Series concerns editing, publication and promotion of Brand's works; appearances and teaching engagements; mentoring and blurbing the work of other writers; connections with other writers as well as friendships and personal connections.
First accession:
Series contains professional and personal correspondence as well as manuscripts from writer friends, and personal and professional memorabilia from Brand's life and career. Highlights of the correspondence include: manuscripts by and correspondence with American poet Adrienne Rich, letters with Austin Clarke, a letter from Dorothy Livesay and correspondence with Brand's collaborators and editors.
Second accession:
Contains professional correspondence, photographs, notes and printed material including from: the University of Calgary, the Griffin Prize, Wolsak and Wynn, Malaspina University College, the Canada Council, St. Laurence University, Harper Collins, the Governor General, Dr. Carmen Birkle (University of Mainz), Nell Painter, Bukowski Agency, Goose Lane editions, Adrienne Rich, Random House and thank you cards and photographs from teaching.
Also includes correspondence, manuscripts, printed material from and photographs relating to friends (includes Leleti, Makeda Silvera, Rinaldo Walcott, M. Nourbese Philip, Jennifer Kawaja, Faith Nolan) and other writers (Souvankham Thammavongsa, Méira Cook, P.K. Page, Kamau Braithwaite, Linda Spalding, Ken Wiwa, Thomas King, Lynn Crosbie, Adrienne Rich, Michael Ondaatje, among others). Includes photographs of Dionne and Leleti's Russel's commitment ceremony, Dionne and the crew of Older Stronger, Wiser, the Montreal Feminist Book Fair, and photographs in Grenada.
Includes photographs from a project by Jennifer Kawaja on women boxing and photographs taken by Brand's neighbour of the "slave castle" and the surrounding community in Cape Coast. Includes as well some notes concerning thirsty, a receipt from a café in Cairo, and documents for a property transfer.
Third accession:
Concerns personal and professional relationships. Includes correspondence with friends, other writers editors publishers, event organizers, universities, and includes notes and cards of congratulations as well as printed material and a few signed copies of monographs (including a dedicated copy of Coetzee's Disgrace). Includes a CD from Ondaatje of readings of Antonio Machado poems in Spanish. Contains a heterogenous file of correspondence, notes, draft pages (Beamer and ROM essay) with photocopies of early photos from the 1970's. Digital files, contain notes to neighbours.
Also includes digital email from two accounts. Email from personal account: includes invitations to events (Metropolis Bleu, incl. launches of others) and awards, email from writers, students (Aisha S. John, ), other writers (Ondaatje) Christina Sharpe, John Irving, Wachtel, Khosla, Sanders, Penguin, Walcott, Robertson, , notes of congratulation, travel, travel itineraries and updates, editing M&S, Penguin, other publishers, Gowdy, Lee, Holder, McWatt, Allen, Helm, Lopez, Chariandy, Chen, Walker, Fine, Griffin, Thomson, Romain, Jackson, Brand, Schledermann, Maharaj, Connoly, Orridge, Johnston, Harrison, Tayari Jones, Thammavongsa, Spalding, and Carvalho. Guelph email from 2007-2019. Includes (502) digital photos and one video.
