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Carson McCullers:

An Inventory of Her Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center



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Descriptive Summary

Repository Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center University of Texas at Austin
Creator McCullers, Carson, 1917-1967
Title Carson McCullers Collection
Dates: 1924-1976
Extent 48 boxes (20 linear feet), 16 galley folders, 3 oversize flat files
Abstract: The manuscripts and correspondence which make up the bulk of the McCullers collection principally reflect her literary life and career.
RLIN Record # TXRC98-A16
Language English.

Administrative Information

Acquisition

Purchases and gifts, 1967-1993 (R3856, 4289, 4591, 4498, 4957, 6041, 6604, 6605, 13058, G9650)

Processed by

Sally M. Nichols, 1998


Restrictions

Access

Open for research


Biographical Sketch

Carson McCullers was born in Columbus, Georgia, as Lula Carson Smith on February 19, 1917, the first born of Lamar and Marguerite Waters Smith. Though she moved from the South in 1934 and only returned for visits, most of her writing was inspired by her southern heritage. Her mother felt she had given birth to a genius from the time Carson was very young and always remained her staunchest supporter and strongest ally. When nine years of age, Lula began studying piano and practiced six to eight hours daily, planning a career as a concert pianist. In 1930 she began using the name Carson and studying piano with Mary Tucker. Carson graduated from Columbus High School in 1933, and after her piano teacher moved away in the spring of 1934, Carson moved to New York City to study at the Juilliard School of Music.

Shortly after her arrival she lost most of the money her parents had given her, and to support herself worked at various jobs and attended night classes in creative writing at Columbia and New York University. She focused on short stories at first, portraying adolescent anguish and unrequited love. Carson returned to Columbus in mid 1935 where she met Reeves McCullers, a soldier, whom she married in 1937. They were divorced in 1941 but remarried in 1945. Shortly after she left him in 1953 he committed suicide.

Carson experienced success early with the publication of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter in 1940 when she was only twenty-three. Its themes foreshadowed nearly everything she wrote thereafter, namely spiritual isolation as the human condition in modern times, and her identification with, and compassion for, the underdogs and outcasts of society. Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941) was greeted by mixed reviews and was generally considered not as successful as her first novel. Carson suffered the first of several strokes in 1941, believed to be the result of a misdiagnosed case of rheumatic fever which had damaged her heart when she was fifteen.

After receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1942 and a $1000 grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1943, McCullers was able to work on her next novel, The Member of the Wedding (1946), which again won high critical acclaim. She adapted the novel for the stage where it became a Broadway hit in 1950, running fourteen and a half months and winning the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Donaldson Award. McCullers was awarded a Gold Medal by the Theatre Club, Inc. as the best playwright of the year. In 1952 the play was turned into a succcessful motion picture. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, often considered her finest work, was published as a novella in 1951. It was adapted by Edward Albee for the Broadway stage in the 1963-1964 season but had only limited success.

Carson's next project, The Square Root of Wonderful, was her first attempt to write a play from its inception. The play went through numerous revisions and finally opened on Broadway on October 30, 1957, but received poor reviews and closed after forty-five performances. The play was published in 1958. Because of her despondency over her paralyzing strokes and the play's failure, McCullers began seeing psychiatrist Dr. Mary Mercer who had a very positive effect on her, inspiring her to continue writing, and who became a lifelong friend. Clock without Hands, her final novel, appeared in 1961. Though it made the best-seller lists for five months, it received mixed reviews in the United States and is the only one of her novels not adapted for the screen.

In addition to her five novels and two plays, McCullers wrote twenty short stories, over two dozen articles and essays, and some poetry and verse. She received numerous awards for her work throughout the years including the Prize of the Younger Generation in 1965, and the Henry Bellamann Award in 1966 in recognition of her "outstanding contribution to literature." On August 15, 1967 she suffered a stroke and remained in a coma until her death on September 29.


Sources

Carr, Virginia Spencer. The Lonely Hunter: A Biography of Carson McCullers (New York: Doubleday, 1975). Dictionary of Literary Biography, v. 173 (Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1996). Evans, Oliver. Carson McCullers: Her Life and Work (London: Peter Owen, 1965).

Scope and Contents

The 48 boxes of manuscripts and correspondence which make up the bulk of the Carson McCullers Collection, 1924-1976, principally reflect her literary life and career. The material is organized into four series: I. Works, 1940-1971 (23 boxes), II. Letters, 1944-1967 (1 box), III. Recipient 1939-1967 (5 boxes), and IV. Miscellaneous, 1924-1976 (19 boxes). Within each series the material is arranged alphabetically by title or author. This collection was previously accessible only through a card catalog, but has been re-cataloged as part of a retrospective conversion project.

The Works Series consists of holograph drafts, typescripts, galley proofs, page proofs, printed pages, notes, and fragments of poems, articles, essays, memoirs, plays, stories, and novels, some unpublished. Included are many untitled articles, essays, poems, and stories. The Center has extensive manuscript holdings for McCullers' novels, Clock without Hands (1961), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940), The Member of the Wedding (1946), including her script for stage and the musical adaptation, and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941). Manuscripts for her collected works include Collected Short Stories and the Novel The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1952), as well as The Mortgaged Heart (1971), edited by her sister, Margarita G. Smith. Numerous holograph drafts and typescripts for her play, The Square Root of Wonderful (1958), are found here as well. Among her stories are typescripts of "Art and Mr. Mahoney," (1949), "A Domestic Dilemma" (1951), "The Haunted Boy" (1955), "The March" (1967), "The Sojourner" (1950), and "Who Has Seen the Wind" (1956). Representative of the articles and essays found in this collection are "The Dark Brilliance of Edward Albee" (1963), "The Flowering Dream" (1959), "Home for Christmas" (1949), "A Hospital Christmas Eve" (1967), "How I Began to Write" (1948), "In Praise of Radiance" (1963), "Our Heads Are Bowed" (1945), and "The Vision Shared" (1950).

The Letters Series includes 260 letters written by McCullers to her family, including her husband Reeves, her sister, Margarita, and her mother; to literary friends such as Dawn Langley Gordon Simmons; publisher Houghton Mifflin and Company; literary agent Ann Watkins, Inc.; and her attorneys Fitelson and Mayers.

The Recipient Series contains approximately 1000 letters to McCullers including letters from fans such as Morton Ruge who wrote of the profound effect her work had on his life, and from a high school teacher, B.E. Edelstein, who mailed letters from his students to McCullers describing their reactions to her novels; from literary and artistic friends Newton Arvin, Marielle Bancou, David Diamond, Janet Flanner, Howard Mandel, Dawn Langley Simmons, and Tennessee Williams, among others; from editors André Bay and John Lackey Brown; movie director Fred Zinnemann; her biographer Oliver Evans; her physician and close friend, Mary Mercer; from literary agents Ann Watkins, Inc., Robert Lantz, Liebling-Wood, and Pearn, Pollinger, & Higham Ltd.; publishers Houghton Mifflin and Company and Mondadori Publishing Company, Inc.; attorneys Fitelson and Mayers; organizations such as the Ford Foundation and the National Institute of Arts and Letters; and her family. Additional correspondents can be identified using the Index of Correspondents located at the end of this finding aid.

The Miscellaneous Series contains various adaptations of McCullers' works including Ballad of the Sad Cafe (stage adaptation by Edward Albee and materials from the Merchant Ivory Productions film), The Member of the Wedding (French stage adaptation by André Bay and a musical adaptation by Theodore Mann and G. Wood called "F, Jasmine Addams"), Reflections in a Golden Eye (screenplay by Chapman Mortimer, Gladys Hill, and John Huston), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (filmscript by Thomas C. Ryan), and Clock without Hands (stage adaptation by Arthur J. Vander).

Also included here are manuscripts of articles, books, theses, and dissertations about McCullers by authors such as Hans de Vaal, Oliver Wendell Evans, Lawrence J. McCarthy, Simeon Mozart Smith, and Margaret Sue Sullivan. Especially notable is an article "Praise to Assenting Angels," by Tennessee Williams.

Works by other authors, among them Elizabeth Bowen, Katherine Garrison Chapin, David Diamond, A. E. Hotchner, Victor Sawdon Pritchett, Vinnie Williams, Vurrell Yentzen, and R. L. York, are also present in this series. Diamond's musical compositions include McCullers' "The Twisted Trinity" set to music.

This series also contains extensive third-party correspondence, much of it pertaining to McCullers and written to her sister, Margarita G. Smith, with the majority from McCullers' attorneys, Fitelson and Mayers, her publisher, Houghton Mifflin and Company, and her agent Robert Lantz. Personal items relating to McCullers are contained here such as several address books, a family Bible, various financial records such as bank records and royalty statements, materials concerning her funeral, and her will. Other items relate to her sister, Margarita G. Smith, and to her mother, Marguerite Waters Smith.

Elsewhere in the Center are forty Vertical File folders which contain playbills, reviews of McCullers' work, and newspaper articles about her life, writings, awards, and death. The Photography Collection contains over 1000 photographs of McCullers, her family, friends, and screen personalities involved in the film versions of her works. In the Personal Effects Collection are numerous articles of clothing, among other things.




Index Terms

Correspondents

Arvin, Newton, 1900-1963
Bay, André
Crawford, Cheryl, 1902-1986
Diamond, David, 1915-
Evans, Oliver Wendell, 1915-
Lantz, Robert
Liever, Maxim
McCullers, Reeves, 1913-1953
Mercer, Mary
Schwarzenbach, Annemarie, 1908-1942
Simmons, Dawn Langley
Smith, Margarita G.
Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983

Organizations

Ann Watkins, Inc.
Fitelson and Mayers
Houghton Mifflin and Company
Liebling-Wood
Pearn, Pollinger, & Higham Ltd.

Subjects

American drama
Authors, American
Women and literature--Southern states

Document Types

Address books
Awards
Christmas cards
Financial records
Galley proofs
Genealogical tables
Playbills
Postcards
Scores
Wills

Container List

Series I. Works, 1940-1971

Untitled articles, essays, memoirs
boxfolder
1 1 Article about the play, The Member of the Wedding, nd, 
5pp
1 Article on writing Square Root of Wonderful, nd, 
5pp
1 Essay on the creative process, nd, 
3pp
1 Memoir of Christmas, two carbon copy typescripts, nd, 
6pp, 7pp
Article on Georgia
boxfolder
1 2 Notes, holograph, 1p; typescript with revisions, nd,  
33pp
3 Typescript with corrections and two carbon copies, one with corrections, nd, 
32pp each
4 Carbon copy typescript and photocopy with emendations, nd, 
37pp each
5 Condensed version, typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
3pp each
6 Untitled poems
6 "A boy named Jesus was in Rome...," nd, 
1p
6 "Death is that man I know...," nd, 
4pp
6 "God of our fathers! Oh Jehova!...," nd, 
1p
6 "How can I turn to God...," typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
1p each
6 "The hanging window blind...," nd, 
1p
6 "When we are lost, what image tells...," holograph, two typescripts, carbon copy typescript, nd, 
1p each
6 "Why is my gathered love in ferment...," holograph, two typescripts, three carbon copies, nd, 
1p each
7 Untitled stories
7 Opening paragraph, seven drafts, nd, 
1p each
7 About a doctor and a patient named John Lee, nd, 
8pp
7 About an African American boy in a cafe, nd, 
6pp
8 About Felix Rosenbloom, nd, 
6pp
8 About Johann Jirasek, nd, 
2pp
8 About John and Irene looking for furnished rooms, nd, 
5pp
8 About John getting rid of his brother George, nd, 
6pp
9 About Miss Palmer Shannon, nd, 
3pp
9 About Mr. Adams and a young couple, nd, 
4pp
9 About paratroopers, nd, 
2pp
9 About the death of Mrs. Jefferson's mother, nd, 
2pp
10 About Andrew Leander, nd, 
40pp
11 About Jester Clane, nd, 
46pp
12 About John Thomas, three typescripts with revisions, nd, 
8pp, 5pp, 3pp, and five disparate draft pages
13 About Judge Palmer Shannon, nd, 
18pp
14 About Walter Knox, three typescripts with revisions, nd, 
9pp each
"The Aliens," story
boxfolder
2 1 Typescript with corrections, nd, 
11pp
2 Typescript with emendations, nd, 
18pp
3 Typescript with revisions, nd, 17pp; typescript, nd,  
16pp; photocopy of both typescripts
4 Answer me, Andrew!, nd, 13pp; a critique by Sylvia Chatfield Bates, nd,  
1p
5 "Art and Mr. Mahoney" (1949), story, holograph, nd, 14pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd,  
5pp each
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1951),  
novella
boxfolder
2 6 Holograph, nd, 
21pp
7 Typescript with corrections, nd, 
92pp
8 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
88pp
9 "Breath from the Sky," story, typescript with revisions, nd, 14pp; carbon copy with revisions, nd,  
13pp
10 Broadcast: Carson McCullers on Nyack, New York, typescript and carbon copy, 1955, 
5pp each
11 Broadcast: Interview of Carson McCullers and Tennessee Williams, 1945, 
6pp
"The Chair," story
boxfolder
2 12 Two holograph drafts, nd, 
5pp, 15pp
13 Holograph and typescript with corrections, nd, 
37pp
14 Typescript with corrections, nd, 
25pp
15 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
6pp
16 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
27pp
17 Character sketches for an unidentified work, nd, 
23pp in spiral notebook
Clock without Hands (1961),  
novel
boxfolder
3 1 Theme, characters, outlines; holograph, typescript and photocopies, nd, 
33pp
2 Holograph fragment, nd, 
3pp
3-5 Holograph draft, nd, 
311pp
6 Holograph and typescript fragment, nd, 
21pp
7 Typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
23pp
8 Chapter 1, carbon copy typescript, nd, 
30pp
9 Chapters 1-3, typescript, nd, 
70pp
10 Chapters 1, 3, and 4, typescript and photocopies, nd, 
167pp
11 Chapter 2, holograph with corrections, nd, 
43pp
12 Chapters 11-14, typescript and carbon copies with corrections, nd, 
48pp
13-14 Typescript and carbon copy with corrections, nd, 
248pp
   
4 1-6 Typescript and carbon copies with revisions, nd, 
775pp
   
5-6 Five typescript photocopies, nd, 265pp each; two typescript photocopies, nd,  
264pp each
   
7 1 Prelims, typescript with printer's marks, 1961, 
6pp
2-4 Typescript photocopy with printer's mark, nd, 
262pp
Galley proofs, incomplete, 1961,  
40 pp [removed to Galley Files]
Two galley proofs with corrections, 1961,  
83pp, 90pp [removed to Galley Files]
Two galley proofs, 1961,  
87pp each [removed to Galley Files]
5 Excerpt, typescript photocopy, nd, 21pp; jacket blurb, proof, nd,  
2pp
6 L'Horloge sans Aiguilles: chapter 1, typescript with corrections, nd, 
35pp
Collected Short Stories and the Novel The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1952)
boxfolder
8 1 Prelims, nd, 
3pp
Galley proofs, nd,  
35pp [removed to Galley Files]
2 Page proofs, 1961, 
123pp
Page proofs with corrections, 1961,  
52pp [removed to Galley Files]
3 "Court in the West Eighties," story, typescript, nd, 13pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd,  
9pp each
4 "The Cracked Bell," poem, typescript and photocopy, nd, 
1p each
5 "The Cripple," story, nd, 
27pp
6 "The Dark Brilliance of Edward Albee" (1963), article, two carbon copy typescripts with corrections and emendations, 1962, 
2pp each
7 "Dear, Dear Mister Brahms!," story, typescript with revisions, nd, 6pp; typescript, nd, 5pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd  
4pp each
8 "The Discovery of Christmas" (1953), article, nd, 
18pp
9 "The Distance," autobiography, nd, 
16pp
"Domestic Dilemma": Evening at Home (1951),  
story
boxfolder
8 10 Holograph and typescript with revisions, nd, 40pp; typescript with revisions, nd,  
17pp
11 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
17pp
12 "The Dual Angel" (1952), poem, typescript and two carbon copies, 1951, 3pp each; two typescript photocopies, nd,  
10pp each
13 "The Exquisite Psycho"(?), story, nd, 
4pp
14 The Fables of Anne Frank, introduction, nd, 
28pp
"The Flowering Dream" article (1959),
boxfolder
8 15 Typescript, carbon copy, and photocopy with corrections, 1958, 13pp; holograph and typescript notes and draft pages, nd,  
13pp
16 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
8pp
17 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
9pp
18 The Divine Collusion, typescript with corrections, 1958, 
12pp
19 Fo-Go
19 "For J. R. M.," poem, nd, 
7pp
19 Ford Foundation grant application essay, three incomplete typescripts, nd, 
1p each
19 "The Golden Easter Egg," story, nd, 
3pp
20 "Grinny-Granny Grone," story, nd, 
13pp
"The Haunted Boy" (1955),  
story
boxfolder
9 1 Holograph, typescript, and carbon copy draft pages, nd, 
7pp
2 Typescript and carbon copy with corrections, nd, 
16pp
3 Carbon copy typescript with corrections, 1955, 
25pp
4 Carbon copy with revisions, nd, 
10pp
5 Printed copy with corrections, 1955, 
7pp
Page proof, 1955,  
7pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
boxfolder
9 6 April Afternoon, holograph with emendations, nd, 19pp; typescript with corrections, nd, 8pp; carbon copy typescript, nd,  
9pp
7 "The Haunted Hour," poem, nd, 
1p
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940),  
novel
boxfolder
9 8 Remarks, characters, structure; carbon copy typescript, nd, 
20pp
Galley proofs with corrections, nd,  
89pp [removed to Galley Files]
Page proofs, 1961,  
69pp [removed to Galley Files]
9-10 Page proofs, 1961, 
274pp
Page proofs incomplete, nd,  
11pp [removed to Galley Files]
11 "History of Death," story, three typescripts, two with corrections, nd, 
1p, 4pp, 3pp
12 "Home for Christmas" (1949), article, holograph, nd, 18pp; typescript, nd,  
6pp
13 "Home Journey and the Green Arcade," story, typescript, nd, 11pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd,  
8pp each
14 "A Hospital Christmas Eve" (1967), article, typescript and two carbon copies with corrections, nd,  
4pp each
15 "How I Began to Write" (1948), article, nd,  
3pp
16 "Hush Little Baby," story, typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
17pp each
17 "I Live in Brooklyn," article, nd, 
5pp
Illumination and Night Glare, autobiography
boxfolder
9 18 Two holograph drafts, nd, 
2pp, 7pp
19 Holograph, nd, 
50pp
20 Holograph and typescript, nd, 
21pp
21 Typescript with revisions; photocopy, nd, 
117pp
22 Carbon copy with revisions, nd, 
128pp
23 "In Praise of Radiance" (1963), article, three carbon copies with corrections, nd, 6pp each; typescript and carbon copy, 1962,  
8pp each
24 "In remembrance of a most magical evening...," 1961, 
6pp
25 "Instant of the Hour After," story, nd, 
13pp
26 Interview with Carson McCullers by Jane Howard for Bookstand on BBC, 1962, 
4pp
Lecture about experiences as a writer
boxfolder
10 1 Typescript with corrections, three carbon copies, nd, 
5pp each
2 Typescript with revisions, 1958, 9pp; typescript, nd, 6pp; carbon copy with revisions, nd,  
6pp
3 "Loneliness, an American Malady" (1949),  
article, 2pp
4 "Magic Marvel," play, nd, 
1p
5 "The Man Upstairs," story, holograph, nd, 6pp; carbon copy typescript with revisions, typescript and carbon copy, nd,  
15pp each
"The March" (1967),  
story
boxfolder
10 6 Notes and outline, typescript with revisions, 1966, 
3pp
7 Typescript with revisions, nd, 
58pp
8 Typescript photocopy with corrections, nd, 
47pp
9 Carbon copy typescript and photocopy, nd, 
48pp each
10 Carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd, 
59pp
11 "The Mean Monkey," poem, holograph with corrections, nd, 10pp; carbon copy typescripts, nd,  
2pp each
The Member of the Wedding (1946),  
novel
boxfolder
11 1 Typescript and carbon copy with revisions, nd, 
42pp
2-3 Typescript with revisions, nd, 
245pp
4 Typescript fragments with emendations, nd, 
16pp
5-6 Typescript with revisions, nd, 
231pp
Galley proofs with corrections, nd,  
46pp [removed to Galley Files]
Page proofs, 1961,  
40pp [removed to Galley Files]
7 Page proofs, 1961, 
134pp
8 Honey Camden Brown, typescript, nd, 
47pp
The Member of the Wedding (1951),  
play
boxfolder
12 1 Holograph fragment, nd, 
6pp
2 Holograph draft, nd, 
19pp
3 Holograph, typescript, and carbon copies, nd, 
151pp total
4 Typescript fragment, nd, 
6pp
5 Typescript and carbon copy, nd, 14pp; two carbon copies, nd,  
12pp each
6 Typescript and carbon copy with emendations, nd, 
121pp
Typescript and carbon copy drafts with revisions, nd
boxfolder
12 7  
96pp
8  
128pp
9  
222pp
10 Typescript and carbon copy with emendations, 1947, 
145pp
   
13 1 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
88pp
2 Carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd, 
85pp
3 Carbon copy typescript with revisions, nd, 
129pp
4-5 Two carbon copy typescripts, nd, 
63pp each
6 Carbon copy typescript fragment, nd, 
3pp
Act II
boxfolder
13 7 Holograph and typescript, nd, 11pp; typescript with corrections, nd,  
18pp
8 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
7pp
9 Additions to original script, holograph, nd, 
10pp
10 Script, first version, typescript with corrections, nd, 
84pp
11 Prelims and part title pages, typescript with printer's marks, nd, 
8pp
The Member of the Wedding,  
musical
boxfolder
14 1 Holograph fragment, 1964, 
6pp
2 Typescript with corrections, nd, 
137pp
3 Carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd 
110pp
4 Carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd, 
127pp
5 Typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
137pp each
Act I
boxfolder
14 6 Typescript and carbon copy, nd, 
5pp each
7 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
59pp
Lyrics
boxfolder
14 8 Holograph, nd, 
11pp
9 Typescript with corrections, nd, 
6pp
Holograph, nd,  
10pp [in spiral notebook with Character sketches for an unidentified work, filed in 2.17]
The Mortgaged Heart, collected works, ed. by Margarita Smith (1971)
boxfolder
15 1 Introduction and notes by Margarita Smith, typescript photocopy with corrections, nd, 
56pp
2-3 Composite typescript photocopy and printed manuscript, nd, 
224pp
4-7 Typescript and photocopy with printer's marks, nd, 
437pp
   
16 1 Typescript photocopy with notes, nd, 
186pp
2-3 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
206pp
4-6 Typescript photocopy with notes, nd, 
250pp
   
17 1-3 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
395pp
4 Typescript photocopy, incomplete, nd, 
83pp
Galley proofs with corrections, nd,  
91pp [removed to Galley Files]
Galley proofs with corrections, 1971, 112pp; galley proofs incomplete with corrections, 1971,  
18pp [removed to Galley Files]
5 Galley and page proof photocopies with corrections, 1971, 
110pp
Page proofs with corrections, 1971,  
107pp [removed to Galley Files]
6 Poem, holograph, nd, 2pp; carbon copy typescript, nd,  
1p
7 "Mother," story, typescript with emendations and carbon copy, nd, 
6pp each
8 "Murder in Arcadia," story, holograph and typescript with corrections, nd, 21pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd, 10pp each; carbon copy, nd, 11pp; typescript photocopy, nd,  
10pp
   
18 1 N
1 "The Nature of Loneliness," article, nd, 
4pp
1 "Night Watch Over Freedom," article, 1940, 
3pp
2 On The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, article, holograph with corrections, 1964, 7pp; carbon copy, 1964, 3pp
3 On The Square Root of Wonderful, article, nd, 
5pp
4 "The Orphanage," article, nd, 
7pp
5 "Our Heads Are Bowed: Thanksgiving 1945" (1945), article, typescript with emendations, 1945, 1p; carbon copy with corrections, 1945,  
2pp
6 P
6 "A Personal Preface" to The Square Root of Wonderful, article, 1958,  
4pp
6 "Poldi," story, nd, 
10pp
6 "The Pope and the Republic," poem, three holographs, nd, 
1p each
6 "Problem," poem, 1947, 
1p
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941),  
novel
Galley proofs with corrections, nd,  
26pp [removed to Galley Files]
Page proofs, 1961,  
25pp [removed to Galley Files]
7 Page proofs, 1961, 
85pp
8 Prelims and part title pages, nd, 
9pp
9 Scenario, typescript with corrections, nd, 4pp; five carbon copy typescripts, nd,  
4pp each
10 Some notes about, typescript with corrections, nd, 2pp; two carbon copies, nd,  
3pp each
11 "A Request," poem, nd, 
1p
12 Review of The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone by Tennessee Williams, typescript, nd, 3pp; carbon copy, nd, 2pp  
2pp
13 "Saraband," poem, typescript and carbon copy, nd, 1p each; three typescripts, nd, 1p each; six typescript photocopies, nd,  
1p each
14 "Show on a Friday Evening," story, typescript with emendations, nd, 17pp; typescript with corrections, nd, 14pp; typescript, nd, 11pp; typescript photocopy, nd,  
18pp
"The Sojourner " (1950),story
boxfolder
18 15 Holograph and typescript with revisions, nd, 30pp; holograph, typescript, and carbon copy draft pages, nd, 8pp; typescript with emendations and carbon copy with corrections, nd, 13pp each; typescript with revisions, nd, 18pp; two carbon copies, nd, 15pp each
16 "The Invisible Wall," television play, typescript and carbon copy with revisions, nd, 22pp; carbon copy typescript, nd, 12pp; carbon copy typescript, nd, 27pp; carbon copy typescript incomplete, nd, 21pp
The Square Root of Wonderful (1958),  
play
boxfolder
19 1 Holograph pages, nd, 11pp; holograph fragment, nd, 13pp
Holograph drafts, incomplete, nd
boxfolder
19 2  
29pp
3  
75pp
4  
80pp
5  
91pp
6  
124pp
7  
155pp
folder
8  
164pp
boxfolder
20 1 Composite holograph, typescript, and carbon copy, nd. 
91pp
2 Composite holograph, typescript, and carbon copy with revisions, nd. 
156pp
3-4 Composite holograph, typescript, and carbon copy, nd, 
229pp
5-6 Composite holograph, typescript, and carbon copy, nd, 
270pp
   
21 1 Typescript and carbon copy, incomplete, with revisions, nd, 
75pp
2-3 Typescript and carbon copy, incomplete, 1957, 
240pp
4 Carbon copy typescript with emendations, nd, 
112pp
Carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd
boxfolder
21 5  
114pp
6  
142pp
7  
154pp
8 Typescript, nd, 76pp; carbon copy typescript, 1957,  
76pp
   
22 1 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
80pp
2 Typescript photocopy with corrections, nd, 
93pp
3 Two typescript photocopies, nd, 
99pp each
4 Acts I and II, carbon copy typescript with corrections, nd, 
73pp
5 Act II, carbon copy typescript, nd, 
37pp
6 Act III, scene 2, typescript, 1957, 5pp; carbon copy typescript, 1957,  
3pp
7 Marvelous Sixth Millionth Power, holograph with revisions, nd, 
141pp
8 Notes on the Production, holograph written in notebook, nd, 
16pp
Who Has Seen the Wind
boxfolder
22 9 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
110pp
10 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
109pp
11 St
11 "Stone Is Not Stone" (1957), poem, holograph, typescript, and three carbon copies, nd, 
1p each
11 "The Strange Visit," play, typescript with revisions, nd, 7pp; typescript with corrections, nd,  
3pp
Sweet as a Pickle and Clean as a Pig (1964),  
poems
boxfolder
23 1 Four holographs, nd, 
1p each
2 Holograph with revisions, nd, 
15pp
3 Incomplete holograph with revisions, nd, 
4pp
Composite holograph, typescript, and carbon copy with corrections, nd
boxfolder
23 4  
59pp
5  
79pp
6 Typed carbon copy with corrections and drawings, nd, 
9pp
7 Two carbon copy typescripts, nd, 
25pp; 27pp
8 Two typescript photocopies, nd, 
8pp; 7pp
Page proofs, 1964,  
5pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
9 "The Trouble-Chair," play, nd, 
8pp
10 "The Vision Shared, " article, carbon copy typescript with revisions, 10pp; typescript, 6pp; carbon copy, 6pp; carbon copy with corrections, 7pp, all 1950
11 "When We Are Lost" (1948; 1952), poem, nd, 
2pp
"Who Has Seen the Wind" (1956),  
story
boxfolder
23 12 Two carbon copy typescripts, nd, 
24pp each
13 Carbon copy typescript with emendations, nd, 
28pp
14 Carbon copy typescript, 1955, 
45pp
Galley proofs, 1956,  
10pp [removed to Galley Files]



Series II. Letters, 1944-1967

boxfolder
24 1 Unidentified
2 A-C
3 Bay, André, 1958, nd
4 D-M
5 Evans, Oliver, 1961-1967
6 Fitelson and Mayers, 1948-1963
7 Ford Foundation, 1959
8 Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1950-1959, nd
9 McCullers, Reeves, 1944-1951
10 N-S
11 Simmons, Dawn Langley, 1963
12 Smith, Margarita, 1952-1954, nd
13 Smith, Marguerite Waters, 1947-1954, nd
14 T-Z



Series III. Recipient, 1939-1967

boxfolder
25 1 Unidentified authors
2 A
3 Ann Watkins, Inc., 1945-1952
4 Arvin, Newton, 1944-1954
5 B
6 Bancou, Marielle, 1958-1967
7 Bay, André, 1951-1958, nd
8 Brown, John Lackey, 1950-1961, nd
9 C
10 Collingwood, Joan, 1951
11 Columbia Broadcasting System, 1958, 1966
12 Connor, Phyllis, 1953
   
26 1 D-E
2 Edelstein, B.E.
3 Evans, Oliver, 1963, nd
4 F-G
5-7 Fitelson and Mayers, 1949-1966
8 Flanner, Janet, 1953, nd
9 Ford Foundation, 1953-1963
   
27 1 H
2 Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1940-1963, nd
3 I-K
4 Kilby and Lake, Inc., 1951-1963
5 L
6 Lantz, Robert, 1959-1967, nd
7 Lieber, Maxim, 1939-1952
8 Liebling-Wood, 1948-1954, nd
   
28 1 M
2-4 McCullers, Reeves, 1943-1945, nd
5 Mandel, Howard, 1953, nd
6 Mercer, Mary, 1960-1962, nd
7 Mondadori Publishing Company, Inc., 1962
8 Myers, Robert K., 1953, nd
9 N-O
10 National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1953-1961
   
29 1 P-R
2 Pearn, Pollinger, & Higham Ltd., 1944-1953
3 Ruge, Morton, 1952
4 S
5 Simmons, Dawn Langley, 1965, nd
6 Smith, Margarita G., 1952-1954, nd
7 T-V
8 W-Z
9 Warshaw and Clarke, 1951-1953
10 Zinnemann, Fred, 1952-1953
11 Empty envelopes



Series IV. Miscellaneous, 1924-1976

boxfolder
30 1 Unidentified authors
2 A
Albee, Edward, Ballad of the Sad Cafe, stage adaptation
boxfolder
30 3 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
188pp
4 Carbon copy typescript, 1963, 
212pp
Act 1
boxfolder
30 5 Typescript, nd, 
58pp
6 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
41pp
7 Narration, typescript, nd, 
10pp
8 Lyrics, typescript and carbon copy with emendations, nd, 
4pp
9 Narration, typescript with revisions, nd, 
40pp
10 Opening and closing scenes, typescript with corrections, nd, 12pp; typescript and carbon copy, nd,  
9pp
11 Prospectus, typescript, nd, 
9pp
12 Scenes I - III, typescript with corrections, nd, 20pp; incomplete carbon copy, nd,  
15pp
13 American Express, 1952, nd
   
31 1 B
Bay, André, The Member of the Wedding, French stage adaptation
boxfolder
31 2 Carbon copy typescript, nd, 
123pp
3 Frankie Addams, carbon copy typescript, nd, 
136pp
4-6 Bowen, Elizabeth, The Heat of the Day, 1948, 
407pp
   
32 1 C
Carson family tree, holograph, nd,  
1p [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
2 Chapin, Katherine Garrison, Sojourner Truth, 1947, 
148pp
3 D-E
de Vaal, Hans
boxfolder
32 4 "An Afternoon with Carson McCullers," 1953, 
7pp
4 "A Talk with Carson McCullers," nd 
7pp
4 "There Is Poetry in Children; a Drink with Carson McCullers," nd, 
4pp
Diamond, David
box
32 "The Dream of Audubon," ballet in three scenes, 1941,  
67pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
"Lines for an Old Man," by T.S. Eliot, set to music, 1943,  
3pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
"Music, When Soft Voices Die," by Shelley, set to music, 1943,  
2pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
"My Little Mother," by Katherine Mansfield, set to music, 1943,  
2pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
"On Death," by John Clare, set to music, 1943,  
4pp [removed to oversize Flat Files]
"Souvent j'ai dit àmon mari," by Katherine Mansfield, set to music, 1943,  
2pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
"The Twisted Trinity," by Carson McCullers, set to music, 1943,  
3pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
Evans, Oliver Wendell
Carson McCullers, Her Life and Work
boxfolder
32 5 Incomplete typescript and photocopy with corrections, nd, 
26pp
6-8 Typescript and carbon copies with corrections, nd, 
374pp
Two galley proofs with corrections, 1965,  
73pp and 55pp [removed to Galley Files]
9 "The Theme of Spiritual Isolation in Carson McCullers," nd, 
22pp
   
33 1 F
2-3 Fitelson and Mayers, 1952-1974
4 G-J
5 Hinton, Mary Albert, 1950-1954, nd
6 Hotchner, A. E., Ernest Hemingway's Love and Death, dramatized, 1960, 
110pp
7-10 Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1949-1973
   
34 1 K-L
2 Korman, Kimberly, 1972
3-5 Lantz, Robert, 1957-1974
   
35 1 MCA Artists Ltd.
2 McCarthy, Lawrence J., Carson McCullers: Her Fiction, 1937-1960, 1961, 
90pp
McCullers, Carson
boxfolder
35 3 A-F
4-5 Address books
   
36 1 Bible, nd,  
includes family register of Marguerite Waters and Lamar Smith
2 Book withdrawals
3 Clock without Hands, production contract, 1961, 
36pp
Financial records
Bank records
boxfolder
36 4 Marine Midland Trust Co, 1961-1966, 
30 items
Nyack Bank and Trust Co.
box
37 Checkbooks, 1952-1965, 
13 items
  folder
38 1-2 Records, 1944-1963, 
96 items
3 Ledgers, holographs in notebooks, 1950-1951, 9pp; 1954-1955,  
35pp
4 Miscellaneous records, 1947-1967, 
100 items
5 Personal property lists, 1962,  
holograph, 2pp; typescript, 4pp; two carbon copies, 4pp each
6 Royalty statements, 1946-1971, 
54 items
7 Security holdings and transactions, 1951-1966, 
70 items
   
39 1-7 Funeral, materials relating to, 1967, 
200 items
   
40 1 G-L
2 House in Nyack, New York, materials relating to, 1957-1967, 
50 items
3 Insurance policies, 1951-1970, 
27 items
4 M-N
5 Medical chart books, 1964, 
45pp
6 Meditations during analysis, transcriptions of, 1958, 
19pp
7 Member of the Wedding, play, congratulatory telegrams, 1949-1950, 
51 items
8 Miscellaneous notes, nd, 
41pp
9 Notes written in spiral binder, 1967, 
42pp
   
41 1 P-Z
"Rumplestilskin," [sic] àMary S. Tucker, music, 1933,  
8pp [removed to Oversize Flat Files]
2 Will, 1964, 
8pp
3 McCullers, Jessie, 1944-1953
4 McCullers, Reeves
5 McCullers, Reeves, 1950-1953, nd
6 McQuade, Ann, 1955
7 Mag-Mz
   
42 1 Mann, Theodore, "F, Jasmine Addams," musical adaptation of McCullers' The Member of the Wedding, by Theodore Mann and G. Wood, two typescript photocopies, nd, 
90pp each
2 Merchant Ivory Productions, script and publicity materials for production of Ballad of the Sad Cafe, 1991, nd
Mortimer, Chapman, Reflections in a Golden Eye, screenplay, by Chapman Mortimer, Gladys Hill, and John Huston
boxfolder
42 3 Typescript photocopy, nd, 
145pp
4 Typescript photocopy, 1967, 
105pp
   
43 1 N-Q
2 Omnibus; TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation, four scripts, 1952-1953, 1 nd, 
142pp total
Pritchett, Victor Sawdon, "A Spring Morning," galley proof, 1956,  
1p [removed to Galley Files]
3 R-S
Ryan, Thomas C., The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
boxfolder
43 4 Filmscript, typescript photocopy, 1968, 
139pp
5-6 Screenplay, typescript photocopies, nd, 147pp; 1963,  
129pp
7 Smith, Corinne, material relating to her funeral and estate, 1972-1973, 
46pp
Smith, Margarita G.
boxfolder
44 1 A-Z
2 Outgoing correspondence, 1949-1973, nd
3 Eckard, Ronald D., 1972
4 Fitelson and Meyers, 1953-1972, nd
5 Houghton Mifflin, 1970-1971, nd
6 Lantz, Robert, 1969-1972, nd
7 Financial papers, 1944-1960, 
23 items
Smith, Marguerite Waters
boxfolder
45 1 A-Z
2-8 Bank records, Nyack Bank and Trust Co.
   
46 1-4 Financial records, 1924-1953, 
125 items
5 Funeral, materials relating to, 1955, 
67 items
6 Insurance policies, 1951-1960, 
4 items
7 Miscellaneous notes and accounts, nd, 
57pp
Smith, Simeon Mozart
boxfolder
47 1 Carson McCullers: A Critical Introduction, 1963, 
275pp
2 Correspondence, 1967-1969
3 Smith, Virginia, 1953-1954, nd
4 The Springer Theatre Company, correspondence, 1967
5 Storey, Virginia Johnson, lecture, two typescript photocopies, 1964, 
11pp each
6 Sullivan, Margaret Sue, Carson McCullers, 1917-1947; the Conversion of Experience, 1966, 
322pp
7 Swift, Pease, Davidson, Swinson, and Chapman, 1944-1946
   
48 1 T-Z
2 Tucker, Mary, 1958-1968, nd
3 Vander, Arthur J., Clock without Hands, adapted for the stage, typescript with corrections, nd, 82pp; typescript and carbon copy correction pages, nd,  
39pp
4 Williams, Tennessee, "Praise to Assenting Angels," carbon copy typescript, nd, 9pp; typescript photocopy, nd,  
11pp
5 Williams, Vinnie, I Resign You, Stallion (1965), novel, galley proof, nd, 
173pp
6 Yentzen, Vurrell, Blood-weeds, play, nd, 
130pp
7 York, R. L., Untitled essay about Annemarie Clarac-Schwarzenbach, nd, 
24pp
8 Envelopes and folders



Carson McCullers--Index of Correspondents

Index entries followed by the notation (from McCullers) indicate people to whom McCullers wrote. Box and folder numbers followed by a number in parenthesis indicate the number of items by (or to) that person. No parenthetical notation indicates there is just one item. So in the example

Arvin, Newton, 1900-1963--24.2 (from McCullers), 25.4 (5) there is one item from McCullers in box 24, folder 2; and five items from Arvin in box 25, folder 4.