Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Jonassaint, Jean, 1950-
Title:	Jean Jonassaint Art and Object Books Collection
Inclusive Dates:	1958-2025
Quantity:	14.5 linear ft.
Abstract:	Art and artist books, poetry, and correspondence created and collected by Haitian author and Syracuse University professor Jean Jonassaint.
Language:	English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives

Biographical History

Jean Jonassaint, native of Haiti, is a professor of French and Francophone Studies and a member of the Maxwell African Scholars Union at Syracuse University. He has also taught at Duke University and Université du Québec à Montréal. His research focuses on narratives by Caribbean, Quebec, and African writers or transnational writers in France and Quebec and he is considered a leading expert on French-Caribbean culture and literature.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Jean Jonassaint Art and Object Books Collection spans 1958-2025 and contains art and artist material that Jean Jonassaint has collected over the span of his life. The collection is divided into several categories, differentiated by the type of material. The majority of this material is in French, English, and Portuguese, with portions also in Italian and Spanish.

Art Books consist of books about art, primarily not in English. Many books are from Quebec, France, and Brazil. These books include exhibition catalogs and accompanying material, as well as books about specific artists. Also included are books about the Venice Biennale, an annual exhibition of international art and culture.

Artists' books contains books made by various artists that use the format of the book itself as an artform. Jonassaint's own artist book creations are included, as well as works by others. Many come from Quebec or Belgium, while many others have an unknown origin. Several are made with fragile or organic material.

Correspondence contains correspondence between Jonassaint and various people. Several items of correspondence are pamphlets or bulletins about various performances or artistic institutions sent to Jonassaint.

Poetry contains books and pamphlets containing poetry, with a particular focus on concrete poetry, a type of poetry in which the visual arrangement of text and space is used as an element of the poetry to convey meaning.

Subject files consists of one folder of material about Italian artist Graziella Borghesi. Examples of her work may be found in the Artists' Books series above,

Miscellaneous contains assorted printed items (pamphlets, zines, postcards, advertisements, etc.), a few items which may or may not be artist's books, three audiocassettes, and a DVD.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Art books are arranged by province or country of origin or subject (e.g. Egyptian art). Artists' books and poetry are organized alphabetically by title. Correspondence is organized by date. Miscellaneous material is organized alphabetically by title.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Two items, Bonbon: note sur une insulte musicale , an artists' book made by Graziella Borghesi, and Plis sous pli, an artists' book made by Jean-Yves Fréchette and Pierre-André Arcand, have been permanently encapsulated for preservation purposes; the interior pages are thus not accessible. Digital images are available. Please contact Special Collections Research Center for more information.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

For the two artists' books that have been encapsulated for preservation purposes, digital images of interior pages are available. Please contact Special Collections Research Center for more information.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Jean Jonassaint Art and Object Books Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Jean Jonassaint, 2025.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Calvin Silver
Date: 22 Jan 2026
Revision history:

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Inventory

Note on alternate formats:

For the two artists' books that have been encapsulated for preservation purposes, digital images of interior pages are available. Please contact Special Collections Research Center for more information.

	Art books
		A full item-level inventory in Excel format is available.
Box 1-7, 9		Art books

	Artists' books
		A full item-level inventory in Excel format is available.
Box 8-10		Artists' books
Oversize 1-5		Artists' books

	Correspondence
Box 10		General 1978-1999, undated

	Poetry
Box 8		15 unedited poems, by Mario Diacono undated
Box 8		L'Abeille, by Eugène Guillevic and Serge Otis 1979
Box 8		Anthology of concrete poetry, edited by Emmett Williams 1967
Box 10		Anthuríum, by Jean Tourangeau and Míchel Champagne 1976
Box 8		Aspects, edited by Gilles Bellavance 1974
Box 8		Au secours mon coeur, by Charles Guilbert 1987
Box 8		Le bateau-livre 1985
Box 8		La botte á nique: les sentiers de la création, by Jean Dubuffet 1973
Box 8		Le bureau du titre, by Pierre Alecginsky 1983
Box 8		Cahiers Kouidor 1974
Box 8		Chronique des matins hantés, by Amina Saïd and Ahmed Ben Dhiab 2017
Box 8		cinq lettres, Les, by Georges Castera 1992
Box 8		Correo de exilio, courrier d'exil: poesia postal, poesie postale, by Alberto Kurapel undated
Box 8		Doc(k)s: poesies expressions d'avant-garde en Amerique-Latine, edited by Julien Blaine 1976
Box 8		Elegías, by Nicolás Guillén 1977
Box 8		Eros brun: pour en finir avec la merde, by Denis Aubin 1980
Box 8		Les filles de l'air , by Joelle de la Casiniere 1995
Box 8		Forêt vierge folle, by Roland Giguère 1978
Box 8		Found poems, by Bern Porter 1972
Box 8		Glyphes, by Serge Legagneur and Gérard Tremblay 1974
Box 8		Glyphes(c. 2), by Serge Legagneur and Gérard Tremblay 1974
Box 10		Grâces: poème de chevet, by Alix Renaud and Marie Laberge 1979
Box 8		Grandeur nature, by Denise Boucher and Delaroyère 1993
Box 8		Hédi Bouraoui: hommages au poète, by Hédi Bouraoui and Sergio Villani 1998
Box 8		ici aussi, by François de Cornière 1980
Box 8		Journal volé à Lillith (extraits), by Philippe Laperle 1983
Box 8		l.s.d. voyage, by Louis Geoffroy 1974
Box 8		La machine a mots 1983
Box 8		Manifeste de l'infonie: le TourArtBel, by Raoul Duguay 1970
Box 8		Mots sans mémoire, by Michel Leiris 1969
		Nubian voyager: poetry and music from the urban edge, by Hélène Faussart and Célia Faussart (also known as Les Nubians)
Box 8			Book 2006
Box 8			Les Nubians Presents: Echos Chapter One (Aluminum disc) (ID#: jonassaint_j_005)
Box 8		Oubliés, by Francine Saillant 2018
Box 8		Peintures de poètes, poèmes de peintres, by Henri Michaux, Camille Bryen, Serge Charchoune, Fred Deux, and Michel Seuphor 1997
Box 8		Petit trianon: poema de Ivan Petrovich, by Ivan Petrovich undated
Box 10		Poèmes 5, by Pierre Bertrand 1971
Box 10		Poèmes 6: cantate des saisons, by René Pageau 1971
Box 10		Poèmes 10: les chants de la pitié, by Meery Devergnas 1972
Box 10		Poèmes de moi même, by Joseph Zobel circa 1984
Box 8		Prémices, by Robert Montplaisir 1971
Box 10		Première surface undated
Box 8		Quant à la référence: du stéréotype idéologique, by Réal Bouchard, Vincent Dionne, Jean-Yves Fréchette, Michel Marceau, Marie Paquet, Françoia Renaud, and Thérèse Sarault undated
Box 8		Reflet pluriel, by Hédi Bouraoui and Gérard Sendrey 1986
Box 8		retour à l'arbre, le, by Bernard Wah and Georges Castera 1974
Box 8		Some recent snowflakes (and other things), by Dick Higgins 1979
Box 8		Something else yearbook, edited by Jan Herman 1974
Box 8		Stéphane Mallarmé: poesia e prosa, by Stéphane Mallarmé and Cosimo Ortesta 1982
Box 8		Tales of heritage, by Hédi Bouraoui and Saul Field circa 1981
Box 8		Tales of heritage II, by Hédi Bouraoui, Saul Field, and Jean Townsend 1986
Box 10		Traces: supplément, by Michel-François Lavaur undated
Box 8		Treize À la douzaine, by Michel Butor and Richard Mill 1981
Box 8		Vivres: avec une analyse microgestuelle de LE BRUN DORÉ, by Pierre Laberge 1981
Box 8		Vue du corps, by Pierre Laberge 1979

	Subject files
Box 10		Borghesi, Graziella 1984-1986, undated
			See also Artists' books above, for examples of her work.

	Miscellaneous
Box 11		A [No. 1-4] 1983 - four issues of a short printed publication in French
Box 11		Actualidad Panamericana 2021 - small newspaper featuring Latin American art and cultural news in Spanish
Box 11		Âgo crossing (DVD; running time 120:00) (ID#: jonassaint_j_001)
Box 11		Atelier de Création Radiophonique 1982 - pamphlet primarily in French
Oversize 4		Balocoloc undated - catalog of masks and hats
Box 11		[Blue box] undated - small unlabeled blue box covered in blue foil wrapping paper and tied with gold ribbon
Box 11		Catalogue Art and Société 1981 - photocopy of advertisement/order form for catalog
Box 11		Circulaire Interzone circa 1981-1985 - no. 14-16, 18-21, 24-26 in French
Box 11		Daily Bul 1983 - short newspaper of mostly illustrations by different artists
Box 11		En Construction undated - small yellow envelope, sealed shut with one small red sticker and tag with title attached
Box 11		En train d'être en train vers où être, Québec… 1971 - newspaper published in Montreal
Box 11		Pequeno formato "5a. Exposição" 1985 - exhibition announcement
Box 11		Show of Force 1985 - exhibition announcement
Box 11		Il Pleut undated - advertisement/announcement for work
Box 11		L'art engagé expose 1981 - photocopy of clipping
Box 11		L'enfant des kasbahs: une histoire de la peinture contemporaine Martiniquaise 1993 - exhibition announcement
Box 11		Mont Jaucon (Audio cassette; running time 90:00) (ID#: jonassaint_j_002)
Box 11		Mont Jaucon II (Audio cassette; running time 90:00) (ID#: jonassaint_j_003)
Box 11		Notícias sobre o Gráfico Amador 1985 - news about exhibition
Box 11		Periódicos de ayer: noticias de hoy 2021 - small newspaper featuring Latin American art and cultural news in Spanish
Box 11		Postcards 1982-1985 - unused postcards (6)
Box 11		Postcards: Pierre André Arcand 1987 - unused postcards (2)
Box 11		Poster undated - black and red text and illustrations and text
Box 11		Poster "Good morning class!" undated - collage of illustrations and photocopies with central figure is saying "good morning class!" and holding a book titled JESUS an historian's review of the gospels by Michael Grant
Box 11		(sic) no. 4: premier journal entre parentheses circa 1973-1974 - newspaper publication that cntains articles, comics, illustrations
Box 11		The declaration of the occupation of New York City 2011 - pamphlet discussing Occupy Wall Street
Box 11		This page as alternative space--1950-1969 1980 - single page printed on front and back with written material
Box 11		Timbres de la poste restreinte undated - two small books of postage stamps
Box 11		Tonalités - un anthologie sonore des littératures francophones (Audio cassette) (ID#: jonassaint_j_004)
Box 11		Un week-end artistique ahurissant 1981 - photocopy of clipping

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