a historical novel concerning the life and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who was executed by Nazi Germany for crimes against the regime. This series contains two notebooks: the first containing research notes, and the other a draft version of the novel. The research notebook mostly consists of notes from a German language class that Giardina took. The second notebook also contains early notes for Giardina's subsequent novel, Fallam's Secret .
This series regards Emily's Ghost (2009), a fictionalized re-telling of the life of Emily Bronte. This series contains two notebooks, the first containing research notes, and the second containing a draft version of the novel. Inside the front cover of the research notebook are a New Yorker article regarding cholera and a copy of a review of "Emily's Ghost" by Jennifer L. Holberg that was published in "Books and Culture: A Christian Review;" the review has underlining by Giardina.
This series includes manuscripts for several unpublished and unfinished works, including:
The State of Appalachia (undated), an unfinished and unpublished work of non-fiction. It consists of one notebook containing research notes and draft versions of the book.
Robert and Ted (2011-2013), an unfinished play about Senator Robert C. Byrd. Box 6 includes one typescript copy of the first draft of the first act of the play and an email authored by Giardina to a director regarding a staged reading of the play. Box 7 includes drafts 4-6 of the play; collection also includes digital files for these drafts.
Can These Bones Live? (2002). Notes for a speech created by Giardina on 25 October 2002 delivered at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia regarding biblical stories.
This addendum includes both a printed and digital copy of a draft of a memoir titled Animals . This memoir recounts episodes from Giardina's life, focusing on the pets she and her family owned. She also writes about Italian immigration in WV, race relations and civil rights, life in coal camps, coal companies, her time in school, her political views, travel to England, religion, music, her mother, and her personal experience writing.
This addendum includes assorted professional and personal correspondence, photographs, and other material regarding Giardina's career and personal life.
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 1
Genealogical research (1884-1988)undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 2
Biographical information -- Mother1939, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 3
Biographical information -- Early years (mostly clippings)1955–1978
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 4
Correspondence -- Professional1982-1987, 2008
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 5
Correspondence -- Personal1979–2005
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 6
Correspondence -- Parents1946, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 7
Writings -- Miscellaneous (includes Christmas story, proofs, etc.)1970, 1989, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 8
Planner1986
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 9
Publications about Giardina (includes two interview transcripts and "Iron Mountain Review" Giardina issue)1993–1999
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 10
Publications about Giardina (thesis by Cathy Pleska)1998
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 11
Awards1987–1993
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 12
Programs (includes theatrical events and writers conference that Giardina was involved with)1998–2008
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 13
Clippings (includes content on coal and labor issues)1988–2016
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 14
Photographs (includes childhood photos)ca. 1960s
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 15
Photographs (includes travels to London, high school yearbook, childhood photos, Pittston strike)ca. 1950s-1990s
- Mixed Materials Box: 8 Folder: 16
Photographs -- Bonhoeffer projectundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 9
Artifacts -- Great-grandmother's purse and eyeglassesundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 10
Oversize clippings (includes an extensive compilation of material by and about Giardina; subjects include coal, her childhood, her work, politics, and her candidacy for West Virginia governor as part of the Mountain Party)1984–2016
This addendum includes Giardina family photographs, assorted correspondence, and other material.
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 1
Postcard from author Carolyn Chute1985
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 2
Note from West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood upon mother's death2005
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 3
Publication featuring Giardina -- "Appalachian Heritage"2016
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 4
Notebook -- Pittston strike1989
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 5
Manuscript narrative -- Memories of a public health nurse, by motherundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 6
Miscellaneous (includes article regarding mother Leona [1977], article regarding "nuclear arms bazaar" that Giardina protested [1980], fan letter regarding novel Good King Harry [1986], and Giardina gubernatorial election campaign card [undated])1977-1986, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 7-9
Photographs -- Youth (includes grade school, high school, and college pictures)undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 10
Photographs -- Giardina with her father, mother, and brotherundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 11
Photographs -- Fatherundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 12
Photographs -- Mother1945, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 13
Photographs -- Grandfatherundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 14
Photographs -- Great-grandparentsundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 15
Photographs -- Friendsundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 16
Photographs -- Pet dogs Cyndy, Phyllis, and Snoopyundated
- Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 17
Photographs -- Miscellaneous (includes a picture with author Carolyn Chute)undated
This addendum includes research notes, correspondence, and other material used by Giardina in writing Saints and Villains and other material regarding Giardina's 2000 West Virginia gubernatorial campaign.
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 1
Gubernatorial campaign (contains letter from campaign treasurer)1999
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 2
Grade school visit in Charleston, WV (includes messages and artwork by students to Giardina)1999
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 3
Saints and Villains -- Incoming correspondence (includes three letters from readers responding to Giardina's novel; authors are Father J. Patrick Galivan, writer Annie Dillard, and Professor John Martell of Western Michigan University)1999
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 4
Saints and Villains -- Notebook (labeled "Sophie and Dietrich," includes notes regarding a Bonhoeffer conference, among other material)1985, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 5
Saints and Villains -- Notebook (floral cover, research notes recorded during trip to Europe)undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 6
Saints and Villains -- Notebook (green cover, includes two pages on places in England and three pages of "first draft")undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 7
Saints and Villains -- Clipping regarding Bonhoeffer (in an issue of "Sojourners")1979
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 8
Saints and Villains -- "Early notes" (seven pages of typescript notes by Giardina)undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 9
Saints and Villains -- Photographs (research photos by Giardina)undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 10
Saints and Villains -- Postcards from Germany, Flossenberg brochure1984, undated
- Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 11
Saints and Villains -- Maps of Germany and Berlin, Ettal travel bookletundated
This addendum includes family records, letters, newspaper clippings, and photographs, as well as several middle and high school literature awards, newspaper columns, and scrapbooks. Also included is a draft of "Storming Heaven."
This addendum consists of assorted certificates, photographs, papers, newspaper clippings, and the first draft of "Storming Heaven."