Series 18: Reviews, Eudora Welty Collection (Z/0301)
Series 18: Reviews
Dates: 1943-1994; n.d.
Size: 1.18 cubic ft.
Note on arrangement and description:
This series originally consisted of the drafts of reviews listed immediately below. Additional drafts were included in the gift of Welty’s Estate: these have been integrated into their appropriate places and are indicated by bold type font. All are arranged chronologically by date of publication. In addition, two other categories of material have been added to this series, and noted below in bold. Proof pages and typescript photocopies for the manuscript of Eudora Welty’s A Writer’s Eye: Collected Book Reviews, edited and introduced by Pearl Amelia McHaney, (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi), 1994, have been arranged following the drafts of individual reviews, a number of which appear in A Writer’s Eye. The last part of the series consists of notes created by Welty for four apparently unfinished reviews.
The descriptions in the “Drafts of Reviews” were originally created by Welty scholar Suzanne Marrs for her work, The Welty Collection: A Guide to the Eudora Welty Manuscripts and Documents at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi), 1988. These descriptions have been modified to reflect the rearrangement of material required by the incorporation of new drafts. In a few cases, further information on the publication of the reviews has been supplied from Pearl Amelia McHaney’s edition of Eudora Welty’s A Writer’s Eye…, cited above, or by the archivist.
Numbers have been assigned by the archivist to each piece of the collection: they appear in brackets in the description below, and on the verso of the pages. Within each folder, all pieces (including loose strips and small notes) have been numbered to reflect the order in which they were found at the time of processing, in order preserve the context of Welty’s creative work.
Drafts of Reviews
| Description | Box | Folder |
| Our Daily Bread. By Enrique Gil Gilbert. Trans. Dudley Poore. [1943]. 3 pieces. Carbon typescript of review with handwritten corrections in ink. — "Exotic, from Ecuador." New York Times Book Review 18 July 1943: 6. | 71 | 1 |
| The Horse and His Shadow. By Enrique Amorim. Trans. Richard L. O'Connell and James Graham Lujan. [1943]. 1 piece. Carbon typescript of review with handwritten corrections in pencil. — "A Powerful Novel of the Pampas." NYTBR 15 August 1943: 4. | 71 | 2 |
| The Land of the Great Image. By Maurice Collis. 1943. 3 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten corrections. — "The Great Buddha." NYTBR 29 August 1943: 5, 16. | 71 | 3 |
| A Garland of Straw. By Sylvia Townsend Warner. 1943. 2 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten corrections. — Tomorrow November 1943: 52-53. Welty’s handwritten note "NYT 9-25-43, p. 6" is in error. | 71 | 4 |
| Waters over the Dam. By Harry Harrison Kroll. [1944]. 1 piece. Carbon typescript review. — "Alabama Farm Boy." NYTBR 26 March 1944: 4. | 71 | 5 |
| Fireman Flower [and Other Stories]. By William Sansom. [1945]. 2 pieces. Typescript review with handwritten revisions that vary slightly from those added to the following versions. — Tomorrow May 1945: 69-70. | 71 | 6 |
| Fireman Flower [and Other Stories]. By William Sansom. [1945]. 4 pieces. Carbon typescript review [2 pieces] with handwritten revisions, and typescript (photocopy) review, with photocopied and one handwritten correction [2 pieces]. — Tomorrow May 1945: 69-70. | 71 | 7 |
| South. By William Samson. 1950. 6 pieces. Carbon typescript review with a few handwritten corrections [3 pieces], and typescript (photocopy) review with photocopied corrections [3 pieces]. — "Fireworks in Italy." Saturday Review of Literature 23 September 1950: 16-17. | 71 | 8 |
| Short Novels of Colette. 1951. 6 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten corrections [3 pieces] and typescript (photocopy) review with photocopied corrections and one handwritten notation [3 pieces]. — “A Collection of Colette: Six Novels in One Volume.” New York Post 30 December 1951: 12M. | 71 | 9 |
| Nine Stories. By J. D. Salinger. 1953; n.d. 9 pieces. Typescript review [3 pieces], carbon typescript review [3 pieces], and typescript (photocopy) review [3 pieces]. — “Threads of Innocence.” NYTBR 5 April 1953: 4. The typescript and carbon bear handwritten corrections, the photocopy, notations in pencil and photocopied corrections. | 71 | 10 |
| Nine Stories. By J. D. Salinger. [1953]. 3 pieces. Carbon typescript review with corrections in pencil. — “Threads of Innocence.” NYTBR 5 April 1953: 4. Sent by Welty to Alun Jones, April 20, [1955]. | 71 | 11 |
| "William Hollingsworth Show." [1958]. 6 pieces. Carbon typescript review of an art exhibition [3 pieces], with handwritten corrections; and typescript (photocopy) of the review [3 pieces], with photocopied corrections and handwritten notation on first page. — "Hollingsworth Show is 'Superlative Exhibit.'" Jackson Clarion-Ledger 14 September 1958, sec. C: 1, 4. | 71 | 12 |
| Henry Green: Nine Novels and an Unpacked Bag. By John Russell. 1961. 4 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten comments and corrections. — "Life's Impact is Oblique." NYTBR 2 April 1961: 5. | 71 | 13 |
| Henry Green: Nine Novels and an Unpacked Bag. By John Russell. [1961]. 6 pieces. Mixed typescript (photocopy) review [2 pieces] and carbon typescript review [4 pieces]. First are two photocopied pages, marked “new,” and bearing photocopied corrections; there follows a carbon typescript review, varying from the photocopy, and having two additional pages. This carbon has handwritten corrections, and resembles closely the carbon typescript review in the preceding folder. — "Life's Impact is Oblique." NYTBR 2 April 1961: 5. | 71 | 14 |
| The World of Isak Dinesen. By Eric O. Johannesson. 1961. 8 pieces. Carbon typescript review [4 pieces] and typescript (photocopy) review [4 pieces], both bearing handwritten corrections. — "The Acceptance of Life is a Defense of the Story." NYTBR 17 December 1961: 6. | 71 | 15 |
| The Stories of William Sansom. [1963]. 12 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten revisions [6 pieces], and typescript (photocopy) review [6 pieces] with photocopied revisions. — "Time and Place—and Suspense." NYTBR 30 June 1963: 5, 27. | 71 | 16 |
| The Gayety of Vision; A Study of Isak Dinesen's Art. By Robert Langbaum. [1965]. 14 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten revisions [7 pieces] and typescript (photocopy) review with photocopied corrections [7 pieces]. — "Cook, Care for the Mad, or Write." NYTBR 7 February 1965: 4, 44-45. | 71 | 17 |
| Martha Graham: Portrait of the Lady as an Artist. By LeRoy Leatherman. [1967]. 12 pieces. Carbon typescript review with handwritten corrections [6 pieces], and typescript (photocopy) review [6 pieces] with penciled notation on first page and photocopied corrections. — "Movement Never Lies." Sewanee Review, 75 (1967): 529-33. | 71 | 18 |
| No Flying in the House. By Betty Brock. [1970]. 4 pieces. Carbon typescript of review, without corrections [2 pieces]. — “For Young Readers.” NYTBR 16 August 1970: 22. Attached is a letter dated August 12, 1970, with accompanying envelope, from Charlotte Zolotow, senior editor of Harper Junior Books, Harper and Row, Publishers. | 72 | 1 |
| Words with Music. By Lehman Engel. 1972. 7 pieces. Typescript review with occasional handwritten corrections. — "Everything writers and composers of musicals need to know." NYTBR 28 May 1972: 7, 10. | 72 | 2 |
| Words with Music. By Lehman Engel. [1972]. 7 pieces. Carbon typescript review. — "Everything writers and composers of musicals need to know." NYTBR 28 May 1972: 7, 10. There are handwritten corrections and a revision on an adhesive attachment. | 72 | 3 |
| The Last of the Nuba. By Leni Riefenstahl. J’Aime Paris: Photographs since the Twenties. By André Kertész. About Russia. By Henri Cartier-Bresson. [1974]. 10 pieces. Carbon typescript with handwritten corrections. — “Africa and Paris and Russia.” NYTBR 1 December 1974: 5, 22, 28. | 72 | 4 |
| The Never-Ending Wrong. By Katherine Anne Porter. [1977]. 7 pieces. Carbon typescript review. — "Post Mortem." NYTBR 21 August 1977: 9, 29. Some handwritten corrections. | 72 | 5 |
| Essays of E. B. White. [1977]. 9 pieces. Typescript (photocopy) review. — “Dateless Virtues.” NYTBR 25 September 1977: 7, 43. | 72 | 6 |
| Selected Stories. By V. S. Pritchett. [1978]. 25 pieces. An original folder [folder 7], entitled by Welty, “V. S. Pritchett review,” contained a carbon typescript with ink corrections and a revision on an adhesive attachment [folder 8, 8 pieces], and two typescript photocopies with handwritten as well as photocopied corrections of her review [folder 9, 16 pieces]. — “A Family of Emotions.” NYTBR 25 June 1978: I, 39-40. | 72 | 7-9 |
| The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Bowen. By Elizabeth Bowen. [1981]. 11 pieces. Carbon typescript with handwritten corrections as well as replacements on pinned attachments. — “Seventy-Nine Stories to Read Again.” NYTBR 8 February 1981: 3, 22. | 72 | 10 |
| The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. By Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard. [1984]. 17 pieces. Typescript (photocopy) with handwritten revisions in pencil as well as photocopied corrections. — “Innocence, Sin and J. D. Salinger.” NYTBR 19 August 1984: 3, 17. | 72 | 11 |
A Writer’s Eye: Manuscript Material
| Description | Box | Folder |
| “Introduction” by Pearl Amelia McHaney. n.d. [ca. 1994]. 28 pieces. This clean typescript [25 pieces] is accompanied by photocopies of the footnotes for the “Introduction” [3 pieces]. | 73 | 2 |
| Front matter. n.d. [ca. 1994]. 12 pieces. Clean typescript copies of the title page, the list of books by Welty, and the table of contents. The title page bears the early title, “Eudora Welty’s Collected Book Reviews: Monuments to Interruption.” | 73 | 3 |
| Endnotes. n.d. [ca. 1994]. 34 pieces. This typescript copy of the endnotes for the manuscript includes occasional comments or revisions by Welty, principally on the first page. | 73 | 4 |
| Collected Reviews. n.d. [ca. 1994]. 271 pieces. Photocopies of published versions of Welty’s reviews, and one photocopy of a typescript version of a review (that of The World Next Door by Fritz Peters, folder 7, [pp. 162-164]). The photocopies bear typescript notes identifying the work reviewed and its author, the title of the review, and its publication information. Photocopied on the reviews are handwritten page numbers, corrections, and handwritten or typed insertions. Photocopies of all the reviews appearing in the published version of A Writer’s Eye… are included in this collection. In addition, there is a photocopy of a review of Furlough by Franz Hoellering [folder 5, p. 105], identified as written by Welty under the pseudonym of Michael Ravenna, that does not appear in the published version of A Writer’s Eye… | 73 | 5-12 |
| Appendices. n.d. [ca. 1994]. 9 pieces. Clean typescript copies of the appendices to A Writer’s Eye…, Appendix A: Books Reviewed by Eudora Welty, and Appendix B: Reviews Collected in The Eye of the Story. | 73 | 13 |
A Writer’s Eye: Page Proofs
| Description | Box | Folder |
| Page proofs of “Monuments to Interruption” or A Writer’s Eye. 1994. 40 pieces. Photocopies of sample page proofs sent to Eudora Welty by editor Pearl Amelia McHaney. The proofs include the spine copy, with McHaney’s note to Welty on that page, and the handwritten change of the title from “Monuments to Interruption: Collected Book Reviews” to “A Writer’s Eye: Collected Book Reviews.” Also among the proofs are the half-title and second half-title pages; the list of works by Welty; the title page; copyright page; dedication; table of contents; acknowledgements; and samples of the introduction by McHaney, and of Welty’s reviews. | 73 | 1 |
Notes for Reviews
| Description | Box | Folder |
| Critical Encounters: Literary Views and Reviews, 1953-1977. By Nona Balakian. [1978]. 9 pieces. Handwritten notes by Welty for a review of Nona Balakian’s Critical Encounters: Literary Views and Reviews, 1953-1977 (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill), 1978, occupy two loose pieces of paper [folder 1] and seven sheets of a Collegiate Steno Notebook [folder 2]. The notes are written in blue ink with red additions, and include page numbers and quotations from Critical Encounters…, as well as comments by Welty on Balakian herself and her work. It is possible that these notes were drafted in response to a letter from Leo Hamalian dated 10 May [1978], inviting Welty to do a 1,000 word review of Critical Encounters for Ararat magazine (see Series 29c, General Correspondence, Box 286). The final four pieces of the notebook [pp. 11-14] consist of pages written in reverse, from the last page forward. These concern Welty’s own fiction, and include a list of character and place names [p. 11], as well as passages apparently intended for “The Shadow Club” [see Series I. Uncollected Stories]. | 74 | 1-2 |
| Bowen’s Court. By Elizabeth Bowen. [1979]. 57 pieces. Review drafts, loose pages, and fragmentary notes were contained in a folder entitled by Welty “Bowen’s Court review if I want to fix it” [folder 3]. It is probable that this review was composed on the occasion of the re-issue of Bowen’s Court as a paperback in 1979 (New York: The Ecco Press). A typescript draft with handwritten corrections, cross-throughs, and an addition on an adhesive attachment [folder 4, 15 pieces] is followed by a photocopy of that corrected typescript with a variant last page [folder 5, 15 pieces]. The succeeding loose original and carbon draft pages [folder 6, 15 pieces] vary from the more complete versions above, bearing different handwritten corrections, taped and pinned page or strip attachments, few page numbers, and the date “Oct. 1” on the first page [p. 31]. There follows more fragmentary material [folder 7, 11 pieces]: two pages with multiple handwritten corrections; an apparently extraneous New York Times Book Review instruction slip; a typed strip and partial pages of draft; and five pages [pp. 52-56] of handwritten notes, one of which is written on the verso of a Mississippi Authority for Educational Television memorandum concerning the documentary on William Faulkner broadcast December 17, 1979 [p. 53]. | 74 | 3-7 |
| Novels, 1930-1935. By William Faulkner. [1985]. 40 pieces. A folder labeled by Welty, “Faulkner review due March 1” [Box 75, folder 1], contained handwritten notes for a review of the Library of America edition of Faulkner’s Novels, 1930-1935 (New York, 1985). The notes are written in ink on a variety of materials: notepad paper; a page of the New York Times Book Review; Welty’s bank deposit tickets; and various envelopes, including one containing her Delta Frequent Flier miles statement. Welty’s notes include several discussions of Faulkner’s writing, and the importance of the Library of America series. She clearly mentions at least three of the four Faulkner novels in this Library of America volume: there are scattered notes and a label for “Light in August”; and both scattered and clear sequences of notes clipped together with labels for “Sanctuary,” [folder 3] and “As I Lay Dying” [folder 4]. There is also a heavily-corrected partial-page of notes by Welty on the locales important to herself and Faulkner as Mississippi writers [folder 4, p. 47]. | 75 | 1-5 |
| A Bus of My Own. By Jim Lehrer. 1992. 1 volume, 53 pieces. An uncorrected proof copy of A Bus of My Own (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons) 1992 [Box 82, folder 5] has passages marked by Welty, the date, “Sept. 16” written on the cover, and notations by Welty on the end paper. Accompanying it were Welty’s notes for a review of, or essay on, Lehrer and his autobiography [folders 1-3]. There are handwritten note pages, full and partial typed pages with handwritten corrections, and typed strips with handwritten cross-throughs and additions. Occasionally, a post-it note has been attached with identification, or direction for placement, of the attached page. Some notes are clipped together, but there is little continuity. The passages are fragmentary, and several variants of them may be found. Welty addresses such subjects as Lehrer’s heart attack, his family, his autobiography and writing, journalism, and bus travel; there are quotations from his book and anecdotes of her own. Four pieces from a Mead notebook [folder 4] also concern Lehrer and his work: two pages with a few lines and one full notebook page with a post-it note as label: “the character of the writing” [pp. 3-4]. | 82 | 1-5 |