Rodney Nelson Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 229

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection of Rodney Nelson’s papers includes correspondence, reviews and articles, published prose and poetry, editorials, and translations. The collection also includes original transcripts of Villy Sadness, Skogmann: A Play in Five Acts, and The Nature Society. It contains a manuscript of the novel Home River, which was published in 1984 by the North Dakota Institute For Regional Studies, as well as a handwritten outline titled Red River. Nelson’s interest in the Norwegian-American writer and editor Simon Johnson accounts for certain photographs, articles, and music in his papers. An incomplete list of publishing credits can be found at the end of folder eight. The Correspondence Series contains correspondence, both incoming and outgoing. The correspondence covers from 1971 to 1990 and is arraigned chronologically. The collection includes correspondence with publishers, editors, other writers, friends, and fans. The Articles Series contains articles written about Nelson. These articles are, for the most part, newspaper stories from local and regional newspapers spanning 1975 through 1987. They look at his work as an editor and writer. This series also contains a folder of reviews and articles written about Villy Sadness. A third folder contains reviews of and articles about The Boots Brevik Saga, Oregon Scroll, Vigil, and Home River. The Published Works Series consists of some of Nelson’s published writings organized by type of writing, with folders containing reviews, poetry, prose, undated prose, editorials, and translations. He wrote reviews, poetry, fiction, and miscellaneous nonfiction. The poetry in this collection was published in newspapers, journals, and magazines. There is a partial list of publishing credits at the end of the folder eight, the published poetry folder. The prose in this collection includes essays, short stories, and a travelogue. The folder containing editorials includes writing about maintenance of Island Park, a piece of sculpture that was placed on the former Fargo Public Library site, and a controversy about using taste aversion to keep wolves from eating livestock. This series also contains translations of Wilhelm Lehmann, Oscar Loerke, and Simon Johnson. The Manuscript Series contains both typescripts and manuscripts. These include Villy Sadness, Skogmann: A Play In Five Acts, and The Nature Society. There also is a handwritten outline titled Red River that appears to have been the early working title for Home River. The manuscript for Early North is 134 leaves and contains six stories including “Karl Iversen,” “The Junipers,” “Immediate Earth,” “When Bjornson Came to La Crosse,” “The Devil and the Hedins,” and “Mita Hoda.” The Subject File Series consists of pictures of Simon Johnson, his family, and his home. S.A. Gunderson of Portland, North Dakota, Nelson’s cousin, took these pictures. It also contains articles about Simon Johnson and music with lyrics by Johnson. This folder also contains an application for grant money to translate Simon Johnson’s writing.

Dates

1971-1990.

Creator

Nelson, Rodney. (Person)

Access

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

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with Mr. Rodney Nelson.

Biography

Rodney Allen Nelson was born on November 13, 1941, to Rudolph A. Nelson and Eva L. (Gunderson) Nelson in Fargo, North Dakota. His mother’s parents were longtime residents of Christine, North Dakota.

Nelson grew up in Fargo and Christine. After graduating from Fargo Central High he attended several colleges without taking a degree. He served in the U.S. Navy in the early sixties as a musician. After his military service he lived in San Francisco, where he was involved in Vietnam War protests. Nelson traveled extensively over the next few years, stopping in Germany, Mexico, Seattle, and the Twin Cities. He began having poetry, articles, plays, and fiction published in 1970. He received the Georgia Prize in poetry in 1973. He lived in Sonoma County, California, in 1975–1978 and received an A.A. degree in psychiatric technology from Santa Rosa Junior College in 1977. In 1978 he moved back to Fargo and became managing editor of the literary journal, Free Passage. Nelson served as editor of another journal, the Dakota Arts Quarterly, during 1979–1984. His novel Villy Sadness was published in 1987. This received the Lake Agassiz Publication Award of the Red River Valley Heritage Society in 1989. After living in northern Arizona during the years 1985–1987, he returned to North Dakota to become editor of Lone Butte Press. He lived again in Arizona 1988–1999, working at Northern Arizona University as a copy editor. Nelson was listed in the fifty-fourth edition of Who’s Who in America.

Rodney Nelson died on April 12, 2021 in Fargo, ND.