Jennifer Ford
Senior Curator of Manuscripts
Email: jwford@olemiss.edu
The collections described below, from the Department of Archives & Special Collections at the University of Mississippi, contain correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera relating largely to the literary heritage of Mississippi.
Note: Twentieth Century literary manuscripts and letters may not be photocopied without the written permission of the literary copyright holders.
Ewart A. Autry Periodicals. 1950-1955. Assorted periodicals with short stories by Mississippi author Ewart A. Autry (1 box).
Howard Bahr Collection. 1987. Prospectus for Howard Bahr's Home for Christmas: A Story of the South (1 box).
James E. (Jack) Bales Collection. 1950s-2004. Research files and notes kept by Jake Bales while researching his books about Mississippi author Willie Morris (7 boxes).
Nevada Barr Collection. 1990s-2000s. This collection contains manuscripts, galleys, notes, promotional publishing materials, correspondence, and other items concerning the work of this noted mystery author. Materials relating to several of Barr's published works are in the collection including Track of the Cat, A Superior Death, Ill Wind, Deep South, Blood Lure, Hunting Season, Liberty Falling, and others (20 boxes).
Rick Bass Material. 1989-1991. Press kits for Rick Bass's books Oil Notes and Winter: Notes from Montana. Location: Small Manuscripts 1991-1 (Folders 18 & 25).
Hugh Lawson Bedford Papers. 1856-1861. Handwritten volume of poetry entitled "Idle Pastime." Location: Small Manuscript 1978-5 (Folder 9).
Charles G. Bell Papers. Corrected forward to Charles G. Bell's poetry volume Delta Return (1956). Location: Small Manuscripts 1979-7 (Folder 14).
Henry and Katharine Bellamann Collection. 1923-1958. This collection contains the papers of Heinrich Hauer (Henry) and Katharine Jones Bellamann. Henry, a native of Missouri, authored several novels including King's Row (1940), Crescendo Interludes (1928), The Richest Woman in Town (1932), The Gray Man Walks (1936), and others. He was at work on a sequel to the popular King's Row at the time of his death. Katherine, a native of Carthage, Mississippi, was also a novelist and poet. Among other publications, Katherine wrote My Husband's Friends (1931) and A Poet Passed this Way (1958). Katherine finished her husband's sequel entitled Parris Mitchell of King's Row (1948). This collection contains annotated manuscripts of many of these works, correspondence, and other materials relating to the life and work of these two authors. Correspondents include Pearl Buck, Carl Sandburg, DuBose Heyward, Evelyn Scott, and Amy Lowell (42 boxes).
Bishop Collection. 1887-1937. Prints and etchings depicting scenes and characters from William Shakespeare's plays (1 box).
David H. Bishop Papers. 1855-1953. Correspondence and essay by University of Mississippi English professor David Horace Bishop; includes several letters discussing Mississippi author Joseph H. Ingraham. Location: Small Manuscripts 1977-2 (Folders 3 through 10).
Hector Bolitho Collection. 1917-1971. Correspondence and publications related to the life and work of author Hector Bolitho (1897-1974). Born in New Zealand, Bolitho settled in Britain and wrote numerous works of fiction and non-fiction (6 boxes).
Sherwood Bonner (Katherine McDowell) Collection. 1863-1886; 1934-1997. A native of Holly Springs, Mississippi born in 1849, Katherine Sherwood Bonner was the author of several books including Dialect Tales (1883), Like Unto Like: A Novel (1878), and Sewanee River Tales (1884). Contains transcribed correspondence, manuscripts, and other material related to McDowell (1 box).
Sherwood Bonner/Hubert McAlexander Collection. 1870-1983. Research files of Hurbert H. McAlexander, author of The Prodigal Daughter: A Biography of Sherwood Bonner (1981) (1 box).
Louis E. Bourgeois Collection. 2011. Contains published poems and short stories by Louis E. Bourgeois of Oxford, Mississippi (1 box).
Ray Bradbury Document. Typed document dated March 1978 signed by Ray Bradbury regarding memories of John Steinbeck. Location: Small Manuscripts 1998-1 (Folder 11).
Henry Herschel Brickell Collection. c. 1920-1950. Born in Senatobia, Mississippi, Herschel actually spent his early years in Yazoo City. He would go on to become a book columnist for New York's Evening Post and later a general editor of Henry Holt and Company Publishing House. He would rise to literary editor of the Post and in 1940 he became the editor of the O. Henry Memorial Prize Short Stories. The Brickell Collection contains correspondence between Brickell and some of the most notable authors of the 20th century, including Eudora Welty and Margaret Mitchell. Finding aid available in Special Collections (61 boxes).
Louis Daniel Brodsky Collection. 1981-1983. Poet Louis Daniel Brodsky was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1931 and attended Yale University. The collection consists of manuscripts and correspondence related to Mississippi Vistas and Mistress Mississippi (1 box).
Jonathan Henderson Brooks Collection. c. 1934-1939. Born in Lexington, Mississippi in 1905, Jonathan Henderson Brooks was an African-American Baptist minister and poet. He wrote for several journals and his posthumously published collection, The Resurrection and Other Poems, appeared in 1948. The collection contains correspondence and annotated manuscripts (1 box).
Larry Brown Collection. c. 1982-1993. Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Larry Brown authored several gritty short stories and novels. Among his publications are Facing the Music (1988), Dirty Work (1989), Big Bad Love (1990), On Fire (1993), Father and Son (1996), Fay (2000), and Billy Ray's Farm: Essays (2001). This collection contains original manuscripts, galleys, and promotional materials relating to his work (21 boxes).
Larry Brown Small Manuscripts. 1989-2000. Assorted material related to Mississippi author Larry Brown (2 boxes).
Maude Morrow Brown Papers. Correspondence and manuscript of Brown's articles on William Faulkner and Shakespeare." Location: Small Manuscripts 1977-2 (Folders 17 through 20).
Turner Cassity Postcard. Postcard inscribed with Mississippi poet Turner Cassity's poem "Two are Four." Location: Small Manuscripts Collection: Broadsheets & Broadsides (Folder 16).
Jill Conner Browne Material. Reviews, letters, broadsheets, and newspapers discussing Jill Conner Browne's The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love (1999). Location: Small Manuscripts 1999-1 (Folder 2).
Salita Bryant Broadside. Signed broadside of Salita Bryant's poem "Falling" published by Jefferson City Broadside Society. Location: Small Manuscripts Broadsheets & Broadsides (Folder 15).
Pearl S. Buck Letter. 1972. Correspondence and article in which author Pearl S. Buck discusses her relatives in Mississippi. Location: Small Manuscripts 1978-1 (Folder 7).
Jack Butler Collection. 1950s-2006. Born in 1944 and moved to Mississippi as a child, Jack Butler has published eight books, including four novels. His books have been printed in sixteen editions, including one translation in Japanese. He has written nearly 200 poems, many of which have appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Poetry. His cookbook Jack’s Skillet: Plain Talk and Some Recipes from a Guy in the Kitchen, was published in 1997 by Algonquin. He has won a number of prizes and awards, and his third novel, Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock (Knopf 1993) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a PEN/Faulkner Award (17 boxes).
Roane Fleming Byrnes Collection. 1854-1970. Roane Fleming Byrnes was an aspiring author of children's stories, eventually publishing two in St. Nicholas (1928) and Child Life (1930). Collections contains manuscripts and correspondence related to these efforts (46 boxes).
Will Campbell Collection. c. 1964-1988. Born in Liberty, Mississippi, activist and minister Will Campbell's collection contains manuscripts, publishing materials, and ephemera. Brother to a Dragonfly, The Glad River, and Race and Renewal of the Church are a few of the works represented in the collection (7 boxes).
Will Campbell Small Manuscripts. 1997. Contains a proof of Will Campbell's book And Also With You: Duncan Gray and the American Dilemma (1 box).
Robert Wilburn Canzoneri Collection. Mississippi author and poet, Robert Canzoneri's collection contains annotated drafts of Barbed Wire and Other Stories (1970), 'I Do So Politely': A Voice from the South (1965), Men With Little Hammers (1969), Watch Us Pass (1986), correspondence, unpublished works, and other materials (10 boxes).
Irving S. Cobb Letter. Letter by author Irving S. Cobb granting permission of his short story "Snake Doctor" in the 1922 edition of the O. Henry Memorial Prize Stories. Location: Small Manuscripts 1980-1.
David Cohn Collection. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, David Cohn worked as President and General Manager of Feibleman-Sears Roebuck before turning to the profession of writing. After moving back to Greenville from New Orleans, Cohn wrote several works based on his own experiences, including God Shakes Creation (1935) and Where I was Born and Raised (1948). He also worked on several studies of American history and culture most notably The Good Old Days: A History of American Morals and Manners as Seen through the Sears Roebuck Catalogs 1905 to the Present (1940). The Cohn Collection contains correspondence, drafts of short stories and essays, manuscripts for Love in America: An Informal Study of Manners and Morals in American Marriage (1943), and Combustion on Wheels: An Informal History of the Automobile Age (1944) (26 boxes).
David Cohn Periodicals. 1937-1959. Assorted periodicals with works by Mississippi author David Cohn (1 box).
Thelma T. Collums Collection. 1940-1952. Includes manuscripts by Thelma T. Collums of Houlka, Mississippi who published short stories for children (1 box).
Hubert Creekmore Collection. 1928-2002. A native of Water Valley, Mississippi, Hubert Creekmore was a novelist, poet, critic, editor, translator, and photographer. Collection contains playbills, programs, and correspondence related to his life and work (6 boxes).
Miriam Adair Dabbs Collection. c. 1948-1955. A small collection including poetry by Dabbs and correspondence with poet and novelist Katherine Bellamann (1 box).
Henry C. Dalton Collection. c. 1930-c. 1962. Born in Rienzi, Mississippi, Henry Dalton's collection contains manuscripts, unpublished materials, and poetry. Finding aid available in Special Collections (29 boxes).
Borden Deal Periodicals. 1950-1962. Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi in 1922, Borden Deal wrote numerous short stories that appeared in national publications and twenty-one novels (1 box).
Louis Dollarhide Article. Photocopy of Louis Dollarhide's article "The Writer in Mississippi" in December 1963 issue of Mississippi College Bulletin. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-1 (Folder 4).
Louis Dollarhide Collection. c. 1950-c. 1980. A Shakesperian scholar, Dollarhide earned a bachelor's degree in English from Mississippi College in 1942, a master's degree from Harvard University in 1947, and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina in 1954. He taught English at Mississippi College for 20 years before joining the University of Mississippi faculty in 1967. He retired from the University in December 1987. Born in America, Kansas, Dollarhide grew up in Kosciusko. His scholarly works and writings of fiction and non-fiction appeared in numerous publications throughout his career. Of Art and Artists: Selected Reviews of the Arts in Mississippi, a collection of some 250 of his newspaper columns compiled in 1981, is one of the many books, short stories, articles and poems he authored. He also co-edited a book of essays titled Eudora Welty: A Form of Thanks. Dollarhide served as editor for the Mississippi Arts Commission and as president of the Mississippi Poetry Society. For many years he chaired the University of Mississippi's Artist Series, and from 1955-1976 he wrote a weekly column and more than 1,000 book reviews and articles for The Jackson Daily News- Clarion Ledger. His collection contains correspondence from Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor and other 20th century authors (47 boxes).
Ellen Douglas Broadside. Broadside for Ellen Douglas's book Can't Quite You, Baby. Location: Small Manuscripts Broadsheets & Broadsides (Folder 24).
Ellen Douglas Collection. 1962-1988. Writing under the pseudonym Ellen Douglas, Josephine Ayers Haxton has published numerous short stories and novels. Josephine Ayers was born July 12, 1921 in Natchez, Mississippi, and grew up in Louisiana and Arkansas. She attended Randolph Macon Women's College from 1938-39 and the University of Mississippi, from which she earned a B.A. in 1942. In 1945 she married Kenneth Haxton with whom she had three children. Her fiction, published under the pen name Ellen Douglas, includes two collections of short stories--Black Cloud, White Cloud: Two Novellas and Two Stories (1963) and The Magic Carpet (1987)- and six novels. Her first novel, A Family's Affairs (1962) was named one of the ten best fiction titles of the year by The New York Times, as was Black Cloud, White Cloud. In 1968 she published Where the Dreams Cross, and in 1973 she published Apostles of Light, which was nominated for a National Book Award. She received the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Awards in literature for The Rock Cried Out (1979) and A Lifetime Burning (1982), as well as grants from the National Educational Association for The Rock Cried Out and Can't Quit You, Baby (1988). In 1989, she was honored for her body of work by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. The collection contains annotated manuscripts and research materials (43 boxes).
Ellen Douglas Small Manuscripts. 1961-2005. Collection contains an assortment of photographs and documents related to author Ellen Douglas (1 box).
Tony Dunbar Manuscript. Circa 1990. Anthony P. "Tony" Dunbar is an attorney and author of several works of nonfiction and a mystery series set in New Orleans. Collection contains a manuscript version of Dunbar's book Delta Time: A Journey Through Mississippi (1 box).
Wylene Dunbar Collection. 1992-1998. This collection contains drafts, correspondence, and other materials relating to the writing, editing, and publishing of Ms. Dunbar's 1997 work, Margaret Cape (4 boxes).
Eva Ellzey Poem. Typed manuscript of poem "October Two-Thousand-Five" by Eva Ellzey. Location: Small Manuscripts 2006-1 (Folder 1).
John Faulkner Maps. Maps by author John Faulkner. Location: Small Manuscripts 1978-1 (Folder 25).
John Faulkner Periodicals. The brother of William Faulkner, John Faulkner was the author of nine novels and a biography about his brother (1 box).
William Faulkner Collections. Contains the Rowan Oak Papers, early Faulkner poetry collections, manuscripts, and correspondence relating to the life and career of William Faulkner. To view our Faulkner Collections, please see the William Faulkner Subject Guide.
Fine Press Brochures Collection. 1998-2003. Announcements from independent presses for upcoming publications (1 box).
Shelby Foote Small Manuscripts. 1968-1999. This small collection contains interviews, magazine articles, and programs relating to the career of this Greenville, Mississippi native. Between 1954 and 1974, he composed the three volume, 1.2 million-word The Civil War: A Narrative, the work for which he is now best known. Dial published Follow Me, Down (1950), an exploration of economic and psychological oppression of poor whites; Love in A Dry Season (1951), which demystifies Southern aristocracy; and finally, on the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, Foote's Shiloh (1952). His other publications include Jordan County (1954) and September, September (1977) (1 box).
Charles Henri Ford Collection. 1989-1996. Letters, photographs, and transcripts from Mississippi author and poet Charles Henri Ford (1 box).
Richard Ford Small Manuscripts. 1961-2000. This small collection contains school publications, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles about Mississippi author, Richard Ford. Ford's publications include The Sportswriter (1986), A Piece of My Heart (1987), Wildlife (1990), Independence Day (1995), Rock Springs (1987), Women With Men: Three Stories (1997), and A Multitude of Sins: Stories (2002) (2 boxes).
Framed Items. Includes material related to William Faulkner, Seymour Lawrence, Eudora Welty, Stark Young, Valerie Boyd Howell, Larry Brown, Walker Percy, Ellen Gilchrist, Beth Henley, Tennessee Williams, Willie Morris, and Thomas Harris. Patrons should provide notice at least two business days prior to prospective visits so that staff may transfer requested boxes from the Library Annex (an off-site facility) to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact Special Collections at (662) 915-7408 to specify requested material.
Frances O. Jones Gaither Poem. Printed page with "Verses from the Official Centennial Poem" by Frances O. Jones Gaither from When I Think of Columbus. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-4 (Folder 7).
Dr. Anne Gowdy/Sherwood Bonner Collection. 1880s-1980s. Research material on Mississippi author Sherwood Bonner (1849-1883) amassed by Dr. Anne Gowdy for her book A Sherwood Bonner Sampler, 1869-1884 (2000) (3 boxes).
Edwin Phillips Granberry. 1907-1990. Granberry, a Meridian, Mississippi native, produced several short stories and novels during his lifetime. One of the most famous short stories was A Trip to Czardis. This was first published in The Forum in 1932, and won the O. Henry Memorial Award as that year's best story. In 1966, Granberry produced a novel with the same name, expanding on the events preceding those of his short story, and incorporating the original story as the book's final chapter. Granberry's other novels were The Ancient Hunger (1927), Strangers and Lovers (1928), and The Erl King (1930). Other notable works include stage and (unfinished) novelized version of The Falcon, a screenplay of "A Trip to Czardis" and a long-term partnership with the artist Roy Crane (to be replaced by Henry Schlensker after Crane's death) to produce the comic strip Buz Sawyer. The collection contains correspondence, annotated drafts of works, and ephemera (16 boxes).
John Grisham Small Manuscripts. Promotional materials, magazine articles, and interviews of the Mississippi author of such novels as The Firm and A Time to Kill (3 boxes).
Grisham -- The Chamber Manuscript. Manuscript for John Grisham's novel The Chamber (1 box).
Grisham -- A Time to Kill Manuscript. Manuscript for John Grisham's first novel A Time to Kill (1 box).
David E. Guyton Poems. Issue of The Mississippi Woman's Magazine (March-April 1942) featuring several poems by David E. Guyton, a Blue Mountain College professor. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-4 (Folder 6).
Carolyn Haines Collection. c. 1970-2003. Carolyn Haines' first published novel, Summer of Fear appeared in 1993 with Summer of the Redeemers appearing in 1994. Her popular detective series featuring the feisty Southern belle detective, Sarah Booth began in 1999 with the publication of Them Bones, Buried Bones, Splintered Bones, and Crossed Bones following. The collection contains annotated manuscripts, promotional materials, and photographs taken by Ms. Haines while a photographer for the Mobile Press Register, Mississippi Press, the Hattiesburg American, and The George County Times (9 boxes & 6 binders of negatives).
Martha Lacy Hall Material. 1990. Publisher's material for Mississippi author Martha Lacy Hall's The Apple-Green Triumph and Other Stories. Location: Small Manuscripts 1991-1 (Folder 19).
Barry Hannah Collection. 1974-1989. Contains a collection of annotated manuscripts and correspondence from the Clinton, Mississippi native. Hannah is the author of such works as Geronimo Rex (1972), Nightwatchmen (1973), Boomerang (1989) and Bats Out of Hell (1993) (12 boxes).
Barry Hannah Small Manuscripts. 1977-2003. Material related to Mississippi author Barry Hannah (2 boxes).
Evans Harrington Collection. c. 1950- 1990. A graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi, Evans Harrington began working at the university in 1951. He had a long and distinguished career in the Department of English. During his time in the department, Harrington was appointed Professor of English (1962), Director of the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference; Chair of the English Department; and at his retirement in 1991, Professor Emeritus of English (42 boxes).
Evans Harrington Small Manuscripts. 1835-1963. Manuscripts and periodicals related to the literary works of University of Mississippi English professor Evans Harrington (1 box).
Charlaine Harris Collection. 2002-2003. This small collection contains materials from this Tunica, Mississippi, raised native and mystery author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarden, and Lily Bard series. The collection contains promotional materials for Club Dead and an annotated galley page from Living Dead in Dallas (3 boxes).
Joe Hayes Poems. Handwritten poems by Joe Hayes on Camp Van Dorn letterhead on life as a soldier dated 1943-1944 (Folder 11).
Lyn Hejinian Broadside. Broadside of Lyn Hejinian's poem "Redo" published by Salt-Works Press of Grenada, Mississippi. Location: Small Manuscripts 1994-1 (Folder 15).
Beth Henley Collection. c. 1981-1990. Playwright Beth Henley first entered the literary world in 1978 when one of her plays, Crimes of the Heart, went on to win several awards, including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best new American play and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Henley received a Tony Award nomination for best play and an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay. Other works by Henley include, Am I Blue (1982), The Miss Firecracker Contest: A Play (1985), The Debutante Ball (1991), and Revelers (2003). The collection includes annotated and typed manuscripts from several plays, promotional materials and shooting script for Crimes of the Heart and ephemera. Finding aid available in Special Collections (26 boxes).
Beth Henley Small Manuscripts. 1982-1989. Collection contains material related to the author Beth Henley (1 box).
Dorothy Heyward Postcard. 1924. Handwritten postcard from playwright Dorothy Heyward to John Farrar. Location: Small Manuscripts 1991-1 (Folder 28).
DuBose Heyward Card. 1929. Signed Christmas card by novelist and playwright Dubose Heyward. Location: Small Manuscripts 1992-1 (Folder 10).
Daniel Whitehead Hickey Letter. Typed letter by Daniel Whitehead Hickey dated February 1934 along with newspaper and magazine clippings discovered inside library copy of Hickey's poetry book Bright Harbor (1932). Location: Small Manuscripts 2003-1 (Folder 4).
Hill Street Press Catalog. Fall 1998 book catalog for Hill Street Press including discussion of John Faulkner's book My Brother Bill. Location: Small Manuscripts 1998-1 (Folder 15).
Robert Holland Papers. Manuscript and correspondence related to poet Robert Holland, including a letter from William Alexander Percy from 1938. Location: Small Manuscripts 1982-1 (Folders 2 through 5).
Langston Hughes Poem. Typed manuscript of Langston Hughes' poem "Broke" for Rollin Greene. Location: Small Manuscripts 1996-1 (Folder 2).
Langston Hughes Postcard. Postcard dated 10 February 1932 from Langston Hughes to Ethel Weimer regarding his visit in Tougaloo, Mississippi. Location: Small Manuscripts 1999-1 (Folder 9).
Mrs. John H. Hurd Manuscript. Manuscript of poem "Mississippi dated 1959. Location: Small Manuscripts 1977-2 (Folder 25).
Joseph Ingraham Letter. Letter from Mississippi author Joseph Ingraham dated 11 January 1842. Location: Small Manuscripts 1988-1 (Folder 3).
Rosa L. Ingraham Letter. Letter from Rosa L. Ingraham regarding the death of Mississippi author Col. Prentiss Ingraham. Location: Small Manuscripts 1978-6 (Folder 16).
Elia Kazan Letter. Letter from Elia Kazan dated March 1978 praising the University of Mississippi for sponsoring an exhibit on his friend John Steinbeck. Location: Small Manuscripts 1988-1 (Folder 5).
Athena Kildegaard Broadside. Signed 1997 broadside of Athena Kildegaard's poem "From Yalobusha County" published by Jefferson City Broadside Society. Location: Small Manuscripts Broadsheets and Broadsides (Folder 14).
Lagniappe Collection. Includes original artwork, financial documents, submissions, copyright information, and correspondence related to Lagniappe: A Journal of the Old South, a literary journal based in Oxford, Mississippi from 1974-1975 (1 box).
Mary Ellen Wilcox Larche Collection. Includes a scrapbook kept by Mary Ellen Wilcox Larche while attending Central High School in Jackson, Mississippi circa 1919-1925. It includes entries and notes by author Eudora Welty (1 box).
Seymour Lawrence Collection. This archive contains the files of publisher Seymour Lawrence. It contains correspondence to and from his many authors--Rick Bass, Barry Hannah, Frank Conroy, Jayne Anne Phillips, Richard Bausch, Richard Currey, J.P. Donleavy, Tom Drury, Jim Harrison, Gish Jen, Wiliam Kotzwinkle, Thomas McGuane, Susan Minot, Tim O'Brien, Dan Wakefield, Richard Yates, Thomas Berger, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Robert Coles, Mark Helprin, William Humphrey, Tillie Olsen, Robert B. Parker, William J. Smith, Allen Tate, Katherine Anne Porter, Kurt Vonnegut, Sean O'Faolain, Richard Brautigan, Jorge Louis Borges, Miguel Angel Asturias, Pablo Neruda and Edwin O'Connor--approximately ten thousand letters in all. The collection reveals a publisher at work, dealing with, among many others, author's agents, copy editors, sales, advertising and publicity departments, independent book sellers adn representatives of foreign publishers (108 boxes). See also, framed material from the collection in Framed Items
Doris Kent LeBlanc Manuscript. Typed manuscript of short story "The Holly Tree" by Doris Kent LeBlanc based on the life of Confederate General W. Leander Varnado. Location: Small Manuscripts 1997-1 (Folder 3).
Vachel Lindsay Poetry. Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931) is considered the father of modern singing poetry. File contains his poetry collection "American Billboards to the Sky." Location: Small Manuscripts 1979-2 (Folder 12).
Longstreet-Hinton Collection. 1844-1955. Correspondence and material related to the Longsteet family, including August Baldwin Longstreet (1790-1870), author of Georgia Scenes (3 boxes).
Beverly Lowry Collection. 1976-1983. Manuscripts and correspondence related to Mississippian Beverly Lowry, author of six novels (1 box).
Beverly Lowry Periodicals. 1974-1995. Assorted periodicals with works by Mississippi author Beverly Lowry (1 box).
Walter Malone Papers. Original manuscript of poem "Opportunity" by Mississippi poet Walter Malone (1866-1915). Location: Small Manuscripts 1978-6 (Folder 27). See also a copy in Small Manuscripts 1979-7 (Folder 12).
Map Collection. Includes a 1970 Literary Map of Mississippi prepared by the Mississippi Library Association (Map #150).
Tillman L. Martin Papers. Draft manuscripts on Mississippi author bibliographies dating from 1955-1957. Location: Small Manuscripts 1988-2.
Tom McCown Screenplay. Revision draft of Tom McCown's screenplay "The Heart of Dixie" from the novel Heartbreak Hotel by Anne Rivers Siddons (1988). Location: Small Manuscripts 1989-1 (Folders 6 through 12).
Samuel Mills Meek Poems. Handwritten copies from another source of poems by Samuel Mills Meek of Columbus, Mississippi dating from 1833 to 1901. Location: Small Manuscripts 1994-1 (Folder 37).
Dr. Jerry "Jake" Leath Mills Collection. 1988-2001. Letters between Dr. Jake Mills and author Larry Brown (1 box).
Mississippi Authors Small Manuscripts. 1928-2006. Assorted material related to an array of Mississippi authors (9 boxes).
Mississippi Periodicals Collection. 1921-1982. Includes periodicals with works by or about the following Mississippi authors: Ewart A. Autry, Phil Stone, Maxwell Bodenheim, Richard Wright, Hubert Creekmore, Bern Keating, Cid Ricketts Sumner, and Emilie Blackmore Stapp (6 boxes).
Mississippi Poets Collection. Includes data sheet and bibliography of poems by Winifred H. Farrar, a pamphlet on Oxford, Mississippi poet Charles Lamar Nelson, and a 1976 issue of Strophes published by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-5 (Folders 1 & 2).
Mississippi Poets Manuscripts. Typed, handwritten, and printed poems by Marjorie Jakcson, L.J. Bruce, Catherine Naomi McFarlane, Mrs. Lamar Fontaine, and others. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-4 (Folder 13).
Mississippi Poets Material. Items related to poems by Martha Moss Johnson, Ada Neill Clark, Elta Garnette Williams, Anne Wilson Frye, and Sarah Peugh. Location: Small Manuscripts 1994-2 (Folder 16).
Mississippi Verse Broadside. Broadside from publisher announcing 1934 publication of poetry anthology Mississippi Verse. Location: Small Manuscripts 1995-2 (Folder 12).
Charles T. Morgan Collection. 1952. Material related to life and work of Charles T. Morgan, author of Of Hell a Heaven: The Story of a Wilderness Preacher and His Traveling Church (1 box).
Willie Morris Collection. 1954-1993. Correspondence, annotated manuscripts, research notes, photographs and other materials make up this large collection of Yazoo City born author Willie Morris. Morris served as the youngest editor-in-chief of Harper's for several years, creating one of the most exciting periods in the magazine's history. During the course of his career, Morris authored several works including North Toward Home (1967), Yazoo: Integration in a Deep-Southern Town (1971), Good Old Boy (1971), The Last of the Southern Girls (1973), New York Days (1993), and many others (173 boxes).
Willie Morris Periodicals. 1965-1981. Contains periodicals with articles by and about author Willie Morris (1 box).
Willie Morris Small Manuscripts. 1969-2000. Contains newspaper clippings, broadsides, galleys, programs, and correspondence related to author Willie Morris.
Toni Morrison Promotional. Standing cardboard cutout advertising Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. Location: Small Manuscripts Ephemera (Folder 5).
Mamie and Ellis Nassour Arts and Entertainment Collection. 1920-2012. Theatre and film memorabilia. Particularly prominent in the collection are posters, playbills, and programs from New York and London mid- to late-twentieth century (32 boxes).
Mary Louise Newton Poems. Privately printed volumes of Mary Louise Newton's poetry published between 1923 and 1930 along with a printed card with a Christmas poem. Location: Small Manuscripts 1994-1 (Folder 26).
Pauline Wright Nichols Collection. 1980. Manuscripts and editorial notes for Pauline Wright Nichols' book The Breath of God: Black Voices from the Thirties (1 box).
Lewis Nordan Small Manuscripts. 1995-1997. Contains a fan club newsletter, a reading guide, and a galley related to Mississippi author Lewis Nordan. (1 box).
Flannery O'Connor Small Manuscripts. 1942-1952. Assorted material related to the life of southern author Flannery O'Connor (1 box).
Oxford American Collection. 1992-c.2002. The Oxford American began publication in the spring of 1992. In the words of publisher Marc Smirnoff, the magazine was "established under the idea that it is time for a good general magazine to originate from the South." The Oxford American publishes fiction, esays, poetry, interviews, reports, commentaries and various forms of graphic art including photographs and drawings. The collection contains typed and holograph manuscripts of these materials as well as correspondence, advertising records, and clippings. Larry Brown, Richard Ford, Jack Bulter, Lewis Nordan, and John Updike are just a few of the charter contributors. Since its first issue, the magazine has published the work of Donna Tartt, William Faulkner, Barry Hannah, Willie Morries, and William Eggleston, among others (85 boxes plus unprocessed material).
Oxford Conference for the Book Collection. 1993-present. Programs and other material related to annual literary conference at the University of Mississippi that began in 1993 (2 boxes).
Walker Percy Collection. 1983, 2000. A small collection containing magazine appearances, correspondence, and general information about Percy, author of such seminal works as The Moviegoer (1961) and The Last Gentleman (1966) (1 box).
Walker Percy Periodicals. 1963-1974. Assorted periodicals with works by and about Mississippi author Walker Percy (1 box).
William Alexander Percy Collection. 1922-1941. A small collection of short stories, poems, magazine articles, sheet music, and other materials relating to the life and career of this Mississippi Delta planter, lawyer, poet, and man of letters. A Greenville native, he is well-known for his autobiographical work Lanterns on the Levee (1941) (2 boxes).
William Alexander Percy Letter. Letter from William Alexander Percy to the Mississippi Law Review dated 14 December 1922.
Clarence Pierce Collection. 1946-1995. Includes 1993 correspondence from author Shelby Foote regarding Clarence Pierce's eulogy of Mississippi Confederates (1 box). Patrons should provide notice at least two business days prior to prospective visits so that staff may transfer requested boxes from the Library Annex (an off-site facility) to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact Special Collections at (662) 915-7408 to specify requested material.
Sterling Plumpp Collection. Born near Clinton, Mississippi, Sterling Plumpp's poetry continues to reflect in part upon his southern rural experiences. Often called a "blues poet", the music of blues and jazz have influenced both the phrasing and themes of much of his work. Author of such works as Portable Soul (1969), Half Black, Half Blacker (1970), Black Rituals (1972) among others, Plumpp has taught English and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The collection contains correspondence, ephemera, handwritten and typed manuscripts, galleys, proofs, and photographs.
Prize Poems. 1910s-1920s. Newspaper clippings and submissions from the University of Mississippi Mississippian related to poetry contest -- William Faulkner won in 1920. Location: Small Manuscripts 1979-1 (Folders 11 & 20).
Pressbooks and Movie Stills. Pressbooks and movie still photography for films including those based upon novels such as "Pinky" (1949), "Band of Angels," "So Red the Rose," "All the King's Men," and "The Client." Location: Small Manuscripts Lobby Cards, Movie Stills & Pressbooks.
The Progressive Farmer Collection. 1950-1973. Chiefly contains works of fiction and nonfiction that appeared in The Progressive Farmer, as well as story logs, correspondence, clippings and other items related to this magazine about farming and agricultural issues (3 boxes).
Ann Rayburn Collection of Paper Americana. 1858-1997. Series 7 contains a number of lobby cards for movie adaptations of various Mississippi authors' works including Stark Young, Tennessee Williams, and John Grisham (84 boxes).
Ishmael Reed Letters. Letters from author Ishmael Reed to author Amiri Baraka dated 1975. Location: Small Manuscripts 1986-1 (Folder 16).
Dr. Panthea Reid/Ellen Douglas Collection. 1983-2000. Research files on Mississippi author Ellen Douglas amassed by Panthea Reid, author of Conversations with Ellen Douglas (2 boxes).
Irwin Russell Letter. Letter dated 1878 from Mississippi poet Irwin Russell to publisher Roswell Smith concerning a newspaper article and illustration. Location: Small Manuscripts 1988-1 (Folder 7).
Robert Rylee Promotion. Book-of-the-Month Club News promotion for Robert Rylee's Deep Dark River. Location: Small Manuscripts 2001-2 (Folder 19).
Mahalia Saville Collection. 1938. Four letters written to Mahalia Saville granter her permission to use poetry in a New Year’s anthology as well as a manuscript "The Black Night" by James Hopper. Location: Small Manuscripts 1993-1 (Folder 18).
Shakespeare Engravings. Copies of lithographs "Shakespeare's Birthplace" and "Anne Hathaway's Cottage." Location: Small Manuscripts 1999-1 (Folder 7).
James W. Silver Collection. 1935-1986. Includes correspondence with L.D. Brodsky, Will D. Campbell, David Cohn, and James Jones (50 boxes).
Julie Smith Collection. c.1980-2002. Julie Smith, a native of Savannah, Georgia, attended the University of Mississippi majoring in journalism. After college, Smith worked as a journalist at the New Orleans Times-Picayune and soon after moved to San Francisco and the Chronicle. The author of a successful San Francisco based mystery series centered around a lawyer Rebecca Schwartz, Smith began publishing the New Orleans Skip Langdon series in 1989 with the Edgar winning work New Orleans Mourning (46 boxes).
Patrick D. Smith Collection. 1948-1986. Contains manuscripts, periodicals, and correspondence related to the work of Pulitzer Prize-nominated novelist Patrick D. Smith (2 boxes).
Patrick D. Smith Material. Documents related to Patrick Smith's induction in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1999. Location: Small Manuscripts 1999-1 (Folder 6).
Southern Humor Collection. Circa 1950s-1980s. Contains research material of Dr. Robert C. Wood on the subject of American humorous writing, particularly Southern and Southwestern humor (3 boxes).
Southern Literary Festival Collection. Manuscripts, recordings, promotional material, and other records related to the Southern Literary Festival, founded in 1937 by southern colleges and universities to promote southern literature (7 boxes).
Southern Literary Festival Programs. 1938-1960. Programs and clippings on the Southern Literary Festival held at Blue Mountain College, Delta State College, and Baylor University. Location: Small Manuscripts 1993-1 (Folders 8 through 11).
Elizabeth Spencer Periodicals. 1957-1979. Assorted periodicals with works by Mississippi author Elizabeth Spencer. She has won the O. Henry Award for short fiction five times (1 box).
Elizabeth Spencer Small Manuscripts. 1960-2001. Material related to the life and work of Mississippi author Elizabeth Spencer. Spencer has written nine novels, seven short story collections, a play, and a memoir (2 boxes).
Square Books Broadside. Broadside commemorating 25th anniversary of Square Books store in Oxford Mississippi (2004). Location: Small Manuscripts Broadsheets & Broadsides (Folder 23).
Square Books Collection. 1993-2006. Square Books is an independent bookstore in Oxford, Mississippi. The collection contains news articles about Square Books as well as promotional materials and newsletters issued by the store (3 boxes).
Phil Stone Papers. Baby book and first grade poetry exercises of Mississippi writer Phil Stone, author of No Place to Run (1959). Location: Small Manuscripts 1978-1 (Folders 23 & 24).
Alfred H. Stoner Papers. circa 1950s. Manuscript, correspondence, and other material related to Alfred Stoner's book Revealment of Hamlet (1952) on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Location: Small Manuscripts 1976-8 (Folders 6 through 10).
James Street Periodicals. Assorted periodicals by and about Mississippi author James Street (1903-1954). Street wrote five novels about the Dabney family that followed the progress of this southern family in the nineteenth century. Several of the books were made into films. Street's short stories appeared regularly in Collier's, Holiday, and The Saturday Evening Post (1 box).
Donna Tartt Small Manuscripts. 2002. Material related to author Donna Tart (2 boxes).
Peter H. Taylor Collection. 1943-1995. Contains papers, photographs, and audio recordings related to the life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Peter H. Taylor and amassed by his biographer Hubert H. McAlexander (24 boxes).
Lewis E. Theiss Material. Various items found within books by Lewis E. Theiss (author of aviation adventure stories for boys) cataloged in Special Collections. Location: Small Manuscripts 2005-1 (Folder 5).
Louis Untermeyer Material. Articles about poet Louis Untermeyer. Location: Small Manuscripts 1986-1 (Folder 4).
Vox Press Collection. 2005-2007. Founded as a literary journal in September 2004, Vox Press has published an assortment of books and journals (2 boxes).
WPA Federal Writers Project. Letter from University of Mississippi librarian to director of the WPA Federal Writers Project dated May 1938 along with press release on publication of Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State. Location: Small Manuscripts 1994-1 (Folder 2).
Alice Walker Manuscript. Typed manuscript "Looking for Zora" by Alice Walker. Location: Small Manuscripts 1988-1 (Folder 8).
Ben Wasson Poem. Typed document signed of poem "To Ruth, Aged Six" by Ben Wasson Jr. Location: Small Manuscripts 1998-1 (Folder 7).
Robert Penn Warren/Bill Ferris Correspondence Collection. 1979-1987. Correspondence between author Robert Penn Warren and Bill Ferris (1 box).
Robert Penn Warren Letter. Letter from Robert Penn Warren to Mr. Rappaport dated December 1954 expressing gratitude for a Christmas present. Location: Small Manuscripts 1998-1 (Folder 23).
Welty/Bill Ferris Correspondence Collection. 1977-1994. Correspondence between author Eudora Welty and Bill Ferris (1 box).
Eudora Welty Material. Photocopy of Eudora Welty's 1945 letter to Joseph Cornell as well as copies of Welty's letters to Charles H. Ford and from Ford to Cornell as well as other Welty material. Location: Small Manuscripts 1982-2 (Folders 5 through 11).
Eudora Welty "Moon Lake" Manuscript. Undated. Typed manuscript of Welty's short story "Moon Lake" (1 box).
Eudora Welty Periodicals. 1937-1998. Assorted periodicals with works by and about Eudora Welty (3 boxes).
Eudora Welty Ponder Heart Galleys. 1954. (1 box).
Eudora Welty Small Manuscripts. 1937-1994. While most Eudora Welty manuscripts and photographs are at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Special Collections does have significant holdings of Welty letters and representative examples of her literary manuscripts. In addition, the department has an outstanding collection of Welty editions and foreign translations, as well as secondary works (6 boxes).
Eudora Welty "Spring" Typescript. Undated. Typescript version of a short story titled "Spring" by Eudora Welty, later published as "Ladies in Spring" (1 box).
Ben Ames Williams Periodicals. Assorted periodicals with works by Mississippi author Ben Ames Williams (2 boxes).
Joan Williams Collection. 1952-1996. Williams, a Mississippi author, wrote five novels, a short story collection, numerous essays and speeches, and several uncollected stories. As a college student, after reading Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Williams drove to Oxford, Mississippi to meet the author. Faulkner encouraged her writing and the two established an enduring friendship. Williams was the author of such works as Country Woman, Old Powder Man, and Spring is Now. The small collection contains correspondence and magazine articles (6 boxes).
Tennessee Williams Collection. 1928-1975. Born in Columbus, Mississippi, Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams began publishing at the age of sixteen. He went on to write such seminal works as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, and Night of the Iguana, among others. The collection contains signed copies of his early published story "The Vengeance of Nitocris," a typescript of his first professionally staged play, Battle of Angels, annotated playscripts of Night of the Iguana, and film related ephemera (6 boxes).
Tennessee Williams Periodicals. 1945-1973. Assortment of periodicals containing works by or about Tennessee Williams (1 box).
Anna Caufield Winston Papers. Manuscript for "Climbin' Up De Golden Stair." Winston is the author of A Sampler by a Mississippi Schoolteacher; a Miscellany of Poetry and Prose (1954). Location: Small Manuscripts 1976-9 (Folder 3).
William Wordsworth Letter. 1843. Typed copy of a letter from poet William Wordsworth to Sargent S. Prentiss. Location: Small Manuscripts 1977-2 (Folder 34).
Richard Wright Collection. 1940- c. 1985. One of America's greatest authors, Richard Wright was born and spent the first years of his life on a plantation, not far from Natchez, Mississippi. His life as the son of a sharecropper was far from affluent. Though he spent only a few years of his life in Mississippi, those years would play a key role in two of his most important works: Native Son and Black Boy. The large Wright Collection, located at Yale University, contains most of his manuscripts but the University of Mississippi does house a small Wright Collection. Original invitations, press releases, signed works, and other materials form the bulk of this collection (3 boxes).
Yoknapatawpha Press Collection. 1979-1992. Contains materials related to Yoknapatawpha Press, a southern regional small press in Oxford, Mississippi (1 box).
Stark Young Collection. A native of Como, Mississippi, Stark Young moved with his family to Oxford as a young boy. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Young received a master's degree in English from Columbia in 1902. He taught at several academic institutions and began publishing poetry and plays. In 1921 Young became the New Republic's drama critic and member of its editorial board. Although most widely known at the time for his prose on the theater, Young also produced six novels. The fourth, So Red the Rose (1934) proved his most successful, and became the basis for the 1935 film. The Young Collection is comprised of several separate collection that contain original correspondence, manuscripts, and film ephemera relating to the life and career of this Mississippi author.
