Susan Warren (1919-1989) Papers (KC0508)
Susan Warren was born Mildred Heiligman in New York City, grew up in Kearny, New Jersey, and later graduated from the New Jersey College for Women (part of the Rutgers system and now Douglass College) in 1934 with an A.B. in English. Warren had a penchant for acting, and in the mid-1930s she performed in plays with the New Labor Theatre and the New York Collective Theatre. During World War II, her interests turned to political activism, and in 1947, she became secretary to writer and activist Fred Field. Warren also worked with Maud Russell and the Committee for Democratic Far Eastern Policy as editor of the Spotlight newsletter. When the Committee disbanded in 1952, she edited brochures for the Far East Reporter.
In 1957 and 1959, Warren was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify about her involvement with the Communist Party. Later in 1959, she left for China, where she lived and worked as the English editor for the Peking Review until July 1961. During her tenure there and in subsequent visits (1971 and 1977), Warren had the opportunity to travel extensively, keeping journals of her observations and interviews. Upon her return to the United States, Warren continued to edit and write for the Far East Reporter until 1970. In 1971, she became founder and co-chair of the United States-China People's Friendship Association (USCPFA) and visited China again in the Autumn. In 1975, she became the United Nations observer and correspondent for New China, and later the US-China Review, writing a number of articles for the magazines. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Susan Warren taught at New York area colleges. From 1970 to 1975 she taught and tutored students in remedial English, English as a second language, and speech at Manhattan Community College. From 1977 to 1983 she was a mentor in individual instruction programs at Empire State College and Columbia University. During all of her years of teaching, Warren also researched China issues, wrote freelance articles and a book, edited other writers' projects, and lectured about China to a variety of groups and classes.
The papers contain personal correspondence and materials, including the complete text of a Chinese language course. The collection also consists of ephemera and journals containing her observations of China during her employment there in the early 1960s and her later travels. Most of the collection consists of research and lecture notes for Warren's writings and speaking engagements. Also included is small number of photographs and audiotapes and four scrapbooks entitled “China’s Liberated Regions in Picture” during World War II. ca. 1943-1989.
5 cubic feet + oversize
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updated:
Friday, June 17, 2011
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