Finding Aid
David Edgar Freeman fonds. – 1952-2012. – 2.56 m of textual and photographic.
Series 1
Writing. – 1968-2009. – 1.65 m of textual records. – Title based on contents of series.
This series consists of drafts and final copies of Freeman's plays, stories, and poetry. All material is typescript (or photocopies of typescripts), but there are corrections and edits that appear to be in Freeman's hand. Each play or novel was kept in an individual folder or duo-tang and usually recorded the title, draft, and date. These enclosures have not been kept for preservation reasons. The identifying information has been transferred to the listing. Freeman was in the habit of writing his drafts on the back of scrap paper, often the paper used were other drafts.
The material is arranged alphabetically by title. Many of the works have changed title over time, they are grouped together under the final title with the title at time of writing indicated in the file. Poetry is filed separately from the prose works, starting in Box 10.
Researchers may also wish to consult Series 6, which consists of material recovered from David Freeman’s computer. It includes material related to Series 1, as well as a great wealth of additional writing.
Box 1
After the Murder
F.1 After the Murder. [Draft 1?]. [c.1994].
F.2 After the Murder Draft #3. 1994.
F.3 After the Murder. 1995.
F.4 Alice in Blunderland. This was separated from a folder containing Hello Darkness, Draft 3a by the archivist. 1977.
Anarchy's Child
F.5 Anarchy's Child. Includes a letter from the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts. 1998-2004.
F.6 Anarchy's Child Draft #2. 2004.
F.7 Anarchy's Child. 2005.
Battering Ram
F.8 Battering Ram. Published copy. 1972.
F.9 Battering Ram. Published copy. 1974.
F.10 Battering Ram. Draft prepared for Theatre D'Aujourd'hui. 1983.
F.11 Battering Ram 1984 version - retyped. 1984.
F.12 Coup de Belier. French version. [198-?].
F.13 Battering Ram. Talonbooks script copy. [1974].
Bea-Hive
F.14 Bea-Hive Draft #1. 1977.
F.15 Bea-Hive. 1977.
F.16 Bea-Hive. Signed and annotated by Monique Mercure. 1977.
F.17 Bea-Hive. 1978.
F.18 Bea-Hive. [c.1995?]
Box 2
F.1 Bon voyage. [1988].
Canadian Comedy
F.2 The Canadian Comedy. 1983.
F.3 Le [Strip?] The Canadian Comedy Draft 3. 1984.
F.4 Canadian Comedy. Includes letter from George Bowser. 2000-2001.
Cavemen
F.5 Out There (Rituals) Draft #1. [c. 197-].
F.6 Rituals (Out There) Draft #2. 1976.
F.7 The Cavemen (Rituals) Draft #3. 1977.
F.8 The Cavemen (Rituals) Draft #4. 1977.
F.9 Cavemen Draft #5. 1978.
F.10 Chauvinism 001 OR How You See Her. An Eddie Scarlet Mystery by J.C. Ross Draft #2. 170 pp. Incomplete. 1988.
Creeps
The galley pages from Doubleday for, what appears to be an introduction to Creeps are available in Box 17.
F.11 The Creeps. Includes letter from John E. Brent and folder with 'Creeps' sticker on it from Theatre Theater, Los Angeles, production of Creeps. 1968-[1982].
F.12 The Creeps. 1971.
F.13 Creeps. Heavily annotated, incomplete, and in original order. [c.1970]
F.14 Les Tout-Croches. Two working copies of translation.
Box 3
Damn you, Joey!
F.1 Damn you, Charlie! Draft #1. 1979
F.2 Damn You, Joey Outline for Late 1980 Draft. 1980.
F.3 Damn You, Joey! incomplete. 1980.
F.4 Damn You, Joey! Working Draft. 1980.
F.5 Damn You, Joey! Draft for BTW. 1980.
F.6 Damn You, Joey! 1980.
F.7 Damn You, Joey! 1980.
F.8 Damn You, Joey! Y.L.’s copy. 1980.
F.9 Damn You, Joey! (BTW version retyped).1981.
F.10 Damn you, Joey! Pages removed while doing revision (April 1983). [1983?].
F.11 Damn You, Joey! Draft #7. 1986.
F.12 Fetch, Fetch! [c.1995?].
The Death of What's Natural
F.13 The Death of What's Natural. Draft 8[a]. 1983.
F.14 The Death of What's Natural. Draft 8[b]. 1983.
Flytrap
F.15 Flytrap Draft 4. 1975.
F.16 Flytrap. 1975.
Box 4
Flytrap continued
F.1 Flytrap Draft 5. January 1976.
F.2 Flytrap Draft 6. March 1976.
F.3 Flytrap [for the Saidye Bronfman Centre Theatre production]. May 1976.
F.4 Goddess of Cancer. [2009].
Hello, Darkness
F.5 Hello Darkness Draft #1. [1975?].
F.6 Hello Darkness Draft #2 by David Freeman and Francine Marleau. Included with this draft were Through Nightmare to Freedom and Alice in Blunderland. These appear to have been put in the folder after the fact and have been filed separately by the archivist. 1975.
F.7 Hello Darkness Draft 3a Dave's Try. Included in the folder with this draft was Alice in Blunderland which has been filed separately by the archivist. 1977.
F.8 Hello, Darkness draft prepared for CBC. 1978.
F.9 Inquisition. 1993. [Note: The title page says it also has material related to Writing About Nothing. These materials were not included upon receipt.]
Jungle of Lilacs
F.10 The Comedy of Rape. [c. 197-?].
F.11 Father of the Year. This draft and the one before it were together in a binder. [c. 197-?]. F.12 Father of the Year with holograph edits by Freeman. [c.197-?].
F.13 Father of the Year with the part of Sergeant George Baffled underlined with occasional edits. [c.197-?].
F.14 Father of the Year Drat No. 5.
F.15 Father of the Year Draft #6. 1976.
F.16 Jungle of Lilacs (Father of the Year) Draft 7. 1977.
F.17 Jungle of Lilacs. 1977.
F.18 Jungle of Lilacs (retyped version - Mme. Ménard). 1978.
Box 5
Jungle of Lilacs continued
F.1 Jungle of Lilacs (draft prepared for the Phoenix). 1979.
F.2 Jungle of Lilacs or Four Letter Word. 1980. F.3 Jungle of Lilacs. 1981.
F.4 A Collection of ideas from different drafts of Jungle of Lilacs (The Four Letter Word???). [197?]-1978.
F.5 Macbeth in Hell and A Midsummer's Night at the Mall. [c.1995].
Marley's Chains
F.6 Marley's Chains. 1986.
F.7 Marley's Chains Draft #2. 1987.
The Mask Factory
F.8 "Arthur Bonkers was born...".266 pp. [c.1977].
F.9 "Arthur Bonkers was born...".272 pp. [1977].
F.10 [Mask Factory]. pp. 1-54. [c.2005].
F.11 [Mask Factory]. pp. i-v, 1-50. [c.2005].
Modern Miracles
F.12 A Modern Miracle. Draft #7½. 1984.
Box 6
Modern Miracles continued
F.1 Modern Miracles. Draft #9. 1986.
F.2 Modern Miracles. Draft #11. 1988.
F.3 Modern Miracles. Draft #11 copy with notes and revisions. 1989.
F.4 Modern Miracles. Draft #11. [This appears to be a retyped copy of Draft #11 with the revisions incorporated. [1989?].
More Than Nothing (Autobiography)
F.5 Writing About Nothing. Heavily annotated and in the author's original order. [Note: Divided into four folders by the Archivist.]
F.6 Travels of the Straw Man. [1996?].
F.7 Pages from More Than Nothing. 1996.
F.8 More Than Nothing. Includes covering letter. 1998. [Note: Divided into three folders by the Archivist. The last two portions are in Box 7.]
Box 7
More Than Nothing continued
F.1 More Than Nothing. Includes covering letter. 1998. [Note: Divided into three folders by the Archivist. The first portion is in Box 6.]
F.2 [More Than Nothing?]. Version 1, 10 pp. [2006?]. [Note: This was in the same folder as More Than Nothing. It may not be an early draft of that work.]
F.3 [More Than Nothing?]. Version 2, 14 pp. [2006?]. [Note: This was in the same folder as More Than Nothing. It may not be an early draft of that work.]
F.4 More Than Nothing. [2006?].
The Poker Player
F.5 The Poker Player (Outline) Draft #2. Includes outline and draft. 1976.
F.6 Poker Player. Chapters 1-7. [c.1982].
F.7 Poker Player. Draft #1. Includes 6 pp. of holograph notes. 1982. (Note: Divided into three folders by the Archivist.)
F.8 [Poker Player]. [c.1982]. (Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.)
F.9 The Poker Player. 1988.
F.10 The Princess and her Shadow #1. 1988.
Box 8
The Scar
F.1 People of the Scar Draft #6. 1984.
F.2 Scar. 1985.
F.3 The Scar (pages rewritten during workshop - 1985) or pages taken out by dramaturge director etc. etc. etc.
F.4 The Scar. 1985/6 [The cover said 1985].
F.5 Scar (retyped). 1986.
F.6 A Set of Stranger Draft #1. 1986.
"Short Stories, 1986" [These were together in an envelope. Their order has been maintained.]
F.7 A Ration of Light. 1986.
F.8 Re-entry. 1986.
F.9 The choice. 1986.
Special Gold
F.10 Special Gold Draft #1. 1987.
F.11 Special Gold. 1987.
F.12 Special Gold retyped. 1987.
Stanley
F.13 Stanley. [Version 1]. c.1973.
F.14 Stanley. [Version 2]. c.1973.
F.15 Still Life Draft 7. 1981.
F.16 The Successful Cripple Draft #3. 1984.
F.17 Take All the Pills. [This constitutes a number of incomplete copies that were dispersed throughout the archive.]
Box 9
The Thank You Child
F.1 The Thank You Child. 1978.[Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.]
F.2 The Thank You Child. 1978.[Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.]
F.3 The Thank You Child. 1981.[Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.]
F.4 The Thank You child Draft #3 (Part One). 1990. The back of this material contains notes and poetry from Freeman's classes. It includes both his poetry and the poetry of others, much of it annotated by him and others. [Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.]
F.5 Through Nightmare to Freedom Outline. 1983.
F.6 Waiting for Legros Outline. [1982?].
Year of the Soul
F.7 Heart of '81. 1981.
Box 10
Year of the Soul continued
F.1 Year of the Soul (Heart of '81). Book II. 1981
F.2 Year of the Soul (Heart of '81). Book III. 1981.
F.3 Year of the Soul. Received in envelope from Jean Archambault [annotator?].December 1981.
You're Gonna Be Alright, Jamie-Boy
F.4 You're Gonna Be Alright, Jamie-Boy. 1973.
F.5 The Unfair Game. [c.1980?].
Unidentified Manuscripts
F.6 "Ritchie Limpski had a...". 353 pp. [c.1985?] [Note: Divided into three folders by the Archivist.]
F.7 Unidentified novel begins at Chapter 16, "If the daggers that shot from Marion's eyes were real...". pp. 240-323.
F.8 "Ideas Radio play/novel". [c.1980?].
F.9 Pages from a number of different sources: 2 pp. from a play with Nora, Virgil, and Irene. 1 p. from a play with an Old Man, a Priest, and a Doctor.
Box 10
Poetry
F.10 Poetry. This material was collected together in a binder. 1966-1978.
F.11 Compilation B. B1-B760 Original. 1967-1993.
F.12 Compilation F. F1-F397 Original. 1967-1997.[Note: Divided into two folders by the Archivist.]
Box 11
Poetry continued
F.1 Compilation N. N1-N142 Download. [c.2005?].
F.2 "Poems". Published anthology. 1973.
F.3 Poetry. 2007.
Assignments
F.4 The Attitudes of McMaster Girls Towards Sex. [c.1970].
F.5 School Assignments. 1989.
F.6 School Assignments. 1990-1991.
Series 2
Juvenilia. – 1952-1966. – 7 cm of textual records. – Title based on contents of series.
The series consists mostly of writing David Freeman did in his youth, but also includes a number of personal items.
Box 11
F.7 Poetry. [c.1960]-1968.
F.8 The Revolt of Chief Wetback. [c.1960?].
F.9 The Bus Driver's Lament . [This item arrived framed.] 1960.
F.10 Writing.[c.1960.]
F.11 Camp Diary. 1962.
F.12 Blue Mountain Camp material.
F.13 Autograph books and pocket diary. 1957-[196?].
F.14 Attendance Certificate. 1952-1962.
F.15 University material, includes student card and letters. 1966.
Series 3
Correspondence. – 1971-2009. – 21 cm of textual records. – Title based on contents of series.
The correspondence has been divided into professional and personal correspondence and organized alphabetically.
Professional Correspondence
Box 11
F.16 Contracts and Agreements. 1971-2006.
F.17 Grants. 1971-2009.
Box 12
F.1 John Goodwin. 1974.
F.2 John Goodwin. 1975-1976.
F.3 John Goodwin. 1984-1987.
F.4 Ellen Neuwald. 1971-1976.
F.5 Toronto Star/Canadian Magazine. 1977.
F.6 "Fans". 1974-1976.
F.7 General.
Personal Correspondence
Box 12
F.8 Nick, Renate, and Kira Bruchovsky. 1975-1989.
F.9 Don Cullen and Janet Inksetter. 1981-1994.
F.10 Lillian Davis and Mrs. Freeman. 1983-1997.
F.11 [Louison Davis?]. 1998.
F.12 Jane Glassco. 1974-2004.
F.13 James Iwasuk. 1974-1977.
F.14 Mrs. L. Kraft. 1965.
F.15 Gwendolin Siu-Lai Lam. 1991-1997.
F.16 Carl Moore. 1974-1982.
F.17 Robert Robinson. 1960-1995.
F.18 Alice and Bill Spencer. 1987-1988.
F.19 Bob and Holly Sutton. 1977-1985.
First names only
F.20 Angus and Bev. [n.d.]
F.21 Christina. 1974-1987.
F.22 [Diane?] and Sylvain. 1985-1997.
F.23 Elsa. [n.d.]
F.24 General. 1975-2008.
Series 4
Clippings and Other Documents– 1965-2007. – 8 cm of textual records. – Title based on contents of series.
This series consists primarily of reviews and programs for David Freeman's plays, as well as articles he wrote for a number of newspapers and magazines. The clippings have been listed chronologically. Most of these had been organized by subject and given an appropriate title by Freeman, which has been noted in quotation marks.
Box 13
Clippings
F.1 "The Life and Times of David Freeman". 1964-1972.
F.2 David Freeman. 1965-1993.
F.3 "Creeps". 1971-1979.
F.4 "Creeps II". 1971-1991.
F.5 "[Battering] Ram". 1973-1980.
F.6 "Jamie Boy". 1974-1990.
F.7 Articles by Ara Avedissian.
F.8 Yoga.
Other Documents
F.9 Francine Marleau.
F.10 Curriculum Vitae. c.1970-2007.
F.11 Personal documents.
F.12 Obituary. Globe and Mail. 2012. [Provided with the archive.]
Box 17
Scrapbook. [c.1970].
"In Reconition of Outstanding Achievement in Overcoming a Physical Handicap" Award. CRCD. 1972.
Series 5
Photographs. – 1956-2008. – 20 cm of textual records. – Title based on contents of series.
Box 14
F.1 Album 1 [Divided into 3 folders]. Montreal. 1987.
F.2 Album 1 [Divided into 3 folders]. West Coast Cruise: Los Angeles, CA to Alaska. 1988.
F.3 Album 1 [Divided into 3 folders]. Mexico. 1989.
F.4 Album 2 [Divided into 2 folders]. 1956-1988.
F.5 Album 3 [Divided into 2 folders].
F.6 Album 4. Europe. [Denmark and Finland, possibly others.] [c.2002].
F.7 Loose photos. Most of these were in envelopes from the developers and remain in those groupings. In addition, there are some loose photographs from throughout the archive.
Box 13
Album 5. Amazon and Caribbean. Black and white hounds tooth. 2002.
Box 17
Two b&w portraits. One of Freeman by himself, the other of him with James Iwasuk. Includes accompanying letter. Nigel Dickson, photographer. 1974.
Series 6
Material from David Freeman’s computer. – 2007-2012. – 33 cm textual records.
This material recovered from David Freeman’s computer, consists of additional poetry, prose, and plays. A header has been added to each item with the file name, but otherwise it appears exactly as it did on the screen. The material was printed to provide ease of access for researchers; the electronic files were not retained. The material is arranged alphabetically and the last date the file was updated is included in the listing.
Researchers may also wish to consult Series 1 for additional writing.
Box 15
F.1 Abby. 6 June 2012.
F.2 Amazon. 25 June 2007.
F.3 An Evening with Irwin James (Chap. 5). 9 April 2012.
F.4 And, Speaking of Hell. 17 May 2012.
F.5 Another Country Heard From (Chap. 12). 17 July 2012.
F.6 Another fun day at Disneyland. 27 July 2012.
F.7 April 2008. 26 August 2011.
F.8 April 2009. 5 May 2012.
F.9 April 2010. 15 May 2012.
F.10 Ari. [Levi, the Drummer Boy]. [Two versions]. 2008-2009.
F.11 August 2007. [Two versions.] 2007-2010.
F.12 August 2008. 8 January 2010.
F.13 August 2009. 27 December 2010.
F.14 August 2010. 4 September 2010.
F.15 August 2011. 6 September 2011.
F.16 August 2012. 31 August 2012.
F.17 Back to Where I Started (Ch. 13). 25 July 2012.
F.18 Bio & Other Important Information. 26 December 2011.
F.19 Bullethead & The Twit [Ch. 7]. 2 November 2011.
F.20 Bullshit. 26 May 2008.
F.21 Chapter Fifteen. [The Key to Arabella]. [Three versions]. September 2012.
F.22 Chapter Thirteen. [Are you trying to buy your father’s love with a scooter?] 30 July 2012.
F.23 Chess on Line. 31 August 2011.
F.24 December 2007. 14 May 2012.
F.25 December 2008. 29 August 2011.
F.26 December 2009. 31 December 2009.
F.27 December 2010. 21 December 2010.
F.28 December 2011. 24 December 2011.
F.29 Diamond Crawlers. 26 December 2011.
F.30 Diamond Crawlers Notes. 6 October 2011.
F.31 England. “England: Portrait of the Artists As a Young Spastic”. 14 September 2011.
F.32 February 2008. 2 January 2009.
F.33 Feb[ruary]. 2009. 29 August 2011.
F.34 February 2010. 9 April 2010.
F.35 February 2011. 28 February 2011.
F.36 February 2012. 29 February 2012.
F.37 Fierce God. 17 May 2012.
F.38 Final Exit. 20 September 2011.
F.39 For David French. 28 April 2012.
F.40 Forty Stories. [Two Versions.] March-April 2012.
F.41 Forty Years. 21 April 2010.
F.42 France and Spain. 21 September 2011.
F.43 Francine. 20 May 2012.
F.44 Francine’s Bio. 15 February 2011.
F.45 G&M. 18 August 2009.
F.46 G & M1. “Reverend Elvis: A Faustian semi-opera in three acts”. Act I. 18 November 2011.
F.47 G&M2. “Reverend Elvis”. Act II. 16 November 2011.
F.48 G&M3. “Reverend Elvis”. Act III. 18 November 2011.
F.49 Hell 1. [Two versions]. 2010-2012.
F.50 Hell 2. 3 June 2012.
F.51 High Noon. 4 March 2012.
F.52 Home to the Sea. 4 September 2011.
F.53 Humanity and Politics in Theater. 26 July 2007.
F.54 I’m in fucking love. [Chapter Four]. 1 December 2011.
F.55 Ice Wars. [File last saved: 17 October 2011.] 10 January 1998.
F.56 Il y était une fois une jeune femme qui souffre... 25 February 2010.
F.57 In the darkness. 2 May 2007.
F.58 Is he going to make fish soup... 25 February 2010.
F.59 Jane [Glassco] one page bio. 21 May 2010.
F.60 January 2008. 10 January 2010.
F.61 January 2009. 10 January 2010.
F.62 January 2010. 31 January 2010.
F.63 January 2011. 20 January 2011.
F.64 January 2012. 31 January 2012.
F.65 Jazzy. 13 June 2012.
F.66 Jimmy Laird (Ch. 9). [Two versions]. 2011-2012.
F.67 Joanie slays dragons (ch. 2). [Two versions]. 2011-2012.
F.68 July 2007. [Three versions]. 2009-2012.
F.69 July 2008. 26 August 2011.
F.70 July 2009. 25 December 2010.
F.71 July 2010. 16 May 2012.
F.72 July 2012. 3 August 2010.
F.73 June 2008. 10 January 2010.
F.74 June 2009. 25 December 2010.
F.75 June 2010. 18 May 2012.
F.76 June 2011. 30 June 2011.
F.77 June 2012. 25 June 2012.
F.78 Letterhead for Dec. 27 January 2008.
Box 16
F.1 Listening to Mozart. 22 August 2009.
F.2 Lucky Nickles. [Two Versions]. November 2011.
F.3 March 2008. 20 January 2009.
F.4 March 2009. 31 March 2009.
F.5 March 2010. 3 October 2011.
F.6 Marc[h] 2011. 31 March 2011.
F.7 March 2012. 2 April 2012.
F.8 May [2007]. [Three versions]. 2007-2012.
F.9 May 2009. 31 May 2009.
F.10 May 2010. 16 May 2012.
F.11 May 2011. 1 June 2011.
F.12 May 2012. 31 May 2012.
F.13 Mediterranean Cruise. 14 November 2009.
F.14 Mexico. 12 September 2011.
F.15 Mozart. 9 September 2008.
F.16 Mr. Mcflirty’s garden (chapter 10). 3 August 2012.
F.17 Northern Europe. 21 September 2011.
F.18 November 2007. 11 May 2012.
F.19 November 2008. [Two versions]. 3 November 2008.
F.20 November 2009. 30 November 2009.
F.21 November 2010. 30 November 2010.
F.22 November 2011. 30 November 2011.
F.23 October 2007. 7 April 2008.
F.24 October 2008. 31 October 2008.
F.25 October 2009. 2 November 2009.
F.26 October 2010. 31 October 2010.
F.27 October 2011. 31 October 2011.
F.28 October 2012. [Two versions]. 17 October 2012.
F.29 Ordinary Monsters. [Two versions]. 13 June 2012.
F.30 Poems About Mexico. 1 May 2008.
F.31 Poems By Irwin James. 24 August 2011.
F.32 Poems for the Walrus. 18 October 2011.
F.33 Poetry to Send Out. 5 May 2012.
F.34 Printable Poems. 4 October 2012.
F.35 Re: Empty Room. 2 June 2014.
F.36 Reverend Elvis Acts 1, 2 & 3. 6 June 2012.
F.37 Reverend Elvis leftovers. 27 July 2011.
F.38 Sailing. 21 August 2011.
F.39 September 2007. 11 May 2012.
F.40 September 2008. 2 October 2008.
F.41 September 2009. 30 September 2009.
F.42 September 2010. 29 September 2010.
F.43 September 2011. 30 September 2011.
F.44 September 2012. 30 September 2012.
F.45 Smoky Blue Nights. 25 August 2011.
F.46 Take All Your Pills. [Four versions]. 2007-2012.
F.47 The Babylonian Embassy (Ch. One). [Two versions]. 2011-2012.
F.48 The Bathtub Throws Up. 15 November 2011.
F.49 The Big Move. 31 December 2011.
F.50 The Caretaker’s Daughter. 20 August 2012.
F.51 The Child At Sunrise. 20 September 2011.
F.52 The Church of Harry. [Two versions]. 2012.
F.53 The Flying Dream (Chap. Three). [Two versions]. 2010-2012.
Box 14
F.8 The House of Horniness (Chap. Six). 14 October 2011.
F.9 The Pneumonia Poems. 8 August 2008.
F.10 The Tragedy of B.B. Wolf. 4 January 2012.
F.11 The World Champeen. 4 September 2012.
F.12 The World Unfolds as it Should (Chap. Fourteen). 7 September 2012.
F.13 Yesterday My Life Was Filled With [P/R]ain. 15 June 2012.
