Richard Critchfield Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 206

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The materials in this collection cover all aspects of Richard Critchfield’s career as a journalist and author. More of Richard Critchfield’s are in an earlier donation to the Institute (Manuscript 156). The State Historical Society of Wisconsin also has approximately twenty-four linear feet of Critchfield’s papers (mainly his foreign correspondence). There are articles and reports he wrote while covering the Third World. Many of the articles deal with village life and the changes caused by technological advances and social upheaval. The majority of the articles cover the countries of Africa, India and China with the focus on farming practices, the Green Revolution, and the land distribution of these countries. Most of the collection relates directly to Critchfield’s books. There are an extensive number of book reviews, not all favorable, of his numerous books. Much of Critchfield’s research for Those Days; Trees, Why Do You Wait?; and Villagers make up the majority of this collection. Finally there are copies of some of his books including the rare Lore and Legend of Nepal. The collection is divided into eight series: Biographical, Articles, papers and essays, Book reviews, Miscellaneous book plans, Those Days: An American Album, Villagers, Trees, Why Do You Wait?, and Publications. The Biographical Series contains Richard Critchfield’s numerous obituaries and remembrances along with clippings from Who’s Who and other biographical sources. His family put together a booklet titled A Remembrance: Richard Patrick Critchfield which contains excerpts from his books, letters, obituaries, and other writings. It provides a good overview of Critchfield’s career. The series also contains his passports, record of studies at the Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck, and his press identifications for different countries around the world. The Articles, Papers and Essays Series contains numerous articles, essays and papers Critchfield wrote while covering the Third World. The bulk of the articles cover Vietnam, India, Africa, and farming/land distribution practices. While working on a grant from the Alicia Patterson Fund, Critchfield wrote a series of essays on how people in the Third World dealt with social and technological changes. Critchfield even devoted some attention to the legend of the Yeti. In his articles Critchfield explored the Yeti’s legend and the numerous attempts to explain its existence. The majority of his articles reflect the changes the Third World faced and how the people coped with the changes. Critchfield often wrote that the current land distribution, much of the land remained in the hands of the elite, was a revolution waiting to happen. He did not confine himself to only the Third World and published articles on life in the Washington D.C. area, how people coped with job losses and the changes in society in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as life in Britain. Many of the articles reflect the subject matter of his books. The Those Days: A Family Album Series contains many of the notes and materials Critchfield collected during the writing process. Most of the material is notes about Fessenden, North Dakota and notes on Iowa. Critchfield also has typed interview excerpts on which he made handwritten notes on whereto insert them into various parts of Those Days. The life of the country doctors contains detailed accounts of how other country doctors conducted their practice and Critchfield draws parallels between their practices and that of his father. Editorial notes and necessary corrections are also included. A more complete compilation of material on Those Days can be found in the earlier donation to the Institute (Mss 156). The Book Review Series contains reviews on Those Days; The Golden Bowl Be Broken; Shahhat: An Egyptian; Villages; Trees, Why Do You Wait?; The Long Charade; An American Looks at Britain; and Villagers. Many of Critchfield’s books received good reviews, but the British took offense and gave harsh reviews of An American Looks at Britain. There are also letters from readers of Critchfield’s books congratulating him and saying how much they enjoyed his book. The Villagers Series contains drafts of the chapters, the article “Science and the Villager: The Last Sleeper Wakes,” and the grant proposals for funding during the research and writing process. Not all the chapters are included and there are some partial drafts. A good portion of the manuscript is contained in the collection including various drafts of the introduction, conclusion, and the sequences on India and Poland. The Trees, Why Do You Wait? Series contains the unedited manuscript from 1987 along with interview transcripts. The manuscript reflects the problems farmers, migrant workers, and law enforcement officials faced in the 1980s. Many of the farmers had a difficult time making ends meet during the dry years, migrant workers found work more and more difficult to find, and sheriffs had the unpleasant tasks of serving foreclosure and eviction notices. The interview transcripts make up the bulk of this series. The Publication Series contains copies of Critchfield’s books and other publications. The books are The Indian Reporter’s Guide; Lore and Legend of Nepal; two editions of The Golden Bowl Be Broken; and Shahhat: An Egyptian. Also included is “A Reporting Handbook”, written by Critchfield while teaching journalism in India, and A Commonplace Book: Readings from the Works of MacArthur Fellows.

Dates

1954-1994.

Creator

Critchfield, Richard. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute holds the copyrights.

Biography

Richard Patrick Critchfield was born on March 23, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Ralph James and Anne Louise (Williams) Critchfield. The family lived at Fessenden, North Dakota at the time and until 1932 when they moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Richard Critchfield received his B.A. from the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1957 he received his M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and did additional graduate work at the Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck as well as Northwestern University. In his career as a journalist and author, Richard Critchfield reported from all over the world, concentrating mainly on the Third World. He wrote for the Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, The Wall Street Journal, American University Fieldstaff Report and the Washington Post. In 1965 he won the Overseas Press Award for his reporting in Vietnam. His books include Lore and Legend of Nepal (1971); The Long Charade: Political Subversion in the Vietnam War (1968); The Golden Bowl Be Broken: Peasant Life in Four Cultures (1973 and 1988); Shahhat: An Egyptian (1978); Villages (1981); Those Days: An American Album (1986); An American Looks at Britain (1990); Tress, Why Do You Wait? (1991); and Villagers (1994). In 1981 Mr. Critchfield received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. He continued to work as a journalist and author up to his death from a stroke on December 10, 1994.

Extent

3.6 Linear Feet (3.6 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Second donation of Critchfield's papers. It includes many of his published articles as well as drafts for many of his other books including Villagers.

Provenance

Donated by Richard Critchfield, Peggy Moffet Critchfield, and Jim and Lois Critchfield 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1994 (Acc 2256 and 2440).

Separation Record

One videotape titled, C-Span Christopher Hitchens and Richard Critchfield-Viewer Call-in Program June 18, 1990 (Video 1)

224 photographs and two photo albums have been organized as Photo Collection 2055