ESTHER HAUTZIG PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi

	Creator:	Esther Rudomin Hautzig
	Title:	Esther Hautzig Papers
	Dates:	1987-2000
	Dates:	[bulk 1989-2000]
	Quantity:	8.75 cubic feet (33 boxes)
	Identification:	DG1165

Biographical Note

Born on October 18, 1930, in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania), Esther Rudomin Hautzig came to the United States in 1947. With her came memories of two divergent childhoods, one of a "lovely world" in Poland, the other of cold and deprivation in the Siberian steppes.

At the outbreak of World War II, Esther Rudomin's prosperous Jewish family owned a jewelry store in the town of Vilna, which was then located in eastern Poland. In 1941 the Soviet Union occupied that portion of Poland and arrested Esther's family for being capitalists, or "enemies of the state." Forced from their home and friends, Esther and her family rode in crowded cattle cars to the steppes of Siberia, living there in exile for five years.

Following World War II, Esther Rudomin and her family returned to Poland and later obtained entry visas to the United States. In 1947, she sailed to America and while on board met concert pianist Walter Hautzig, whom she married three years later. Hautzig took classes at Hunter College (now Hunter College of the City University of New York), but she always knew she wanted to write. In order to be around books and people who wrote them, she took a job as secretary in a publishing house, eventually becoming publicity assistant for the Children's Book Council and later director of children's book promotion for Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

Under her maiden and married names, Esther Rudomin Hautzig has written a variety of books, many related directly or indirectly to her childhood experiences or influences. Many of her early books are craft books for children, giving detailed instructions on making crafts and food with little money or experience. She actively promotes her Jewish heritage in Remember Who You Are: Stories About Being Jewish (1990), Riches (1992), and in several stories she has translated from Yiddish. Her concern that children be exposed to other languages has resulted in a "Four Languages" series, books all containing text in English, Spanish, French, and Russian.

But her childhood experiences are best remembered in Hautzig's most celebrated book, The Endless Steppe. An autobiographical account, the book retells her life from ages ten to fifteen. The Endless Steppe was a National Book Award finalist and American Library Association Notable Book in 1969. It won the Jane Addams Book Award in 1970 and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1971. It has been continually in print since 1968 and continues to be read in classrooms as an example of courage and strength in the face of difficulty and prejudice.

In her many appearances in conferences and classrooms, Esther Hautzig encourages people of all ages, but especially young people, to keep a journal and record their stories. She believes that all stories are unique to the individuals writing them and each life story is important in its own way. Through her influence, her own two children, David and Deborah, are also both children's authors.

Sources:
Major Authors and Illustrators, pp.1072 - 5
Third Book of Junior Authors, pp. 121 - 2
Young Adult Writers, pp. 274 - 5
Compiled from sources within the Esther Hautzig Papers

Scope and Content Note

The Esther Hautzig Papers contain research notes, typescripts, dummies, galleys, page proofs, blues, and correspondence related to On the Air: Behind the Scenes at a TV Newscast, published in 1991. The papers also include twenty-three boxes of fan mail received from children around the world, mostly related to her autobiography, The Endless Steppe. The Esther Hautzig Papers are organized into four series: book, fan mail, conference materials, and letters sent.

The material in the book series is arranged chronologically by order of creation when known. It includes research notes and clippings, books and taped interviews used for research, teleprompter scripts, weather maps, typescripts, galleys, page proofs, and blues. Among the typescripts is an alternate version of the book written by photographer and son, David Hautzig.

The fan mail series includes letters and artwork received from children and some adults from the United States, Territories, and other countries around the world. The letters usually were written to praise The Endless Steppe, but some refer to Riches and Remember Who You Are. Much of the fan mail was sent from entire classes, usually Reading or English classes in middle or junior high school. The fan mail is organized by region: U.S. States, U.S. Territories, and International. Within each region, the mail is arranged alphabetically by state, territory, or nation. Letters received from classes are arranged chronologically within each of the entities, followed by all letters received from individuals. Unidentified fan mail concludes the series.

Items in the conference materials series were gathered for Esther Hautzig's presentation at the Children's Literacy Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 1994. The items include correspondence with conference organizers and printed material that the author collected at the conference. The letters sent series includes a letter sent by the author to an unidentified teacher and letters sent to the de Grummond Collection.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Esther Hautzig Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Esther Hautzig between 1997 and 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by C. Alder, December 2001. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Container Listing

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
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