John Jermain Slocum (1914–1997) was an American diplomat, book collector, literary agent, and scholar. He spent most of his career in the Inspection Corps of the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill C ...

. As a bibliophile and philanthropist, he influenced two major US archives and contributed to scholarship on

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

Government service

Following study at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the Columbia School of Journalism, Slocum began his political career as an aide to

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

, the mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1942, and served in public relations for the New York Fighter Wing. His military work culminated with his serving as a spokesman for the Marshall Islands nuclear tests, after which he joined the

. His work for the organization took him to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Closer to home, he served as the USIA's planning coordinator for

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

in Montreal, a role in which he drew inspiration from his considerable disappointment at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

. Slocum retired in 1970.

Literary activities

Slocum's literary interests, fostered at Harvard, were pursued prior to and throughout his diplomatic career and became his primary avocation afterward. In the 1940s he helped run a small literary agency, where he worked on behalf of

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

, whom he had met in 1935 and would represent and defend, officially or otherwise, for the rest of Pound's life; other clients included Wyndham Lewis,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, and

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

. Slocum and Pound became close friends, and Pound would stay with him in New York. Following Pound's treason case, in which Slocum testified, they saw much less of each other, but their correspondence continued to some extent. Slocum's chief scholarly focus was on the life and work of

, and he played an important role in Joyce scholarship despite having neither an academic appointment nor a literary reputation except as a patron. Among his contributions were the bringing to light of a letter written by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

Sylvia Beach Sylvia may refer to: People *Sylvia (given name) *Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter *Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive *Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer credi ...

, the publisher of Joyce's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'', decrying the book as "a revolting record of a disgusting phase of civilisation." After traveling to

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

to meet Joyce's widow and see his grave, Slocum spent several years lobbying the Irish government to repatriate Joyce's remains as had been arranged for

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, but he was unsuccessful. In 1953, he published a comprehensive bibliography of Joyce's works and reception, coedited by Herbert Cahoon. Slocum's literary philanthropy was both personal and institutional; he supported writers such as Miller, Eudora Welty, and Gertrude Stein and served as the first president of the Friends of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The

Beinecke Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

acquired his large collection of material on Joyce, as well as his correspondence with Pound. In June 2022, the Beinecke acquired additional Joyce-related materials which were sold at the 2017 Slocum estate sale. These papers included draft manuscripts by Lucie Noel and Stanislaus Joyce. Slocum was also deeply involved in the Beinecke's acquisition of its much larger Pound collection. Other books from his collection were donated to the

Redwood Library and Athenaeum The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...

in Newport. A lecture series in his name, endowed by an anonymous donor, was later established at the Redwood; the inaugural John J. Slocum Memorial Lecture was delivered by Christopher Buckley in 2019.

Personal life

Slocum married Eileen Gillespie in 1940. Gillespie was a prominent

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, socialite, who was somewhat notorious for her previous, abruptly curtailed engagement to

John Jacob Astor VI John Jacob Astor VI (August 14, 1912 – June 26, 1992) was an American socialite, shipping businessman, and member of the Astor family. He was dubbed the "''Titanic'' Baby" for his affiliation with the RMS ''Titanic''; Astor was born four month ...

. Living grandly in a Newport mansion, the Slocums entertained high society and held fundraisers for prominent Republican politicians, including

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

, Elizabeth Dole, and

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

. They had three children, including a daughter, Beryl, whose interracial (and interparty) marriage to

Adam Clayton Powell III Adam Clayton Powell III (born July 17, 1946) is an American journalist, media executive, and scholar who is the executive director of the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative. He was USC's vice provost for globalization from 2007 through 2010. ...

led to considerable family contention. Despite the disapproval of some of their relatives, the Slocums attended the wedding, where John gave his daughter away. Their other children were John Jermain Slocum Jr. ("Jerry") and (Mrs.) Marguerite Quinn ("Margy"), both active in Newport philanthropy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slocum, John J 1914 births 1997 deaths People of the United States Information Agency American patrons of the arts James Joyce scholars Literary agents Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Harvard College alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II