MenuInventory of the Nava Atlas Papers, 1980s-2012
Abstract
Fine artist and author of many cookbooks and other works of nonfiction.
Collection includes materials from Atlas' dual careers as a fine artist, book artist, and as the author of vegetarian/vegan cookbooks and other works of nonfiction. Includes book proposals, correspondence, proofs and dummies, reviews, and promotional pieces from many of Atlas' published works, as well as artwork, articles, and drafts from various freelance pieces. Also contains a number of slides of Atlas' early artwork, exhibit-related correspondence and files, publisher and agent materials, and other miscellaneous files relating to her works.
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Creator
- Atlas, Nava.
- Title
- Nava Atlas Papers, 1980s-2012
- Language of Material
- English
- Extent
- 5 Linear Feet, 3750 Items
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection Overview
This collection has been sorted into two series, reflecting the presence of materials from Atlas' dual careers as a book artist and as a vegetarian chef and cookbook author. Both series includes book proposals, correspondence, proofs and dummies, reviews, and promotional pieces from many of Atlas' published works, as well as artwork, articles, and drafts from her various freelance pieces. The collection also contains a number of slides of Atlas' early artwork, exhibit-related correspondence and files, publisher and agent materials, and other miscellaneous files relating to her works.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllArtists' Books and Other Projects
Series includes a wide range of materials from Atlas' career as a book artist, including files from her trade edition publication of The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life and Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife. Other publications include Expect the Unexpected When You're Expecting!, Love and Marriage, The Idea Book, and Hand Jobs. Other material in this series relates to her many exhibits, correspondence, installations, travels, and other artwork and illustrations. Oversize material is housed in Box 9.
[PDF file has been transferred to Library Server and can be accessed in the reading room]
Cookbooks and Food Writing
Series consists largely of materials surrounding Atlas' career as a food writer, including proposals, correspondence, proofs, and reviews from many of her vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. Also includes agent correspondence, exhibit and promotional materials, and some artwork from selected publications. Oversize material is housed in Box 9.
Historical Note
Nava Atlas is an artist and writer who is known both as a fine artist ans as a vegetarian cookbook author. Her artists' books engage images, text, and structure to explore themes of social justice and women's roles. Many of her works, like the altered comic book Love & Marriage, reappropriate found materials and challenge the language and images used to reinforce gender roles and stereotypes.
One unusual aspect of Atlas's work is her adaptation of limited edition artist's books to create trade editions, bridging the divide between hand crafted books and conventional publishing. The first, Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife, a parody 1950s-style cookbook exploring contemporary marriage, was published in 2009 by Simon & Schuster; the second, Dear Literary Ladies, was published as a trade edition under the title The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life in 2011 by Sellers Publishing. This book explores first-person narratives on the writing lives of twelve classic women authors, and comments on the universal relevance of their experiences to all women who love to write.
Atlas is also the author and illustrator of many books on vegan and vegetarian cooking, most recently Vegan Holiday Kitchen, Vegan Express, Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, and The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. A book on leafy greens, Wild About Greens, will be published in June 2012. Nava also has written scores of articles on healthful cooking with natural foods, which have appeared in Vegetarian Times, VegNews, Cooking Light, and numerous other publications. Her home is in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, where she lives with her husband; they have two grown children.
Visit her websites here: www.navaatlasart.com and www.vegkitchen.com/
Subject Headings
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Nava Atlas Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Nava Atlas Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2012.
Processing Information
Processed by Kelly Wooten, Meghan Lyon, May 2012
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, May 2012
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2012-0042
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.