Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Textual record
- Graphic material
- Sound recording
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the fonds.
Level of description
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1941-1994 (Creation)
- Creator
- Weisbord, Merrily
Physical description area
Physical description
0.55 m of textual records
62 audio reels
5 compact cassettes
142 photographs
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Merrily Weisbord is an author, journalist, filmmaker, and broadcaster. She has contributed articles and stories to newspapers and magazines such as Maclean’s, Weekend, and the Montreal Star. As a radio broadcaster, she produced many CBC documentaries. Her first book, The Strangest Dream: Canadian Communists, the Spy Trials, and the Cold War was first published in 1983 (Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys) and was republished in 1994 (Montreal: Véhicule Press). The Strangest Dream was also translated in French in 1988 (Montréal: VLB) under the title Le Rêve d’une génération: les communistes canadiens, les procès d’espionnage et la guerre froide. Merrily Weisbord’s books also include The Valour and the Horror, co-authored with Merilyn Simonds Mohr (Harper Collins 1991), Our Future Selves (North Atlantic Books 1991), Dogs with Jobs, co-authored with Kim Kachanoff (Pocket Books 2000) for which Weisbord also wrote and created a TV series that was aired on the Life Network, CBC, PBS, Oxygen, National Geographic US and National Geographic International. Her book The Love Queen of Malabar (McGill-Queen’s University 2010) was a Finalist for the 2010 Writers’ Trust Non Fiction Prize, and for the 2011 Charles Taylor Prize in Non-Fiction.
Custodial history
Original donation was made by Merrily Weisbord to the Concordia University Records Management and Archives Department in 2011. Materials from this original donation were transferred to Concordia University Libraries' Special Collections in 2015. Other materials were transferred to the Libraries' April 21, 2016, May 5, 2016, and May 10, 2016. New donations were made to the Libraries' Special Collections in 2014 and 2015.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of research material and oral history interviews conducted by Merrily Weisbord for the writing of The Strangest Dream. The interviews cover various aspects of the evolution of the Communist Party of Canada (renamed the Labour Progressive Party in 1943) and the life of some of its Quebec members.
Fonds includes more than 20 hours of sound recordings consisting of interviews with about fifteen individuals who were members of the party between the 1930s and the 1950s, such as Lea Roback, Irene Kon, Gilles Hénault and Fred Taylor. All the players, from the upper middle class intellectual Stanley Ryerson to the working class lumber camp labour organizer, Gérard Fortin, are included. There is also a 15 minute recorded message by Paul Robeson urging Montreal voters to reelect Fred Rose in 1945. Fonds also includes interview notes and transcriptions, correspondence, and printed materials.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Materials were donated to the Concordia University Records Management and Archives Department by Merrily Weisbord in 2011, and to the Libraries' Special Collections in 2014 and 2015..
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
- French
Script of material
Language and script note
Most of the material is in English. Some documents are in French.
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
There are no restrictions on access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Reproduction for research or private study is permitted in most cases. No reproduction of the audio materials. Use of material in publications cannot be done without permission of the copyright holder.
Finding aids
For the audio materials see the AV Document database. Box listings of the textual records are available.
Finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Rights
Copyright belongs to the creator(s).