Dakota Arts Quarterly Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 152

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Dakota Arts Quarterly, Inc. records consist of newspaper clippings and legal documents, correspondence, grant requests, and a variety of materials in the subject files. The records document the period, 1979 to 1984, when Rodney Nelson was editor. The newspaper clippings include articles about DAQ and Rodney Nelson. The legal documents are articles and certificates of incorporation. The Correspondence Series is divided into General and Subscription subseries. The General Correspondence, which covers 1979 to 1984, is almost exclusively letters, postcards, notes, etc., written to Nelson from interested parties inquiring about materials in DAQ. The Subscription Correspondence, which covers 1980 to 1984, are inquiries by individuals and institutions such as libraries asking to be placed on the DAQ mailing list. The Grants Series consists of Nelson's efforts to secure funds to ensure publication of DAQ. Although several avenues were pursued, the main contact appears to have been the North Dakota Council on the Arts and Humanities. These records span from 1979 through 1984. The Subject Files Series consists of the unpublished DAQ-18 manuscripts, financial records, and mailing lists. DAQ-18 consists of articles, poems, and other items to be included in the 18th issue of DAQ, but which was never published due to the loss of funding. The financial records are expenditure outlines for 1980-82, and a 1982 financial audit for Community Arts, Inc. A comprehensive mailing list on computer cards was photocopied. There is also an incomplete mailing list, no date given. The Institute has the complete set of DAQ (issues 1-17, call number: NX7.D3).

Dates

1978-1984

Creator

Nelson, Rodney. (Person)

Access

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

Copyrights

The Institute holds the copyrights.

History

Initially conceived in 1976, the Dakota Arts Quarterly was a literary journal designed to showcase writers and writings from the Upper Midwest. The first issue appeared in the summer of 1977 under the editorship of Moorhead State University professor Mark Vinz. The DAQ published poems, articles, plays, reviews, and other writings from Midwestern writers. In 1978, Vinz passed the editorship to Nancy Edmonds Hanson, who resided in Bismarck at the time. Hanson edited the journal for approximately one year. Vinz returned for one more issue, then giving the editor position to Fargo writer Rodney Nelson. At about the same time, DAQ merged with Community Arts, Inc., a Fargo umbrella organization that allowed DAQ to retain non-profit status. Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the North Dakota Council on the Arts and Humanities were essential for initial publication. Donations were accepted, but grants provided almost all of the necessary funding. In April of 1984, the Council denied Dakota Arts Quarterly, Inc. its grant request, forcing it to halt DAQ-18 in mid-production. The journal was never revived. Rodney Nelson was born in Fargo, in 1941. Nelson is a graduate of Fargo Central High School. He spent one term at Concordia College, Moorhead, then joined the Navy. In 1965 he moved to San Francisco and spent some time in Haight-Ashbury during the Vietnam protest years. Nelson later resided in Sonoma County, California. He returned to Fargo in 1978, where he currently resides. He is married to Ann Montgomery. In addition to editing DAQ, Nelson is also the author of several books, including Home River, Villy Sadness, and Red River Album, a collection of poems.