Finding aid for the James Norman papers

Biography of James Norman

The author James Norman was born James Norman Schmidt in 1912 in Chicago to Hugo and Laura (Blais) Schmidt. Norman married his second wife, Margaret Fox, in 1961. Norman died September 26, 1983 at University Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.

Norman received a B.A. from Loyola University of Chicago in 1932 and a certificate from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, in 1934. From 1953-1954, he attended Centro Universitario Mexico. In 1957, he received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of the Americas, Mexico City, and in 1967, a masters degree from the Institute Allende, Mexico.

Norman remarked that he had long been interested in literature and the peoples of distant lands, but his career as a writer began as a fluke. While studying sculpture in Paris, he ran out of money and obtained a job with the Chicago Tribune and United Press as a reporter from 1933-1936. He was assigned to cover the Spanish Civil War and soon quit his job to serve in the struggle against the Fascists as member of the International Brigade. After being injured, he worked at a pro-Republic short wave radio station where he met Ernest Hemingway. Near the end of the war, Norman escaped from Madrid and returned to Chicago and then moved to California. He worked as an editor of Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia from 1939-1940. After the U.S. became involved in WWII, he served in the Army for three years as a military correspondent on the Pacific front, covering the fighting on the island of Leyte, the fall of Manila, and the later occupation of Japan. He became first lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star.

After his service in the Army, Norman returned to Los Angeles for a year and then moved to Mexico City in 1948, where he worked as a freelance writer. He met many rapidly rising Latin American writers and poets, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Octavio Paz. While in Mexico, he also met Margaret Fox.

Norman became a lecturer on Mexican history and customs at the Academia Americana. He served as director of creative writing at the Instituto Allende from 1958-1961 and later from 1980-1983.

As the market for fiction and magazine writing declined in the early 1960s, Norman decided to return to the U.S. and applied for positions at several universities. In the spring of 1965, he was a writer in residence at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, hired Norman on recommendation of art professor Dr. John Baldwin, who had known Norman in Mexico. At Ohio University, he was a lecturer in English, 1965-1966, and a professor of creative writing, 1967-1979.

Norman was a prolific writer. His published works, dating from the 1930s to the 1970s include many novels, short stories, journal articles, and television stories. At the time of his death, he was working on the final draft of a biography of Cassius Marcellus Clay, a nineteenth century American abolitionist, Civil War general, and Lincoln's appointment as minister to Russia.

The subject matter of Norman's literary work varied widely. Much of it was geared toward young people. Also, the topic of Mexico was a frequent theme in his writings. Norman twice won La Pluma de Plata (The Silver Pen) award from the Mexican government for articles that appeared in National Geographic, ("The Tarahumaras," 1977 and "The Huichols - Mexico's People of Myth and Magic," 1978).

Aliases for Norman found in this collection are: J. Norman Schmidt, J. Norman S., J. Norman Szweig, and possibly John Wisdom - an alias not definitely identified to be Norman by this professor.

Scope and Content

The James Norman papers span from 1934 to 1983 and document Norman's life as an author. The collection is organized into four series: Series I: Information on Cassius Marcellus Clay, by James Norman Schmidt; Series III: Schmidt's Literary Work (alias: James Norman); Series III: Photographs/Scrapbook; and Series IV: Writings and Research by Margaret Fox Schmidt.

The first series concerns Norman's research and writings about Cassius Marcellus Clay, an American politician, abolitionist and friend of Abraham Lincoln. The research materials are predominantly made up of files and note cards but also include four cassette tapes, two albums, and two Clay family trees. The notes are quite detailed and contain information covering Clay's entire life. In addition to all of the handwritten and typed notes, there are, dispersed throughout the series, numerous photocopies of excerpts from books, articles, and newspapers, and copies of letters to and from Clay. The location of any original documents is usually written on the copy. Much of Norman's research was done at universities in Kentucky. Interfiled with the notes are letters and correspondence concerning business transactions on this project. It seems that no publisher ever accepted the proposed biography.

The second series contains Norman's literary work. It includes drafts of books or novels, periodical articles, short stories, television scripts, correspondence, and notes. The notes deal with any of the Norman projects other than research on Clay. The letters and correspondence are primarily business oriented and are placed in chronological order. One section details with Norman's divorce from his first wife, Judith.

The third series contains over 100 pictures including family portraits, snapshots, a 1930 class picture, and several photos that appear to have been taken in Mexico and may have been used in some of the published works. There is a scrapbook containing additional information about Norman, primarily clippings from newspapers.

Statement of Arrangement

Subject Terms

The following terms have been used to describe this collection.

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Preferred Citation

Researchers are requested to cite collection name, collection number, and Ohio University, Athens, Ohio in all footnotes and bibliographical references.

Other Finding Aid

A paper copy of the folder list is available.