Purchase, 2005, 2006 (R15376)
Open for research
Vivian Spoliansky, Thomas Kiehne, 2005; Catherine Stollar, 2007; Gabriela Redwine, Daniela Lozano, 2013
Born on November 9, 1945 in Lackawanna, New York, to Thomas and Joanne Joyce, Michael Thomas Joyce is the eldest son in a family of eight children. Joyce was heavily influenced by his family's Catholic faith and attended Catholic and Jesuit schools, including Canisius College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1972. In 1973, Joyce received a fellowship to the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and graduated with an MFA in 1974.
Publication of his first print novel,
Another hypertext fiction,
Joyce served as coordinator for the Center for Narrative and Technology and associate professor at Jackson Community College, Jackson, Michigan from 1975 to 1992. In 1992, he went to Vassar College as a visiting professor under a Sloan Foundation grant for teaching with technology in the humanities, and in 1995 took a position there as an English and Media Studies professor and as Director of the Center for Electronic Learning and Teaching.
Most of Joyce's academic works have been published in one of three collections of essays:
Joyce draws some elements from his personal history to his work. His marriage to Martha Petry Joyce, a published hypertext author herself, and their two sons, Eamon and Jeremiah, are sometimes referenced in his essays and novels. He later married author and artist Carolyn Guyer with whom he has co-authored multiple projects.
Joyce, Michael.
New York University Press Online.
The Michael Joyce Papers consist of published and unpublished manuscript drafts, academic and administrative materials, correspondence, software documentation, journals and appointment books, student papers, and personal files that document the career and personal activities of writer Michael Joyce. The materials are arranged into eight series: I. Works and Related Materials, 1969-2004; II. Academic Career, 1975-2005; III. Correspondence, 1965-2006; IV. Storyspace, 1985-1999; V. Journals and Appointment Books, 1972-2004; VI. Personal, 1953-2004; VII. Works by Other Authors, 1951-2004; and VIII. Published Materials, 1982-2002.
Series I. Works and Related Materials contain drafts of published and unpublished works, editor and agent correspondence, and other materials related to Joyce's literary career. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by title. Major works represented in the series include the first ever hypertext novel,
Series II. Academic Career is organized into four subseries: A. Academic Works, 1982-2005; B. Administrative Materials, 1975-1999; C. Conferences, 1987-2004; and D. Teaching Materials, 1973-1996. Subseries A. Academic Works contains presentations, talks, conference papers, meditations, and essays written by Joyce in the course of his academic career. Most of the essays included in this subseries have been published in one of the following collections:
Series III. Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing handwritten and typed letters, as well as printed copies of electronic mail (email). The series is divided into three subseries based on Joyce's original file arrangement: Subseries A. Chronological Files, 1968-2004; Subseries B. Printed Email, 1995-2006; and Subseries C. Alphabetical Files, 1965-2004. The email in subseries B. was selected, printed, and indexed by three of Joyce's student assistants, and they remain in the original three chronological groupings created by each student (Parts I-III). Notable correspondents include Howard Becker, Vance Bourjaily, Natalie Dehn, J. Yellowlees Douglass, John Enright, Stuart Moulthrop, and Noah Wardrip-Fruin. A complete index of all correspondent names in this collection is included at the end of the finding aid.
Materials relating to the creation, documentation, testing, distribution, and promotion of the hypertext software program Storyspace are housed alphabetically in Series IV. Storyspace. The early development of Storyspace and Joyce's co-creation of Riverrun Ltd. are well documented; however, the relationship among Storyspace, Riverrun Ltd. and hypertext publisher and Storyspace distributor Eastgate Systems, Inc. is poorly documented.
Personal materials in the Joyce Papers include chronologically ordered journals and appointment books in Series V. and alphabetically ordered personal documents in Series VI. Between 1974 and 2004, Joyce kept detailed journals about his work, fiction writing, feelings, relationships, health, and other personal issues. His fictional novels and short stories often mirror Joyce's real life as recorded in his journals.
Series VII. contains published and unpublished short works by other authors, including students. These works are in alphabetical order by author name. Series VIII. consists of published serials containing pieces by or about Joyce, and are in alphabetical order by journal title.
Books received with the Joyce Papers were transferred to the Ransom Center Library Collection.
Physical media containing electronic records were transferred to the Ransom Center Electronic Records Collection. Included are 371 3.5-inch computer disks, three CDs, two DVDs, and one laptop computer. The physical media and electronic files they contain are restricted for access. Most of the electronic media was formatted for Macintosh operating systems, OS8, OS9 and OSX.
Additional non-manuscript items were transferred to appropriate departments within
the Ransom Center in 2013. These include six CDs, fifteen 3.5-inch disks, and one
5.25-inch disk transferred to the Ransom Center Electronic Records Collection. Items
transferred to the Personal Effects collection include one painted fabric wall
hanging and several items taken from a bulletin board including: one potato gun in
its original packaging, one paint can lid with dried white paint, one yellow button
with the words