Papers, 1948-1991 and n.d.

ArchivalResource

Papers, 1948-1991 and n.d.

The majority of the collection (116 items, dated 1948-1987) comprises correspondence with and other documents about Flannery O'Connor and her friend Father James "Hooty" McCown, S.J. Topics include Flannery O'Connor's writing and literary speaking engagements; Catholicism and her religious beliefs; her family life and personal health; her pets and hobbies; the social life and customs of the Southeastern U.S.; and the visits of the Gossetts and others to "Andalusia," the O'Connor family farm in Milledgeville, Ga. Includes 21 color photographs taken by Louise Gossett on two separate visits to Andalusia (in 1957 and 1958), several documenting a visit by Katherine Anne Porter. There are also audiocassettes containing O'Connor's address "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Literature." After O'Connor's death in August 1964, the Gossetts maintained a minimal correspondence with Mrs. Regina O'Connor, Flannery's mother, until 1973. They maintained a more substantial correspondence with Father McCown into the 1980s. Some of this correspondence concerns Mrs. O'Connor's actions after Flannery's death, the nature of the relationship between mother and daughter, and the unwillingness of Mrs. O'Connor to allow publication of her late daughter's letters. The majority of these letters, however, describe McCown's activities as a Jesuit priest and leader, including his leadership in various Jesuit institutions and churches, his organization of charitable and educational events for under-privileged children, and his missions in various parts of the Southwestern U.S. and Central America. The collection includes minimal correspondence with other American writers and intellectuals, including William Styron, Katherine Anne Porter, Mark Harris, Stark Young, John Breslin, and Charles Brady. There is a paper written by one of Thomas Gossett's students about William Styron, with handwritten comments and a letter to the student by Styron. In a thank you note to Louise Gossett, Katherine Anne Porter included brief comments on her own writing, as well as a discussion of San Antonio, Tex., where Porter lived in her childhood. Mark Harris wrote two letters to Thomas Gossett, one on his personal resume, thanking Gossett for his support and encouragement of his writing, and including one of Harris's poems.

216 items.

Related Entities

There are 13 Entities related to this resource.

Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69707s7 (person)

Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) was one of the most brilliant practitioners of the art of the short story. Her literary reputation rests on the stories in her Collected Stories (1964) rather than on her best-selling novel Ship of Fools (1962). Born Callie Russell Porter on May 15, 1890, she was the fourth of Harrison and Mary Alice Porter's five children. When her mother died in March 1892, her father moved the four surviving children from his farm in the central Texas community ...

Gossett, Thomas F., 1916-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ng541j (person)

Thomas Gossett is Professor Emeritus of English at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C. He and his wife, Louise, developed friendships with several major American writers and intellectuals. From the description of Papers, 1948-1991 and n.d. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 79844673 Dr. Gossett was Professor of English at Wake Forest College/University. From the description of Thomas F. Gossett Papers, 1985-1986. (Wake Forest University - ZSR ...

Harris, Mark, 1962-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ws8tmv (person)

Breslin, John B.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62g0r62 (person)

Gossett, Louise Y.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65q5xz7 (person)

McCown, James Hart

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qz9q20 (person)

Young, Stark

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m61p5c (person)

American author and critic. From the description of Belle Isle : typescript unsigned, 1940 July 31. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270129868 American journalist and dramatist. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Bedford, New York, to Belle da Costa Greene, 1944 Jun. 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270584560 American author. From the description of Letter to Minnie Nielson Butler [manuscript], 1950 March 14. (University of Vir...

O'Connor, Regina C.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n08m8s (person)

Styron, William, 1925-2006

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cr60m5 (person)

American novelist William Styron was born in Virginia and graduated from Duke. After serving in World War II, he worked as an editor while writing his first novel. His work has been both controversial and timely; his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner, explored the theme of slavery, and benefitted from being released during the racially-charged 1960s, and his American Book Award-winning novel, Sophie's Choice, examined a World War II concentration camp survivor. His styl...

Brady, Charles A. (Charles Andrew), 1912-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6000hx4 (person)

O'Connor, Flannery, 1925-1964

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6718qhs (person)

Mary Flannery O'Connor (b. March 25, 1925, Savannah, Georgia-d. August 3, 1964, Milledgeville, Georgia), Southern American novelist and short story writer, the daughter of Edward Francis and Regina Cline O'Connor in Savannah, Georgia, on March 25, 1925. She attended parochial schools in Savannah before moving to Milledgeville after the death of her father in 1941. After finishing high school in Milledgeville, she attended the Georgia State College for Women, now Georgia College and State Univers...

Barnes, Roslyn.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65j4w3h (person)

Jesuits

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mh1ck4 (corporateBody)

In 1534 Ignatius of Loyola, a Basque and former soldier, met in Paris with six companions to take a private vow of poverty and one to place themselves at the disposition of the pope. On September 27, 1540, Paul III issued the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae, canonically establishing the Society of Jesus. The constitutions of the society were drawn up by Ignatius who submitted his work for approval in 1550. Along with working toward the spiritual benefits of its members, the aim of the order w...