Inventory of the Minnie Bruce Pratt Papers, 1870s-2005, bulk 1975-2005

Pratt chronicled her daily thoughts and activities in journals, which are chronologically arranged within the subseries.

Pratt self-published her first book of poetry, The Sound of One Fork, in 1981 and sold the book during her reading tour of the United States. Materials in this subseries include correspondence and drafts. The correspondence mainly consists of book orders and reviews, and is arranged chronologically. Drafts of poems are arranged alphabetically.

First published in 1985, We Say We Love Each Other collects a series of what Pratt terms “poetic maps” as she searches for artistic and lesbian space in a difficult world. Waulking Song and the Maps poems contain some draft portions of later Walking Back Up Depot Street poems. The subseries contains correspondence, drafts, and proofs arranged chronologically. Correspondence pertains to reviews, publicity, and the book's publishers, both original publisher Spinsters Ink/Aunt Lute Press and Firebrand Books, who reissued the book in 1992.

Crime Against Nature collects poetry Pratt wrote about her experiences as a feminist, lesbian mother who lost custody of her children due to her sexual identity. The Academy of American Poets honored the book as the 1989 Lamont Poetry Selection and the American Library Association awarded Crime Against Nature the Gay/Lesbian Book Award in 1991. The subseries comprises drafts, proofs, and manuscripts and is arranged chronologically.

In Rebellion, Pratt connects the personal and the political in a series of autobiographical essays that detail her route to activism. Materials in the subseries are arranged chronologically, and include drafts, proofs, correspondence, and grant information.

Pratt explores beyond the boundaries of sex, gender, and sexuality in S/HE, first published in 1995. The book was a finalist for both the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Book Award and the Firecracker Award in Non-Fiction. The subseries is composed primarily of drafts, but also includes notes and information on the book's publicity. Pratt's original folder titles were retained and files are arranged alphabetically.

Pratt's fourth collection of poetry tells the story of Beatrice, a Southern woman who seeks to uncover the truth obscured by the myths of the segregated South. The subseries primarily contains drafts and proofs arranged chronologically.

The Dirt She Ate compiles poetry from Pratt's four previous books of poems and adds thirteen new poems, providing an overview of her career as a poet through 2003. The subseries also contains Pratt's 2003 chapbook, The Money Machine. Materials in the subseries include drafts, notes, and correspondence. Files are arranged chronologically.

Feminary was an editorial collective based in Durham, North Carolina that self-published a local feminist newsletter. Pratt was actively involved in Feminary from 1978 to 1983, by which point the newsletter had developed into a quarterly journal. In addition to feminism, the collective focused on anti-racism, anti-imperialism, and lesbianism. Pratt also had early involvement in Feminary from 1972-1973 during its original newsletter form. The subseries contains correspondence, submissions, a run of Feminary newsletters and journals, and The Newsletter. Correspondence and submissions are arranged chronologically, followed by runs of the two titles, each arranged chronologically. The Newsletter was not published by the Feminary collective, but was a similarly self-published newsletter created by the group Triangle Area Lesbian Feminists (of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, NC). Pratt maintained her collection of The Newsletter with her Feminary materials, and this connection was retained in the subseries.

By 2008, Pratt wrote a multitude of articles for Workers World newspaper as a contributing editor. The newspaper is published by Workers World Party, a communist party founded in 1959 that is active in the struggle for the rights of oppressed people. The subseries is arranged chronologically and contains article drafts, printed articles, and research clippings.

The Other Writings subseries comprises miscellaneous writings not associated with books covered in other subseries, journals, gigs, and editorial work. The subseries includes drafts, articles, speeches, poems, essays, as well as material related to her work on the board of Feminist Studies. Materials are organized chronologically.

Pratt frequently applied for grants to support herself financially as a writer. The Grant Applications subseries includes grant and fellowship applications arranged chronologically.

The Interviews subseries comprises drafts and print interviews written by other individuals about Pratt. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

The Gigs subseries contains materials related to Pratt's speaking and conference appearances. The chronologically arranged materials primarily consist of negotiations and correspondence pertaining to Pratt's appearances, as well as program materials and speech drafts. Pratt's frequent speaking appearances allowed her to support herself financially as a writer, and also to publicize her work through readings.

The subseries contains writings by individuals other then Pratt that were sent to her for her perusal or commentary, or because the work discusses Pratt's work, including a late draft of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina with Pratt's remarks. The subseries comprises a variety of writings, including drafts of books, poems, short stories, essays, and literature reveiws. Materials are organized alphabetically by the last name of the sender or author.

The subseries contains letters, notes, and emails pertaining to Pratt's personal life. Major correspondents appear first, arranged alphabetically by last name. Other miscellaneous correspondence follows, arranged chronologically. Written communication dated 1966 and prior appears in the Family Series. Notable correspondents include Dorothy Allison, Judith Arcana, Elly Bulkin, Chrystos, Holly Hughes, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Mab Segrest.

The chronologically arranged subseries comprises book orders, communication with publishers, public relations, reviews, and other correspondence associated with Pratt's published writings.

Arranged chronologically, the subseries includes correspondence with acquaintances or individuals lacking a personal relationship with Pratt. Correspondence consists primarily of requests for recommendations, contacts, or appearances.

The subseries comprises legal papers, mementos, ledgers, land grants and deeds, clippings, writings, and photographs pertaining to Pratt's maternal relatives, the Browns and Carrs. Materials are arranged alphabetically by individual relatives and then by subject.

Primarily composed of materials related to or retained by Pratt's mother, Virginia Brown Pratt, the subseries includes legal and financial papers, correspondence, mementos, genealogical materials, and photographs. Materials are organized alphabetically by subject and offer information about Virginia Pratt's childhood, marriage to W. Luther Pratt, work, and relatives. The subseries includes letters exchanged by Pratt's parents from 1939 to 1940 during their courtship, letters from Marvin Weaver to Pratt's mother regarding his 1975 divorce from Pratt, and the 1981 letter in which Pratt came out to her mother as a lesbian.

The Minnie Bruce Pratt subseries contains materials from Pratt's childhood up to her marriage to Marvin Weaver in 1966, including correspondence, journals, early poems, mementos, and scrapbooks. Pratt had several international pen pals as a child; other correspondence is from family members and from Minnie Bruce to her parents as a college student. The subseries contains Pratt's earliest poems, written at Camp Cotaquilla in 1960, and the handwritten letter draft she composed to German pen pal Horst Werner defending segregation. Arrangement is chronological.

Items in the Ransom Weaver and Ben Weaver subseries are primarily photographs, as well as programs and magazines from Ransom's rowing events.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pratt researched the Ku Klux Klan due to her desire to fight intolerance. The subseries chiefly comprises newspaper clippings that document Klan activity, but also includes the readings, KKK propaganda, and anti-racist newsletters that Pratt read to learn about the Klan. Materials are organized alphabetically by subject, with files on geographic KKK activity located at the beginning of the subseries.

After completing graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pratt moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina to accept her first teaching position, at Fayetteville State University. Pratt became active in grass roots organizing, particularly focusing on women's issues. The subseries includes organizational minutes and notes, subject files, clippings, and correspondence related to Pratt's work in the community. Materials are arranged alphabetically by subject.

After Pratt received a NEA grant in 1990, Senator Jesse Helms referred to her work as pornography during a well-publicized speech on the Senate floor. Collectively Pratt and the other targeted poets, Chrystos and Audre Lorde, issued a statement that discussed the importance of diversity and art. The subseries begins with the poets' statement, followed by other materials organized alphabetically by subject. The subseries comprises primarily newspaper clippings, but also includes correspondence, court transcripts, and newsletters from each side of the debate. The subseries documents Helms' attempts to remove NEA funding from targeted artists. Although first created by Pratt in 1990, the subseries contains legal precedents to censorship cases that date back to the mid-1980s.

The Other Issues subseries documents the protests, marches, conferences, and festivals Pratt attended in her work as an activist. The subseries also demonstrates the topics she researched to facilitate her activism. Arranged alphabetically by subject, the subseries contains newspaper clippings, fliers, schedules, logistics for events, and correspondence.

Associated with Pratt's courses at the University of Maryland and George Washington University.

The subseries comprises speeches, visits to radio programs, lectures, and audio correspondence between Pratt and Joan E. Biren. Additionally, Pratt conducted audio interviews of her grandmother and aunt regarding family secrets, and of friends regarding their experiences coming out as gay, lesbian, or transgender. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject, and Pratt's readings and appearances are arranged chronologically under the heading Pratt, Minnie Bruce. Original label titles were retained, but naming conventions were imposed to keep related materials associated physically. Use copies will need to be created before items can be accessed by researchers.

The subseries comprises miscellaneous compact discs, including music, learning tools, and discs related to Pratt's writing. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by title. Use copies will need to be created before items can be accessed by researchers.

Arranged alphabetically by title, the Videos subseries primarily contains recordings of Pratt's speaking gigs and programs related to lesbian issues. Use copies will need to be created before items can be accessed by researchers.