Guide to American Literature
The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) has extensive American literary holdings, with special concentrations in writers from the American South, post-World War II American poets, and African American writers. In providing researchers with a general summary of MARBL’s literary holdings in American literature, this guide compiles information on manuscript collections that relate directly to authors and literature—drama, poetry, and fiction. There is a separate subject guide available which focuses on British and Irish literature.
This guide is not intended to be a complete finding aid to the collections. It serves as a preliminary research tool, providing a brief description of holdings with basic information on size, inclusive dates, types of records, and broad subject areas. More detailed descriptions of the sources listed below are available in the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) and through EUCLID, the Emory Libraries’ online catalog. EUCLID contains bibliographic records for the majority of the manuscript collections held in MARBL as well as books and other printed material available at Emory University. EUCLID is accessible through the Internet at http://www.library.emory.edu. Finding aids for these sources are also available through MARBL's Web site in the finding aids database.
Please note that not all manuscript collections are housed in MARBL. Some collections are located at an off-site storage facility and must be requested in advance. In addition, some collections have access restrictions. Researchers are encouraged to contact MARBL to insure that materials will be available. We are also happy to pull materials in advance of a research visit.
MARBL is located on the 10th floor of the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Researchers may visit MARBL Monday through Friday 8:30-5:30; Saturdays 9:00-5:30. Hours are subject to change during holiday and inter-session periods. During the summer, Saturday hours are 10-4. It is highly recommended that researchers contact MARBL in advance to inquire about the collections and business hours. For more information about materials held at MARBL, please call (404-727-6887), e-mail (marbl@emory.edu), or visit our Web site (http://marbl.library.emory.edu). Mail inquiries may be addressed to Research Services, Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Revised editions of this guide will be forthcoming as new collections are accessioned and as material in existing collections is located and identified.
ADAMS, LAWRENCE L. (MSS 963)
Collection, ca. 1960;.5 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection contains the papers of Lawrence L. Adams, African American author from Providence, Rhode Island. The papers include handwritten and typescript drafts of his original plays, dialect poems, and prose. Topics include religion, family and social relationships, and the African American community following emancipation. The collection also includes a photograph of Adams and three letters he wrote to the editors of various Providence, Rhode Island, publications.
AIKEN, CONRAD (MSS 126)
Letters, 1951-1962; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Conrad Potter Aiken (1889-1973) was most notably a poet and literary critic, though he also produced numerous short stories and novels. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Aiken grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard University. Involved with a circle of modernist poets including Ezra Pound, he won the Pulitzer Prize for verse in 1930 for Selected Poems and the National Book Award for Collected Poems in 1954. Aiken served as Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (now the U.S. Poet Laureate) from 1950-52 and was named Poet Laureate of Georgia in 1973. The collection consists of letters and notes from Aiken to others regarding his publications (42 books as well as articles and reviews) and some personal matters.
ANDREWS, RAYMOND (MSS 673)
Papers, 1977-1989; 23 linear ft. (46 boxes, 5 oversized papers, and 3 oversized bound volumes)
Born in Morgan County, Georgia, Raymond Andrews (1934-1991) wrote many short stories and novels. In 1979 he received the James Baldwin Prize for his novel Appalachee Red, a story spanning a half-century about black life in the fictional county of Muskhogean. His brother is the artist Benny Andrews, who illustrated his later novel, Baby Sweets. The collection consists of personal correspondence with his family and professional letters to such authors as Mary Hood and Joyce Carol Oates, as well as original source material, notebooks, manuscripts, reviews, clippings, and memorabilia.
Restriction: Letters of Judi Zygelman are closed until 2042.
ANDREWS, VIOLA P. (MSS 813)
Family papers, 1957-1998; 12.5 linear ft. (24 boxes, 5 oversized papers)
Viola Andrews (b. 1912), writer, newspaper columnist, and religious educator, was born and raised in Morgan County, Georgia. During the early years of the Depression, she married sharecropper and folk artist, George Cleveland Andrews. Fed up with the grinding poverty of sharecropping, Viola left her husband, cotton tenancy, and Morgan County, heading to Atlanta where economic and educational opportunities promised her and her children a better life. In 1971, after all her children had graduated from high school, Viola decided to continue her education, and attended the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies. During this time, she integrated the Lakewood Presbyterian Church when she began teaching Sunday School classes there. Viola also found time to write an unpublished autobiography entitled “Body, Spirit, and Soul,” published and unpublished short stories, and a newspaper column. The collection includes her writings, family correspondence, photographs, religious teaching material, and scrapbooks.
ARP, BILL (MSS 108)
Papers, 1834-1952; .125 linear ft. (1 box)
Bill Arp (Charles Henry Smith) (1826-1903), lawyer and humorist, was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He began writing under the name Bill Arp in 1861 and published more than 2000 “Bill Arp Letters” for which he became popular. He also published seven books. The collection consists of clippings, photocopies of Arp’s correspondence and newspaper columns, a 1952 dissertation on Bill Arp, and legal documents.
Note: A major portion of the collection is available as photocopies only; the dissertation is available on microfilm only.
ASHTON, DORE AND MATTI MEGGED (MSS 1068)
Collection, 1958-1994; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Dore Ashton (1928-) is an art critic, author, and teacher. Her husband Matti Megged (1923-2003) was an Israeli-born writer and teacher. The collection consists of correspondence and other material collected by Dore Ashton and Matti Megged from 1958-1994. Correspondence from Octavio Paz is addressed to Dore Ashton. Correspondence from Samuel Beckett, Italo Calvino, and E. E. Cummings is addressed to Matti Megged. The collection also includes general correspondence concerning Megged's writings, a photograph of Ashton and Paz, and a speech written by Ashton for a conference on Paz.
BALDWIN, JAMES (MSS 949)
Letters to David Moses, 1971-1983; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consists of twenty-six letters from James Baldwin to David Moses from 1971-1983. They met at a party when Moses was twenty-one. From then on, Baldwin served as friend, mentor, and confidante to Moses. The letters from Baldwin to Moses span more than a decade and address personal and professional matters, including Baldwin’s current writing projects, as well as his health. The letters also offer insight into the creative, financial, and political challenges of writing and publishing.
CAMILLE BILLOPS AND JAMES V. HATCH (MSS 927)
Archives at Emory University, 1879-2002; 19.5 linear ft. (39 boxes)
The Billops/Hatch Collection in New York began in 1968 while Camille Billops (b. 1933), filmmaker and artist, and James V. Hatch (b. 1928), theatre historian, were teaching art and literature at the City College of New York. Realizing that very little had been published about black American art, drama, and literature, they began collecting primary materials for their students.
The Camille Billops and James V. Hatch Archives at Emory includes play scripts by Amiri Baraka, Zora Neale Hurston, Willis N. Richardson, August Wilson, and hundreds of others. It also contains material on Langston Hughes, including a number of adaptations and translations; a small amount of correspondence; and printed materials.
BLACK PRINT CULTURE (MSS 921)
Collection, 1854-1997; 5.5 linear ft. (15 boxes, 37 oversized papers)
The Black Print Culture Collection includes printed matter pertaining to religion and music; items published by the black press; publications relating to fraternities and sororities; to organizations, education, business and professional matters; to arts and entertainment; and, broadsides, posters, and ephemera. The largest part of the collection relates to churches between 1889 and 1989, including souvenir programs, church and funeral service programs, and conference programs.
BRAMBLETT, AGNES COCHRAN (MSS 506)
Papers, 1896-1979; 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes, 1 oversized bound volume)
Agnes Cochran Bramblett (1886-1979), poet and novelist, was born in Bibb County, Georgia. She was the fifth Poet Laureate of Georgia and the first woman to hold the title. Her first poem was published when she was only seven years old. Her narrative book-length poem about the Nazi occupation of Norway, The Wolves of Trollness, received the prize for “best published book of poetry” by the National League of American Pen Women in 1944-1946. The collection contains typescripts and holographs of short stories and poems, as well as memorabilia and clippings.
BRASELTON, ALBERT B. (MSS 871)
Papers, n.d.; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The collection includes letters, photographs, and manuscripts collected by Albert B. Braselton relating to James Dickey. Included in the collection are drafts of the unpublished memoirs “The Ghost Canoe” and “The Wounded Lion at Litchfield.”
BROADSIDE PRESS (MSS 907)
Collection; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Broadside Press was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1965 by Dudley Randall (1914-2000), librarian at the University of Detroit. Between 1965 and 1983, Randall published 93 individual poems printed on one side only of single sheets of paper. Emory owns a large collection from this Broadside Series, along with a selection of marketing and public relation materials concerning Broadside Press.
BRODSKY, JOSEPH (MSS 901)
Collection, 1989; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Exiled by the Soviet government in 1964, Brodsky came to the United States in 1972 and became a naturalized citizen in 1977. The winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1987 and named the Poet Laureate for the United States in 1991, Brodsky wrote nine volumes of poetry. The collection includes a photocopied typescript of an untitled commencement address given by Brodsky at Dartmouth College on June 11, 1989, as well as two items by the poet Mark Strand sent to Brodsky.
BROWN, ASHELY (MSS 1069)
Collection, 1955-1997; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Samuel Ashley Brown (1932-), professor of English and comparative literature, received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1958 and spent the majority of his career at the University of South Carolina.
The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, and printed material collected by Ashley Brown from 1955-1997. The correspondence is addressed to Ashley Brown from correspondents Stephen Spender, James Merrill, Anthony Hecht, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Fitzgerald, and Sally Fitzgerald. Correspondents sometimes also sent clippings, manuscripts of poems and other writings, and photographs. The Flannery O’Connor / Susan Jenkins Brown correspondence was collected by Brown rather than addressed to him. Ashley Brown wrote an article in 1986 in The Southern Review concerning this set of correspondence. The collection also contains drafts of this article.
BURNS, OLIVE ANN (MSS 790)
Papers, 1981-1988; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Olive Ann Burns (1924-1990), born in Banks County, Georgia, was the author of the popular novel Cold Sassy Tree (1984) and the unfinished sequel Leaving Cold Sassy, published posthumously. She served as a staff writer for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine from 1947 until 1957 and wrote an advice column for the Atlanta Journal in the 1960s under the name “Amy Larkin.” Diagnosed with cancer in 1975, she died on July 4, 1990. The papers contain her correspondence from 1981-1988 to Anne Edwards and Steve Citron discussing the writing and subsequent filming of Cold Sassy Tree, her travels, and her fight with cancer.
CARR, SHARON (MSS 692)
Papers, 1981-1991; 3.5 linear ft. (9 boxes, 2 oversized papers)
Sharon Michelle Carr (1967-1990) was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1984. In 1985 she enrolled in Emory University as an undergraduate but had to withdraw in 1987 when her condition worsened. With the help of Dr. Floyd C. Watkins, Charles Candler Professor of American Literature at Emory, Sharon Carr’s poetry was published posthumously in 1991 under the title, Yet Life Was a Triumph: Poems and Meditations. The collection consists of poems by Carr, including photocopies, word processor copies, and handwritten copies; letters, notebooks, and journals; correspondence and other written materials from Carr’s professors at Emory.
CARR, VIRGINIA SPENCER (MSS 1067)
Collection; 1 linear ft. (1 box)
Virginia Spencer Carr (1929- ), English professor and author of biographies of Carson McCullers (1975) and Dos Passos (1984). Her other books include Understanding Carson McCullers and Katherine Anne Porter’s ‘Flowering Judas’; Women Writers Texts and Contexts, and Paul Bowles: A Life. The collection consists of papers of Virginia Spencer Carr, including correspondence from James Dickey and Cleanth Brooks to Carr and Mary Robbins, photographs, printed material, audio recordings, and subject files concerning the Emory University Creative Writing Institute.
CASSITY, TURNER (MSS 642)
Papers, 1948-1991; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes, 2 oversized papers)
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, poet Turner Cassity (1929- ) was a librarian at Emory University for many years. In 1966 he received the Blumenthal Leviton Blander prize for poetry. The collection consists of typescripts of his poems, an unpublished autobiography, lectures, presentations, reviews, correspondence and photographs, as well a collection of poetry by other writers.
CHISHOLM FAMILY (MSS 808)
Papers, 1846-1994; 15 linear ft. (30 boxes, 14 oversized papers)
The Chisholm family papers document their involvement with a variety of African American civic organizations including the Jubilee Singers, the George Washington Carver Foundation, and the United Negro College Fund. Within the correspondence of Helen Emily Chisholm are letters from literary figures of the early twentieth century including Ann Petry, J. Saunders Redding, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Langston Hughes.
CLARK, WILLIAM BEDFORD (MSS 670)
Robert Penn Warren collection, 1979-1986; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
William Bedford Clark (1947- ) is an educator and author. He edited Critical Essays on Robert Penn Warren (1981) and authored The American Vision of Robert Penn Warren (1991). The collection consists of correspondence between Clark and Robert Penn Warren, as well as that between Clark and Floyd C. Watkins. The collection also includes typescript photocopies of two manuscript versions of The American Vision of Robert Penn Warren, including a draft with comments by Floyd C. Watkins.
Note: Manuscripts are held in photocopy only.
CONROY, PAT (MSS 791)
Collection, 1987-1990; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, writer Pat Conroy (1945- )has written a number of novels, most of which have been turned into films. The collection contains manuscript pages and three typescript drafts of a screenplay for the forthcoming film entitled “Above the Fold” written with former newspaperman Wendall Rawls. The film depicts the brief reign of newspaper editor Bill Kovach at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
CORN, CHARLES (MSS 1031)
Papers; 23 linear ft. (23 boxes)
Charles Corn (1936-2001), author and editor, taught English at George Washington University and American University from 1964-1969 before becoming an executive with publishing companies in New York and Boston. He served as editor-in-chief at E.P. Dutton from 1969-1982. In subsequent years he wrote two books, Distant Islands (1991) and The Scents of Eden: a Narrative of the Spice Trade (1998). The collection contains the personal and professional papers of Corn, including correspondence, manuscripts of writings, and printed material.
CRAWFORD, MATT N. AND EVELYN GRAVES (MSS 882)
Papers, n.d.; 9.75 linear ft. (20 boxes, 8 oversized papers)
The personal papers and library of Matt N. Crawford and his wife, Evelyn Graves Crawford, include correspondence, political files, periodicals, pamphlets, and broadsides that the Crawfords collected. In addition to documents regarding civil rights and communism, the collection contains several letters and typescript carbons of poems by Langston Hughes as well as correspondence with Dorothy West.
DANIEL, FRANK (MSS 445)
Papers, 1914-1973; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes, 4 oversized papers)
Frank Daniel (1900-1981) was a journalist with the Atlanta Journal. He began his career in 1925, eventually serving as a book critic and editorial page columnist. The collection contains correspondence between Daniel and various southern writers including Lillian Smith and Minnie Hite Moody. The collection also contains photographs, clippings, articles by Daniel, and manuscripts.
DEWBERRY, ELIZABETH (MSS 666)
Papers, 1988-1989; 1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, this novelist and educator was an associate professor of English at Emory University. This collection contains Elizabeth Dewberry's manuscript for her novel In the Dark. Typescript drafts with revisions of the novel to be published by Doubleday in February of 1990 are also included, as well as correspondence between Dewberry and her agent and editor, editing notes, and floppy disks of word processing files documenting development and revision of the work in progress. The novel was eventually published as Many Things Have Happened since He Died and Here Are the Highlights by Doubleday in 1990.
DICKEY, JAMES (MSS 745)
Papers, 1942-1994; 189.5 linear ft. (411 boxes, 162 oversized papers, 21 bound volumes, 1 oversized bound volume)
James Lafayette Dickey (1923-1996) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He served with the Army Air Corps during the World War II and was also a copy writer in advertising before becoming the Carolina Professor of English at the University of South Carolina in 1969, a position he held until his death. Dickey published his first collection of poetry in 1960 entitled Into the Stone, and in 1966 his fourth collection, Buckdancer’s Choice, received the National Book Award in poetry. He published a number of other poetry collections as well as three novels, including the highly successful Deliverance, which was made into a movie. This substantial collection features an extensive correspondence series between Dickey and many other well-known authors, as well as literary manuscripts, notebooks, military records, teaching materials, subject files, sound recordings, photographs, and printed material.
DIXON, THOMAS (MSS 23)
Papers, 1901-1905; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Thomas Dixon (1864-1946) was born in Shelby, North Carolina. During his lifetime he was an attorney, legislator, clergyman, author, and motion picture producer. Between 1902 and 1940 he published twenty-two novels but is most remembered for The Clansmen (1905), the novel that became the controversial film classic Birth of a Nation (1915). In 1915 he opened his own movie studio, eventually producing his novel, The One Woman. Dixon’s correspondence with his publisher and his wife primarily comprises the collection but also included is a letter to Walter Hines Page mentioning his work on the plot development for The Clansmen. Additionally, the papers contain photographs and a typescript of The One Woman.
DREISER, THEODORE (MSS 753)
Collection, 1921-1991; 4 linear ft. (8 boxes, 4 oversized papers, 1 oversized bound volume)
This collection concerning the American writer Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), author of such naturalist novels as Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy, consists mainly of materials collected by Dreiser’s niece—Vera Dreiser—for the book she published on her uncle entitled My Uncle Theodore (1976). The collection includes photographs of the Dreiser family, correspondence primarily between Vera Dreiser and others, sheet music written by Dreiser’s brother, manuscripts, and artifacts including Theodore Dreiser’s death mask.
DUNCAN, HARRY (MSS 936)
Papers; 12 linear ft. (12 boxes)
The collection contains the personal papers of Harry Duncan consisting of correspondence and files relating to the work of the Cummington Press, including typescripts and manuscripts by various authors. There are also receipt books, datebooks, and a card file of addresses.
ENGLISH, THOMAS H. (MSS 275)
Papers, 1905-1990; 17.5 linear ft. (34 boxes, 2 bound volumes, 6 oversized bound volumes, 3 oversized papers, 1 videocassette)
A graduate of Princeton University, Thomas Hopkins English (1895-1992) was a member of Emory University’s English department from 1925 to 1964. He published a number of articles on poetry and literature, including Memory Verse: Thirty-Five Years of Occasional Verse (1953). Materials in the collection consist of correspondence, poetry, photographs, scrapbooks, and manuscripts primarily relating to English’s teaching, his participation in the Southern Humanities conference, and his work on Southern poets.
EVERY SATURDAY CLUB (ATLANTA, GA) (MSS 198)
Records,, 1894-1983; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
The Every Saturday Club was one of the first study clubs founded in Atlanta. Organized in 1894 by Mrs. William T. Newman, Mrs. Isaac Boyd, and a group of other Atlanta women, its project was the “promotion of friendship, of wider culture, and earnest study,” as described in its by-laws. The Club often invited guest speakers, some of whom were authors, to lecture on literary topics. The collection consists of a series of programs from 1895 through to 1981 and the club’s constitution of by-laws.
FABRE, MICHEL (MSS 932)
Archives of African American Arts and Letters; 17 linear ft. (40 boxes, 12 oversized papers)
Michel and Genevieve Fabre founded the Center for Afro-American Studies at the University of Paris and have been leading scholars of African American culture in France. The archive comprises correspondence, writings, and printed material relating to expatriate writers, artists, musicians and cultural figures including Margaret Burroughs, Horace Cayton, William Demby, Ralph Ellison, Chester Himes, Ted Jones, Margaret Walker, Richard Wright, and Frank Yerby.
FISHER, RUDOLPH (MSS 1008)
Collection, 1925-1926; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Rudolph Fisher (1897-1934), a physician, novelist, dramatist, musician, and orator, was born in Washington, D.C. The collection consists of material relating to the publication of Rudolph Fisher’s short story, “The Shadow of White.” In addition to an undated typescript of “The Shadow of White,” the papers include correspondence between Rudolph Fisher and Paul Kellogg, the editor of Survey Graphic, which was a monthly illustrated periodical associated with Survey, the premiere journal of social work in America in the 1920s. Paul Kellogg had been particularly interested in publishing the work of writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance, printing an issue edited by Alain Locke in 1925. Although the correspondence indicates Kellogg’s desire to print Fisher’s manuscript, the story was never published.
GARDNER, EMMA BRESCIA (MSS 852)
Papers, 1927-1951; 4.5 linear ft. (9 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
The collection consists of papers collected by the first wife of novelist and poet Robert Penn Warren, Emma “Cinina” Brescia Gardner. The letters include a substantial number from her father, the composer Domenico Brescia. Most significantly, the collection documents the early career and married life of Warren and Cinina, including letters between the couple before and during their marriage and letters about the project that would result in the publication of I’ll Take My Stand (1930). Among the correspondence comprising the papers related to Warren are letters from literary associates (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Allen Tate, Ford Maddox Ford, John Crowe Ransom, Katherine Anne Porter, John Gould Fletcher, and others) and family members (letters between Warren and his parents and letters to Cinina). In addition to the papers, the collection holds approximately 20 of Warren’s books owned in his early career. Among the books is a copy of T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland Warren owned during his student days at Vanderbilt University, as well as copies of Wallace Stevens’ Ideas of Order, and several books by Allen Tate. Please see the description of collections at the end of this guide for more information.
GHODES, CLARENCE LOUIS FRANK (MSS 155)
Papers, 1889-1952 (bulk 1935-1952); .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Clarence Ghodes (1901- ) was the managing editor of American Literature, a Duke University journal, from 1932-1954. The collection includes correspondence relating to his relationship with American and British literary figures as well as single letters from a variety of authors including T. S. Eliot, Sherwood Anderson, Robert Frost, and Thomas Mann.
GIOIA, DANA (MSS 1085)
Collection, 1991-1992; .25 linear feet (1 box)
The collection contains materials relating to the publication of Un Resevoir à Paysages, an exhibition catalogue of watercolors by Italian artist Fulvio Testa, for which Dana Gioia wrote an introductory essay. Material includes correspondence from Gioia to Testa, color proofs of the watercolor plates, manuscript and typescript drafts of Gioia's essay, and a copy of the final exhibition catalogue.
GULLANS, CHARLES B. (MSS 1049)
Papers, 1955-1993; 3 linear ft. (3 boxes)
The collection contains the personal and professional papers Charles B. Gullans (1929-1993), poet and professor of English and creative writing at UCLA. The papers include course syllabi and teaching files, correspondence, notes, printed material, and drafts of poetry and other writings.
HANSON, KENNETH O. (MSS 945)
Collection, 1945-1979; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Kenneth O. Hanson, American poet, was born in Shelley, Idaho in 1922 and attended the University of Idaho, (B.A., 1942) and the University of Washington (1946-1954). He began teaching at Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1954 where he is currently professor of literature and the humanities. The collection consists of letters written to Kenneth O. Hanson by a variety of American poets or publishers from 1945-1979. Correspondents include A.R. Ammons, James Dickey, Anthony Hecht, Richard Howard, James Merrill, Marianne Moore, Alan Tate, and William Carlos Williams. The letters discuss literary works, both Hanson’s and others; and the publishing of Hanson’s works.
HARRIS, CORRA (MSS 199)
Collection, 1899-1968; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Corra Mae Harris (1869-1935), author and journalist, was born in Elbert County, Georgia. Her novel A Circuit Rider’s Wife (1909) is partially based on her experience as the wife of a Methodist clergyman and circuit rider. After her husband died, Harris published numerous articles, editorials, book reviews, and newspaper columns as well as serialized stories in many periodicals. The collection consists of correspondence, literary manuscripts, photographs, and clippings related to Harris.
HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER (MSS 5)
Papers, 1858-1978 (bulk 1880-1908); 12.5 linear ft. (41 boxes, 18 oversized papers, 1 bound volume, 25 reels microfilm)
Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908), author and journalist, is best known for his Uncle Remus stories. A longtime writer and editor for the Atlanta Constitution and friend and critic to many literary figures from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Harris published 23 collections of Uncle Remus stories as well as novels and a history textbook. This extensive collection covers Harris’ careers and personal life. Among the manuscripts are drafts and publishers’ page proofs for most of Harris’ books as well as drafts of many of his short stories and editorials. The correspondence includes both professional and personal letters with publishers, family, and fellow writers, including letters from Samuel Langhorne Clemens, George Washington Cable, and James Whitcomb Riley. The collection also contains photographs, illustrations, printed material, and memorabilia.
Restrictions: Reproduction of drawings by Barry Moser is prohibited without the permission of the artist.
HARRIS, JULIAN LaROSE (MSS 6)
Papers, 1890-1968; 22.25 linear ft. (44 boxes, 4 oversized papers, 26 bound volumes, 71 reels microfilm)
Julian La Rose Harris (1874-1963), journalist and editor, was the son of Joel Chandler Harris. In 1897 he married Julia Florida Collier, an artist and writer. Together as writers for the Columbus Georgia paper the Enquirer-Sun, they were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1926 for their fight against the Ku Klux Klan. Julian Harris was also editor of the Uncle Remus Home Magazine, as well as writer for the Atlanta Constitution and Chattanooga Times. Julia Harris wrote English translations of French literature and two books on her father-in-law. The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, articles, editorials, stories and plays, and photographs.
HARTSOCK, ERNEST ABNER (MSS 30)
Papers, 1921-1931; 3 linear ft. (6 boxes, 1 bound volume, 1 oversized paper, 1 oversized bound volume)
Ernest Abner Hartsock (1903-1930), poet, educator, editor, artist, and musician, was born in Atlanta in 1903 and died there in 1930. Foremost a poet, Hartsock published three volumes of poetry before his death. He received the Poetry Society of America award for excellence for his poem “Strange Splendor” in 1929. He was also a member and officer of several poetry organizations, a professor of poetics at Oglethorpe University (1929-1930), and the owner and editor of The Bozart Press. Some of Hartsock’s writing was published under the pseudonym, D. Hinn. The collection consists of correspondence (mostly professional), manuscripts of poems, business records, drawings, photographs, and printed material.
HAYNE, PAUL HAMILTON (MSS 139)
Notes, [1881]; 1 bound volume
Paul Hamilton Hayne (1830-1886), poet, editor, and contributor to many Southern literary periodicals, was born 1 January 1830 in Charleston, South Carolina, and died in Grovetown, Georgia in 1886. The bound volume contains notes for poetry written on the flyleaves at the end of a copy of the book Anthropology by Edward B. Taylor (New York, 1881).
HECHT, ANTHONY (MSS 926)
Papers; 89 linear ft. (180 boxes, 16 oversized papers, 7 bound volumes, 4 oversized bound volumes)
The papers of American poet Anthony Hecht (1923-2004) include correspondence; drafts; original typescripts, with manuscript corrections and emendations; printed proof copies with corrections and emendations; photographs; documents; diaries; and related printed ephemera. The papers document Hecht’s literary career from his teenage years through 2002.
Restrictions: Letters from Seamus Heaney are closed without the written permission of Seamus Heaney. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
HEWITT, JOHN HILL (MSS 31)
Papers, n.d.; 4.5 linear ft. (9 boxes, 3 oversized papers, 15 bound volumes, 2 oversized bound volumes, 4 reels microfilm)
John Hill Hewitt (1801-1890), poet, author, publisher, playwright, theater manager, composer and entrepreneur, was born in New York City in 1801 but spent most of his adult life in the South, particularly Baltimore. Described as having a “varied and nomadic” career, Hewitt was a prolific producer of popular entertainment. The collection consists of manuscripts of Hewitt’s prose and poetry (he produced three works of fiction), correspondence, plays, melodramas, operetta librettos, music, autobiography and biography, notebooks and scrapbooks.
HOOD, MARY (MSS 736)
Papers, 1947-1992; 12 linear ft. (18 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
A native of North Georgia, Mary Hood (1947- ) is a writer of both short stories and novels, including the critically acclaimed How Far She Went in 1984. The collection contains personal and literary papers, manuscripts and typescripts of Hood’s writing, correspondence (ca. 1947-1992) including letters with Eric Ashworth and Raymond Andrews, photographs, reviews, and clippings.
HUGHES, LANGSTON (MSS 1089)
Collection, 1932-1967; .5 linear ft (1 box)
The collection, which forms part of The Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, consists of printed material relating to Langston Hughes from 1932-1967. One portion of the collection includes advertising cards, broadsheets, and programs relating to musical or theatrical productions of Hughes' work from 1935-1966. Many of these programs are undated. The other portion of the collection consists of advertising cards, broadsheets, and programs that feature appearances by Hughes, in the form of lectures, readings, or as an honored guest, from 1932-1967. The collection also includes one newspaper clipping about Hughes.
JOHNSON, JAMES WELDON (MSS 797)
Collection, ca. 1886-1980 (bulk 1916-1930); 3 linear ft. (6 boxes, 6 bound volumes, 4 oversized papers)
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), born in Jacksonville, Florida, was an educator, journalist, diplomat, lyricist, poet, and human rights activist. In addition to his involvement in the literary movement of the Harlem Renaissance and publishing novels such as The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912) and poetry such as God’s Trombones (1927), Johnson served as an American consul in South and Central America during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and served in the administration of the NAACP. The collection, focusing principally on the years 1916-1930, contains correspondence, literary manuscripts (by Johnson and others), printed materials, audio-visual materials, sheet music, legal and financial records, photographs, and ephemera. Additionally, there are typed drafts of poems and sketches as well as three recordings of God’s Trombones.
JONES, MADISON (MSS 684)
Papers, 1950-1989; 6.5 linear ft. (15 boxes)
Madison Percy Jones, Jr., was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1925. He taught English and Creative writing at the Universities of Miami, Tennessee at Knoxville, and Auburn. He has also published eight novels and several short stories and articles. The collection consists of manuscripts, first drafts, notebooks, and correspondence.
Restrictions: No reproduction of any unpublished manuscript is allowed without the written permission of the author.
KILLENS, JOHN OLIVER (MSS 957)
Papers, 1937-1987; 54 linear ft. (86 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
John Oliver Killens (1916-1987) was an African American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, political activist, and teacher. After years of struggling, Killens saw his first novel, Youngblood, published in 1954 to critical acclaim. In 1964 his World War II novel, And Then We Heard the Thunder, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
After the success of Youngblood, Killens received assignments from Harry Belafonte, the popular singer and actor, to write outlines for screenplays as well as story ideas and screen treatments. Like Belafonte, Killens was active in the civil rights movement, serving in various capacities in the New York State NAACP and as Chairman of the NAACP’s National Cultural Committee. He also supported the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as well as helping Malcolm X set up the Organization for Afro-American Unity.
The John Oliver Killens papers document Killens’ personal, intellectual, professional, and political life. The collection includes correspondence, writings by Killens, writing by others, and printed material. The writings of Killens includes critical writings; forewords and prefaces; essays; speeches; novellas and novels; plays; screenplays; scripts; and story ideas.
LANE, MARY (MSS 607)
Collection, 1954 –1980; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Mary Lane was an English teacher in Waycross, Georgia. Deeply moved by her reading of The Diary of Anne Frank, she began a correspondence with Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, and his second wife Fritzi. The collection contains letters dealing with the book and its theatrical dramatization, photographs, copies of The Diary, and a copy of another book by Anne Frank, Tales from the House Behind: Fables, Personal Reminiscences, and Short Stories.
LEE, HARRY JAMES (MSS 32)
Papers, 1938; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
An educator and author, Harry Lee (1914-1985) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution (1943) and the author of a novel, Fox in the Cloak (1938), as well as co-author of All That Heaven Allows (1952), which was made into a movie. The collection consists of a typescript copy of Fox in the Cloak.
LONGSTREET, AUGUSTUS BALDWIN (MSS 209)
Papers, 1844-1860; .25 linear ft. (1 box, 1 oversized paper, 1 reel microfilm)
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet (1790-1870) was a lawyer, college president (including Emory College), and author. His sketches of late eighteenth-century Georgia life appeared in newspapers and were also published as a book entitled Georgia Scenes. The collection consists of a notebook, photograph, a grave rubbing, andcorrespondence.
Note: Portions held only in photostatic copy or photocopy; notebook also available on microfilm; reproduction is restricted.
MacDOUGALD, DUNCAN, JR. (MSS 519)
Papers, 1936‑1965; 3 linear ft. (6 boxes)
Duncan MacDougald, Jr. (1913-1969), was a freelance writer born in Atlanta, Georgia. The collection includes materials concerning African-American jazz musicians, manuscript drafts, notes, articles, and a radioscript of “Nights with Uncle Remus” (1945).
MALONE, KEMP (MSS 541)
Papers, 1910-1970; 7.5 linear ft. (13 boxes)
Kemp Malone (1889-1971) was a graduate of Emory College (1907) before becoming a professor at Johns Hopkins University (1924-1956.) A medievalist and world authority on Chaucer, he was also an etymologist and author of over 500 works. At the time of his death, he was working on a “History of the English Language.” The collection includes notes, an etymology ledger, bibliography cards, articles, biographical information, correspondence, poetry and other writing.
Restrictions: Restrictions may apply on reproduction.
Note: Library of Kemp Malone books housed in Kemp Malone Library in the Department of English at Emory University.
McCULLERS, CARSON(MSS 668)
Collection, n.d.; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Carson McCullers (1917-1967) was born in Columbus, Georgia. In 1940 she published her first novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. She went on to produce short stories and stage plays and was a frequent participant in the Yaddo artist colony in New York. The collection consists of correspondence between McCullers and David Diamond, a composer and close friend.
McGILL, RALPH (MSS 252)
Papers, 1853-1971; 66.5 linear ft. (126 boxes, 75 oversized bound volumes, 32 oversized papers, 30 framed items, 7 reels microfilm, 11 videotapes)
Ralph Waldo Emerson McGill (1898-1969), journalist, editor, and publisher, was born in Igou’s Ferry, Tennessee, and died in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to his long career with the Atlanta Constitution, where he served as executive editor (1938-1941), editor-in-chief (1941-1960), and publisher (1960-1969), he also wrote for the Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize (1958). The collection consists of extensive correspondence, some between McGill and literary figures such as Ernest Hemingway, as well as records, writings, photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia.
MENCKEN, H.L. (MSS 255)
Correspondence, 1926-1937; 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956), journalist, editor and critic, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1899 he became the youngest reporter on the staff of the Baltimore Morning Herald eventually becoming its editor-in-chief before its publication was suspended. He is best known for his intellectual, literary, and social criticism conducted in the literary magazine Smart Set (1914-1923), in his published books such as Ventures into Verse (1903) and The American Language (1919), as well as his various newspaper columns. Mencken also published short stories and poetry. Late in life he wrote a three-volume autobiography. The collection consists of Mencken’s correspondence with Gretchen Hood, a music teacher, opera singer, and prominent social figure from Washington D.C.
MERRILL, JAMES INGRAM (MSS 1001)
Collection, 1923-2000; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The collection consists of correspondence, a few drafts of poems, photographs, and audiovisual material related to James Merrill (1926-1995) from 1923-2000. The majority of the papers belonged to Hellen Plummer who was Merrill’s mother and Charles Crawford, a family friend.
MILLER, CAROLINE PAFFORD (MSS 728)
Collection, 1903-1992; 7 linear ft. (12 boxes, 2 oversized paper)
Novelist and short story writer Caroline Pafford Miller (1903-1992) was the first person from Georgia to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction with Lamb in His Bosom, her first novel, in 1934. Her second novel, Lebanon, was published in 1944. The collection includes clippings, typescripts concerning the publication of her first novel, unidentified manuscripts as well as manuscripts of novels, short stories, verse, essays, a master’s thesis on Miller, as well as photographs and correspondence.
Restrictions: Reproduction of Denver William Sherry thesis is subject to restrictions.
MILLER, KELLY (MSS 1050)
Paper, ca. 1897-1939; 19.75 linear ft. (40 boxes, 3 oversized papers, 15 bound volumes0
The collection consists of the papers of African American educator and writer Kelly Miller (1863-1939) and includes correspondence, typed drafts and final manuscripts of Miller's articles and other writings, printed copies of his pamphlets, numerous editorials and articles, several scrapbooks, photographs and a few pieces of ephemera.
MILLER, MAY (MSS 1080)
Papers, 20 linear ft. (21 boxes)
Poet May Miller (1899-1995) was a poet and writer who had a literary salon in Washington, DC. Her papers include correspondence, writings, photographs, and printed material. She was the daughter of Kelly Miller, whose papers MARBL also holds.
MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS: LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS (MSS 358E)
ca. 1790-1979; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
This is an artificial collection of literary items such as letters, photographs that do not constitute a single collection. For example, the collection holds letters from and by William Faulkner, a letter by Edwin Arnold found in a book he donated and concerned with eastern music, and a critical debate about a biography of Charlotte Brontë conducted in The Yorkshire Post, an English newspaper.
MITCHELL, MARGARET (MSS 265)
Collection, 1936-1990; 3.75 linear ft. (9 boxes, 6 oversized papers)
Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), an Atlanta native, worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal and its Sunday Magazine before writing the book for which she is famous, Gone with the Wind. Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for the book in 1937, and it was made into a film in 1939. The collection consists of correspondence with friends, authors, and journalists, photographs including pictures of film production, clippings and magazine articles about Mitchell, memorabilia, a copy of the film “Peggy of Peachtree,” and sound recordings of interviews with Stephens Mitchell and Olivia de Havilland.
Restrictions: Requests to publish original Mitchell material should be directed to GWTW Literary Rights.
Notes: The collection of foreign language editions of Gone with the Wind is housed separately in the library. The Margaret Mitchell family papers, 1852-1975 are located at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia.
MOODY, MINNY HITE (MSS 481)
Papers, 1914-1970; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Minnie Hite Moody (1900-1993) was a journalist and author who spent most of her working life in Atlanta. She was a columnist with the Atlanta Journal (1938-1943) and was the author of several novels, including Long Meadows published in 1941, and many short stories and poems which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Georgia Review, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and other magazines and newspapers. The collection consists of correspondence, writings, printed material, photographs, and memorabilia.
MURFREE, MARY NOAILLES (MSS 90)
Papers, 1877-1928; 1 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Mary Noailles Murfree (1850-1922) was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Under the pseudonym of Charles Egbert Craddock, she published short stories in the Atlantic Monthly and other magazines. In addition to a collection of short stories, In the Mountains, she published nine novels including Where the Battle Was Fought and Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains. The collection consists of correspondence with her publisher as well as a number of other writers like Sarah Orne Jewett and William Dean Howells, manuscripts—including that for Alleghany Winds and Waters, clippings, and photographs.
NEFF, LAWRENCE W. (MSS 495)
Papers, 1897-1970, 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Although born in Seymore Texas, Lawrence Neff (1880-1970) was a longtime resident of Atlanta where he owned a publishing company—the Banner Press—from 1919 until his retirement in 1960 and wrote both fiction and nonfiction. The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks containing loose original and printed poems, a typed index to one of Neff’s books (The Goal), and a list of the books he wrote.
NEWMAN, FRANCES (MSS 654)
Papers, 1924-1954; 3 linear ft. (5 boxes)
Frances Newman (1883-1928), author and librarian, was born in Atlanta, Georgia and died in New York City. She was a librarian for the Carnegie Library of Atlanta (1913-1923) and for the Georgia Institute of Technology (1924-1926). In addition to writing criticism and literary reviews and publishing translations of French literature, she wrote fiction including the satiric novels The Hard-Boiled Virgin (1926) and Dead Lovers are Faithful Lovers (1928). The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, biographies, articles, a diary and a notebook, books, photocopies, and a typescript of a work attributed to Gertrude Stein.
Restrictions: Unpublished novel, The Gold-Fish Bowl may not be reproduced in full or in any major portion.
NORTHEND, WILLIAM DUMMER (MSS 338)
Papers, 1755-1905; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes, 9 oversized papers)
William Dummer Northend (1823-1902), lawyer and politician, was born in Byfield Massachusetts, and died in Salem, Massachusetts. Northend practiced law in Salem and was a member of the Massachusetts Senate. He corresponded extensively with well-known literary figures such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The collection consists of correspondence, scrapbooks, broadsides, and business documents.
O’CONNOR, FLANNERY (MSS 59)
Papers, ca. 1937-1968; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 2 oversized papers)
Born in Savannah, Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) moved to Milledgeville, Georgia, after the death of her father in 1941. She published her first short story, “Geranium,” in the literary magazine Accent in 1946. She went on to publish two novels, Wise Blood in 1952 and The Violent Bear it Away in 1960 and continued to produce short stories, most notably the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1955). She received numerous awards during her relatively short career, including grants from the Ford Foundation and the National Academy of Arts and Letters. This is an artificially constructed collection consisting primarily of letters, manuscripts, and clippings. The correspondence discusses her writing, health, and religious faith.
O'CONNOR, FLANNERY (MSS 1064)
Letters to Betty Hester, 1955-1964; 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
The collection includes a significant cache of letters from Flannery O'Connor to Betty Hester which spans nine years, from 1955 to 1964, and offers insight into O'Connor's approach to her faith and to her writing. There are approximately 250 letters and the majority of them are written from Milledgeville at a rate of 2-3 times a month. Reflecting the intellectual nature of their exchanges, the letters contain references to writers, philosophers, and psychologists, including Thomas Aquinas, Sigmund Freud, Caroline Gordon, Graham Greene, Baron Friedrich von Hugel, Henry James, Robert Lowell, Francois Mauriac, Katherine Anne Porter, Bryon Reece, and Simone Weil.
ODUM, HOWARD WASHINGTON (MSS 91)
Papers, 1929-1936; 2 linear ft. (8 boxes, 2 oversized boxes)
Howard Washington Odum (1884-1954) was a sociologist and author. He was born in Bethlehem, Georgia, and died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from Emory College and went on to become a Professor of Sociology, most notably at the University of North Carolina. He wrote extensively on African American folk music and literature, race relations, and rural studies. He also wrote three novels. Two of the novels are in manuscript form in the collection, Wings on My Feet in Black Ulysses at the Wars (1929) and Cold Blue Moon, Black Ulysses Afar Off (1931). The collection also holds manuscripts of Odum’s published academic books.
OGBURN, CHARLTON (MSS 543)
Papers, 1937-1989; 30.25 linear ft. (65 boxes)
Charlton Ogburn was born March 15, 1911, in Atlanta, Georgia. After a varied career in the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Ogburn devoted his time to writing and focusing on wildlife and the true identity of the author of plays attributed to William Shakespeare. The collection consists of clippings, manuscripts, galley proofs, correspondence, and a videocassette. The majority of the collection focuses on Ogburn’s writing career rather than his diplomatic career.
Restrictions: Researchers are not permitted access to Series 5—family correspondence. Reproductions of Series 5 are not allowed.
PATTERSON, LOUISE THOMPSON (MSS 869)
Papers, 1917-1999; 17.5 linear ft. (33 boxes, 1 bound volume, 3 oversized papers)
Louise Patterson (1901-1999), an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, campaigned for civil rights, racial and gender equality, economic justice, and international human rights. Among her extensive papers is correspondence with Langston Hughes, documentation of the Harlem Suitcase Theatre co-founded with Hughes, as well as correspondence concerning the film on the Negro in American life believed to have been made in the Soviet Union in 1932. Photographs and many books from her library are also present.
PERKERSON, MEDORA FIELD (MSS 458)
Papers, 1905-1966 (bulk 1920-1960); 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes, 9 oversized papers, 7 oversized bound volumes)
Medora Field Perkerson (1892-1960), a Georgia native, was an author, journalist, and editor. She worked as a free-lance writer for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution magazine as well as other Georgia newspapers. She also wrote two mysteries—Who Killed Aunt Maggie (1939) and Blood on Her Shoe (1942)—which were eventually made into motion pictures, and a non-fiction book on Georgia history. The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, clippings, scrapbooks, a manuscript, a thesis and a screenplay. Some of the scrapbooks document Perkerson’s friendship with Margaret Mitchell.
PHILLIPS, J. J. (MSS 970)
Papers; 8 linear ft. (8 boxes)
J.J. (Jane) Phillips (1944- ) was an African American author, whose first novel was Mojo Hand. The papers include correspondence with family, friends, and editors; drafts of Mojo Hand and other published poems and writings; various printed material from the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute; and a recording of J.J. Phillips as a child.
POLLARD, MARIE ANTOINETTE NATHALIE GRANIER DOWELL (MSS 222)
Papers, 1865-1896; .13 linear ft. (1 folder)
Marie Antoinette Nathalie Granier Dowell was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840. She was a poet, reader, and lecturer. Most of her public life was conducted after the death of her second husband in 1872. Her lectures tended to be either social satire of Washington, D.C., or on temperance. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, broadsides, clippings, and other materials related to Pollard’s lectures.
POWELL, ARTHUR G. (MSS 530)
Papers, 1920-1950; 1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Arthur Gray Powell (1873-1951), author, lawyer, and judge, was born in Blakely, Georgia, and died in Atlanta. He wrote an autobiography, I Can Go Home Again, that describes his life in Blakely, which forms the center of this collection. Most of the correspondence deals directly with the writing of the autobiography and provides insight into his relationships with contemporary authors, particularly Margaret Mitchell and Wallace Stevens. The collection also includes stories, manuscripts, photographs, clippings, and articles.
RAINEY, GLENN W. (Glenn Weddington) (MSS 471)
Papers, 1917-1974; 10 linear ft. (20 boxes, 1 oversized paper, 9 bound volumes)
Glenn Rainey (1907-1989), born in Atlanta, Georgia, was a graduate of Emory University and then a professor of English at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1932 to 1974. Active in the civil rights movements beginning in the 1940s, Rainey’s papers contain correspondence with such southern writers and historians as Lillian Smith, C. Vann Woodward, and Ernest Hartshock.
REEVES, OLIVER FRANKLIN (MSS 467)
Papers, 1936-1961; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Ollie F. Reeves (1889-1963) was born on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and died in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to being a businessman, he published poems in the Atlanta Constitution on a daily basis and published one book of poetry entitled It’s Nothing Serious (1943). He served as the Poet Laureate for Atlanta and Georgia for many years and acted as book reviewer and commentator for WSB and WAGA radio stations. The collection includes notes, stories, poems, articles, plays, clippings, Lions Club material, correspondence, and copies of talks Reeves gave as Poet Laureate.
ROJAS, CARLOS (MSS 787)
Papers, n.d.; 4 linear ft. (5 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
Carlos Rojas (1928- ), Candler Professor of Spanish Literature, Emeritus, of Emory University, is the author of many books of fiction in addition to nonfiction work on Spanish history, culture, and art. The collection contains several manuscripts of Rojas’ work, including typescripts and manuscripts of the novels Auto de Fe (1968), Azaña (1973), and El Jardín de las Hespérides (1988). Also included are some photographs and a collection of articles written for various Spanish newspapers.
ROWSEY, FRANK (MSS 223)
Papers, 1925-1960; .13 linear ft. (1 box)
Frank Rowsey (1905-1961), executive, editor, and publisher, was born in Albany, Georgia, and died in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After graduating from Emory University, Rowsey worked for the Atlanta Journal and the New York Sun. The collection consists of Rowsey’s correspondence with Robert Penn Warren and Ellen Glasgow amongst others, in connection with a special newspaper book section that he was compiling on Southern writers.
RUBIN, LARRY JEROME (MSS 442)
Papers, 1962-1989; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Larry Jerome Rubin (1930- ), poet and educator, was born in New Jersey. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. (1956) from Emory University and went on to teach English literature at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The collection consists of a typescript of Rubin’s anthology of poems, The World’s Old Way, published in 1962, and the galley proofs of his collection Lanced in Light published in 1967. The collection also includes correspondence and other materials related to Rubin’s poetry.
SCHAFFER, MATT (MSS 755)
Collection, 1969-1970; 1 linear ft. (3 boxes, 14 oversized papers)
The collection is primarily composed of audiotape interviews (with some transcripts) conducted in 1969-1970 by Matt Schaffer (1969-1970), author and scholar of Caribbean and West African literature, with a number of poets, dramatists, and novelists associated with the cultural life of Dakar, Senegal. Among those represented are Senegalese, Martinque, French Guyanese, and Haitian writers including: Aimé Césaire, Ousmane Sembène, Léopold Sénghor, Paulin Vieyra, and Joseph Zobel. Also present is a single audiotape interview with the French novelist and philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. In addition, the collection includes transcripts of a number of talks delivered at the First Pan African Cultural Festival held in Algiers in 1969 as well as a small amount of related printed material. The collection also includes a small amount of ephemera published by the Georgia printer William Haynes at the Ashantilly Press.
SETTLE, MARY LEE (MSS 80)
Papers, ca. 1984-1985; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1918, Mary Lee Settle moved constantly during her childhood but spent a great portion of it in the southern Appalachians. Having published 13 works of fiction, nonfiction, and juvenile books, Settle is most known for her “Beulah Land Quintet,” which focuses on the settlement of West Virginia from 1754 to the present and consists of the novels: O Beulah Land (1956), Prisons (1973), Blood Tie (1977), The Scapegoat (1980), and The Killing Ground (1982). She is the recipient of two Guggenheim Awards and a National Book Award. The papers consist of some correspondence, corrected typescripts, galley proofs of an untitled story “The Days of October”—a travel piece on Hong Kong, and photographs.
SEYDELL, MILDRED (MSS 449)
Papers, 1942-1978; 65.25 linear ft. (150 boxes, 48 oversized papers, 2 medals)
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Mildred Seydell (1889-1988) was a columnist for the Atlanta Georgian from 1924 to 1939 and then edited and published her own bi-weekly newspaper, The Think Tank from 1941 to1947. The papers consist of correspondence, writings, source materials for columns and articles, scrapbooks, memorabilia, clippings, and photos, relating chiefly to Seydell’s career. In addition to letters from newspaper publishers and journal editors like William Randolph Hearst and H. L. Mencken, the collection contains letters from writers including Margaret Mitchell and Julia Peterkin.
Restrictions: Access to some items is restricted for reasons of privacy or confidentiality.
SIBLEY, CELESTINE (MSS 762)
Papers, 1968-1994; 12 linear ft. (34 boxes, 2 bound volumes, 7 oversized papers, 6 oversized bound volumes)
Celestine Sibley (1917-1999), journalist and author, was born in South Georgia near Mobile, Alabama. Sibley began writing for her high school newspaper and interned at the Mobile Press in 1932. From there she eventually became a staff writer for the Atlanta Constitution, where she remained until her death in 1999. In the course of her career she has reviewed films, written obituaries, and covered trials. In addition, Sibley has also written a memoir—Turned Funny—and a number of novels including mysteries. The collection consists of correspondence, typescripts, galley proofs, clippings, and a scrapbook.
SMITH, LILLIAN EUGENIA (MSS 491)
Collection, 1940-1962; .75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Lillian Smith (1897-1966) was born in Jasper, Florida, on December 12, 1897, and died in Atlanta, Georgia in 1966. A writer and social activist, she co-edited the literary journal South Today from 1936 through 1945. Her support of the African American civil rights movement was apparent in the books she wrote, including Strange Fruit (1944), Killers of the Dream (1949), and Our Faces Our Words (1964). The collection consists of correspondence, printed material, and a manuscript.
Restrictions: Special permission is required to access the George Leonard/Lillian Smith correspondence.
Note: Lillian Eugenia Smith papers [ca. 1920-1980] are located at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia.
STANTON, FRANK LEBBY (MSS 166)
Papers, ca. 1885-1978; 1.5 linear ft. (6 boxes, 7 oversized papers, 1 oversized bound volume)
Frank Lebby Stanton (1857-1927), poet and journalist, was born in Charleston, South Carolina. When his family moved to Savannah, Georgia, Stanton got a job as a printer’s devil with the Savannah Morning News where he met Joel Chandler Harris, the associate editor at the time. Harris encouraged Stanton to write, and he quickly became a feature writer for the News. Stanton eventually followed Harris to Atlanta to work on the Atlanta Constitution. His column, “Just from Georgia,” soon became famous. A compilation of poems, short stories, and philosophical advice, the column was one of the first of its kind in the United States. Stanton also published his poetry, starting with Songs of a Day and Songs of the Soil published in 1892. The collection consists of correspondence, handwritten and printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, broadsides, cartoons, biographical notes, and short stories.
STEADMAN, JOHN M. (MSS 769)
Papers, n.d.; 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
John Marcellus Steadman III, educator and poet, was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on November 25, 1918. He received undergraduate, graduate, and honorary degrees from Emory University and taught at Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of North Carolina, and the University of California at Riverside. Steadman began publishing his poetry in 1967 and has published ten collections in all. His papers contain typescripts of two unpublished works. The first is a collection of verse entitled, Winter Harvest: A Retrospective, the second is a collection of short stories entitled, Rumors of War Real and Metaphorical.
STEEDMAN, MARGUERITE COUTURIER (MSS 412)
Papers, 1884-1963; 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Marguerite Couturier Steedman, author and journalist, was born January 4, 1908, in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been a staff feature writer for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine (1933-1945), a teacher of writing at Emory University (1945-1946), and a book editor with the Atlanta Times (1964-1965). She is the author of five books and several articles and is the recipient of the Georgia Writers Association award for her novel, Refuge in Avalon (1962). The collection includes clippings, correspondence, typescripts, and photographs.
THOMPSON, MAURICE (MSS 339)
Papers, 1867-1940; 6 linear ft. (17 boxes, 3 bound volumes, 1 oversized paper)
James Maurice Thompson (1844-1901), attorney, author, editor, naturalist, and geologist, was born in Fairfield, Indiana. His family came to Georgia in approximately 1854, and Thompson served with the confederate army during the civil war. After the war he became a lawyer in Indiana. Thompson published a book of poems, Song of Fair Weather in 1883, after which he gave up law to write full time. He became Indiana’s state geologist (1885-1888), an editor for the New York Independent (1889-1901), and wrote Alice of Old Vincennes (1900) and other historical romances. The collection consists of clippings, photographs, essays, articles, notes, correspondence (including that between Thompson and other writers), memorabilia, and galley proofs.
UHRY, ALFRED (MSS 833)
Collection, ca. 1980-2007.; 12 linear ft. (12 boxes)
Playwright Alfred Uhry was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. The collection holds notebooks, drafts of scripts and television screenplays, including Driving Miss Daisy, Last Night of Ballyhoo, and Parade. Additionally, there are photographs, printed material, and a videotape of the documentary, “Southern Roots, Southern Stories: Alfred Uhry.”
VILLAGE WRITERS GROUP (MSS 657)
Records, 1978-1989; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes, 3 oversized bound volumes, 1 oversized paper)
The Village Writers Group was organized in 1978 and incorporated in 1980. The group began as an informal extension of a community education course at Emory. It met at various locations in Emory Village and included local writers, both published and unpublished. Participants have included Neil Shulman, Pat Conroy, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Stewart Woods. The collection includes publications, scrapbooks, two proclamations, and photographs.
Restrictions on access may apply.
WANG, DAREN (MSS 782)
Papers, 1996-1998; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection consists of 33 audiotaped interviews conducted by Daren Wang as part of a project on southern writers for a National Public Radio program. Interviewees include James Dickey, Clyde Edgerton, Sally Fitzgerald, Kaye Gibbons, Reynolds Price, Lee Smith, and Elizabeth Spencer.
WARREN, JAMES EDWARD (MSS 429)
Papers, 1932-1968; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
James Edward Warren, Jr., poet, author, and educator, was born December 11, 1908, in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Emory University and taught in several of the Atlanta Public School System high schools. He also taught part-time at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has worked as an editor and is the author of numerous poems and articles, more than a dozen volumes of poetry, four textbooks, and many translations of Latin and Greek classics. The collection consists of ten notebooks containing rough drafts of poems and clippings of Warren’s poems and articles.
WARREN, ROBERT PENN (MSS 682)
Collection, 1964-1989; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Robert Penn Warren was born in Guthrie, Kentucky, on April 24, 1905. His first volume of poetry was published in 1935. By the time he was honored with the National Medal for Literature in 1970, he had published over 30 volumes of poetry, essays, plays, and fiction including All the King’s Men (1960). The collection consists of correspondence, interviews (audiocassettes and transcripts), and assorted literary manuscripts by Warren in typescript form with holograph corrections.
WATKINS, FLOYD C. (MSS 534)
Papers, 1953-1988; 44.75 linear ft. (90 boxes, 5 oversized papers)
Floyd C. Watkins (1920-2000), educator and author, was born in Ball Ground, Georgia. He attended Georgia Southern College, Emory University, and Vanderbilt University (1943-1952). Watkins taught at Emory University, eventually becoming the Charles Howard Candler Professor of American Literature. He wrote over 100 books and articles about American literature, particularly Southern literature and writers. The collection consists of files of writings, extensive correspondence with southern writers, research materials, galley proofs, and drafts corrected by Robert Penn Warren.
WHEATLEY, PHILLIS (MSS 796)
Collection, ca. 1757-1773; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) was born in Africa and enslaved as a child to John Wheatley, a Boston merchant. The collection contains two eighteenth-century copybooks from Boston, ca. 1754-1773. The copybooks hold various pieces of poetry, some attributed to such authors as William Shakespeare, John Dryden, and Jonathan Swift, published in magazines and newspapers. The larger of the two copybooks includes a previously unpublished variant of Wheatley’s poem, “A Hymn to Humanity,” published in her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). The poem, dated December 12, 1773, contains significant textual changes and identifies for the first time the person to whom it was dedicated.
WILCOX, PATRICIA (MSS 1034)
Papers, 2 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The collection consists of the papers of Georgia author, Patricia Wilcox including correspondence, manuscripts, and printed material.
WHEELER, SALLY PADGETT (MSS 1037)
Papers, 1965-1987; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Sally Padgett Wheeler was a graduate of Emory University, earning degrees from Oxford College in 1964, Emory College in 1966, and the graduate school in 1968. The collection consists of papers primarily related to the publication of Wheeler’s article “Light in August,” from 1965-1987. The majority of the correspondence is from Cleanth Brooks, who gives editorial advice to Wheeler from 1970-1978. The papers also include an incomplete manuscript of “Light in August,” a letter from Floyd Watkins, and a newspaper clipping concerning Watkins.
WPBA (Television station: Atlanta, GA) (MSS 652)
Southern Voice videotape recording collection, 1984; 2 linear ft. (34 videotapes)
WPBA is a public television station based in Atlanta, Georgia. This collection consists of original unedited and edited videotapes prepared for “The Southern Voice” series featuring southern writers and shown by WPBA in 1984. The tapes include interviews with Erskine Caldwell, Pat Conroy, Floyd Watkins, and Stuart Woods.
WSB (Radio station: Atlanta, GA) (MSS 663)
Collection, 1955-1980; 243 linear ft. (243 boxes, 1 oversized paper)
Licensed in 1922, WSB was the first radio station in the South. Originally owned by The Atlanta Journal, it is now part of the Cox Broadcasting Corporation. With a tradition of community involvement and service, WSB produces a variety of programs dealing with political, sporting, and cultural events. The collection consists of sound recordings of programs, including interviews with a number of authors ranging from Sidney Sheldon and Joseph Heller to Erskine Caldwell.
BOOK COLLECTIONS
HORATIO ALGER COLLECTION (UNCATALOGED)
This collection consists of over 200 books written by the American novelist Horatio Alger (1832-1899) including many scarce first editions and first serial publications.
RAYMOND DANOWSKI POETRY LIBRARY
The modern poetry collection developed by Raymond Danowski was considered to be the greatest such collection in private hands. Emory acquired the collection in 2004. Built over a period of 25 years, it includes over 50,000 works. The collection is comprised of English-language poetry published after 1900 anywhere in the world. Of particular interest are large collections of the printed works of Robert Crumb, Hunter Thompson, and Allen Ginsberg.
These titles are currently being cataloged.
THULANI DAVIS COLLECTION OF BLACK PERIODICALS
Thulani Davis, journalist and writer, has published two novels (1959 and Maker of Saints) in addition to several volumes of poetry. The collection contains 51 titles of black periodicals dating from the 1960s and 1970s, at least one-third are not located in standard bibliographies.
J. M. EDELSTEIN LIBRARY OF AMERICAN POETRY
Bibliographer and book collector J. M. Edelstein amassed a library of over 2,000 volumes of modern American poetry. Featured in the library are virtually complete collections of the works of poets Wallace Stevens, James Merrill, Robert Lowell, and Robert Creely and collections of books published by presses including the Cummington Press, Abbatoir Editions, Stone Wall, and Windhover Press. Please inquire about this collection.
WILLIAM P. FRENCH COLLECTION OF BLACK-PUBLISHED POETRY
In this collection of noted New York City book dealer William P. French, there are approximately 350 volumes of poetry, many rare.
GONE WITH THE WIND COLLECTION
There are approximately 80 copies of Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind in the collection in addition to books relating to the film version. An inscribed presentation copy from the author is the rare first issue, dated May 1936. Besides successive English language editions, there are editions in 28 other languages. The books are on display in MARBL and can be searched in the online catalog EUCLID.
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS AND JULIAN LAROSE HARRIS LIBRARIES
Almost all original and later editions of the books written by Joel Chandler Harris are present in the Harris library as well as books containing biographical and critical materials on him. The library of Julian LaRose Harris, the eldest son of Joel Chandler Harris, was given to Emory by his wife, Julia Collier Harris. Included in the collection are presentation copies of books of leading literary figures of the twentieth century.
ROBERT PENN WARREN COLLECTION
MARBL houses a collection of books with holograph revisions written in the books by Robert Penn Warren for a planned edition of collected poems in 1987 that was never published. The corrections were made for Stuart Wright and can be located in the EUCLID catalog. In addition there are approximately 20 books owned by Warren during his marriage to Emma Brescia Gardner, including a copy of T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland owned by Warren during his days as a student at Vanderbilt University. Please inquire about this collection.
