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[Identification of item], Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Collection is open for research.
Literary rights to parts of this material belong to the University of Florida Foundation.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings donated her papers to the University of Florida. Additional donations and purchases have expanded the collection. Other donors and sources include Norton Baskin, his grandniece Judith Oliver, and Phil May, Jr.
Letters and other materials by and about Rawlings exist in several other collections at the University of Florida, including the
The originals of Rawlings' letters to Norman Berg are in his papers at the University of Georgia Library. The Scribner Company archives are held at Princeton University.
Digital reproductions of selected photos and documents in the Rawlings Papers are available online via the
Some Rawlings correspondence has been published in the
Some of the correspondence has been microfilmed. The Smathers Libraries also has microfilm copies of the Perkins correspondence from the Scribner Company archives at Princeton University and the Norman Berg correspondence from the Berg Papers at the University of Georgia.
Due to its large size an alternate version of this descriptive finding aid, broken into several pages, is available at
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was a Pulitzer-winning author who lived in rural Cross Creek, Florida, and wrote novels and stories focusing on rural themes and settings, including
Marjorie Kinnan was born on August 8, 1896 in Washington D.C. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1918 and became a journalist. In 1919 she married her first husband, Charles Rawlings, and the two lived in New York for several years. In 1928 they left New York and bought an orange grove in Cross Creek, Florida. That same year, her first stories about rural Florida were published: "Cracker Chidlings" and "Jacob's Ladder." This began a long relationship with her editor, Maxwell Perkins of Scribner's.
She and Charles Rawlings divorced in 1933, and Marjorie remained at Cross Creek, concentrating on her writing. Her first novel,
In 1942 Rawlings published
For almost seven years, from 1947 until her death in 1953, Rawlings spent part of each year in Van Hornesville, New York, working on her final novel,
For a bibliography of her works see
The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts and writings, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, legal papers, and photographs. The collection dates from 1844-2002, with the bulk of the materials spanning from 1916-1953. The collection is divided into five major groups: Correspondence, Manuscripts and Other Writings, Miscellaneous Papers, Papers Related to Ellen Glasgow, and Photographs. These groups, or series, are briefly described below, but more detailed information is provided with the series descriptions.
The correspondence includes approximately 4,100 letters, including approximately 1,400 by Rawlings. The correspondence is divided into two parts: 1) Letters by Rawlings, and 2) Letters to Rawlings and other letters related to her. Correspondents include Maxwell E. Perkins, Sigrid Undset, Archibald Joseph Cronin, Zora Neale Hurston, Margaret Mitchell, James Branch Cabell, Owen D. Young, Gene Baro, Norton Baskin, Charles Rawlings and others.
The writings include early drafts of novels, short fiction, speeches, and poems. Manuscripts, drafts, and notes are included for major works including
The miscellaneous papers include some materials created by Rawlings, but mostly include papers collected by her, or relating to her. They usually originate from her lifetime and have a relationship that makes them a primary source. Secondary and posthumous documents about Rawlings are found in the "Addenda" group. Included here are examples of Christmas greetings from Charles and Marjorie Rawlings, family history, documents collected by Rawlings relating to Zephaniah Kingsley, personal memorabilia, notes on writing, yearbooks and documents from the University of Wisconsin and culinary documents. Related material includes Mickens family letters and documents, two letters by Idella Parker, and documents relating to Charles A. Rawlings, Jr., and to Norton Baskin.
The Ellen Glasgow papers are comprised of material gathered by Rawlings for an intended biography of the 1942 Pulitzer Prize winning author. The documents include correspondence, Rawlings' own manuscript notes, clippings, printed material, and photographs. Many of the letters were copied from correspondence lent Rawlings by Glasgow's family and friends, but some are original, including some of Rawlings' own correspondence.
The photographs include photos of Rawlings at various ages of her life, in group photos, and in various locations such as Cross Creek and Van Hornesville. They also include photos of her family members, friends, and pets.
The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings correspondence includes approximately 4,100 letters, almost 1,400 of which were written by her and almost 2,300 to her. Other letters relate to her in some way. The earliest concentration of letters (1918-1923) occurs during her courtship and early years of marriage with Charles A. Rawlings, Jr. After a hiatus of several years, extensive correspondence resumes in the 1930s, after she had moved to Cross Creek, Florida, and continues to her death in 1953. There is a particularly heavy concentration of letters during the war years 1943-1944, especially with her husband Norton Baskin, who served as an ambulance driver on the India-Burma front during World War II.
Approximately 900 letters are to Baskin. Another 230 are from her editor at Scribner's, Maxwell Perkins. Other major recipients of letters are her aunt Ida Tarrant (95), Norman Berg (60), Clifford and Gladys Lyons (59), Berniece and Walter Gilkyson (49), first husband Charles A. Rawlings (40), college friend Bee McNeill (24), and author/photographer Carl Van Vechten (16). Principal writers of letters to Rawlings are Perkins, Baskin, Charles Rawlings, her Phoenix aunts, Grace, Marjorie, and Wilmer Kinnan, brother Arthur Kinnan, and friends Julia Scribner Bigham, James Branch Cabell, and Gene Baro. Major names in the correspondence, although in lesser numbers, include A. J. Cronnin, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ellen Glasgow, Ernest Hemingway and two of his wives, Martha Gellhorn and Mary Hemingway, Zora Neale Hurston, Margaret Mitchell, Sigrid Undset, and Owen D. Young.
The letters represent a wide range of personal and literary topics that illumine many aspects of Rawlings' life and career. The Perkins letters are especially relevant to her writing, as the letters to her husbands are to many aspects of her personal life. There are many letters relating to the Cross Creek Trial (
The Rawlings correspondence is a collection gathered over a period of time from various sources. The nucleus was donated by Rawlings during her lifetime, along with some of her principal manuscripts, to found the Libraries Creative Writing collection. Other correspondence from her estate was donated later by her husband, Norton Baskin. In addition Rawlings's literary executor, Julia Scribner Bigham, her biographer, Gordon Bigelow, and members of the library staff attempted to collect letters from her correspondents, and made other efforts to procure additional Rawlings correspondence.
In 1998, the libraries acquired almost 500 letters from Marjorie to Norton from his grandniece Judith Oliver. Additional Baskin-Rawlings correspondence was acquired in 2001 from Phil May, Jr., a close friend of Norton Baskin.
Arrangement: The Rawlings letters are filed chronologically in 39 boxes, with the following exceptions:
Box 31: "Miscellaneous Correspondence" contains letters copied from the University of Florida and from the Rollins College archives, and a folder of correspondence from the files of Dwye Evans, an agent, relating to the British edition of
Box 32: Letters of condolence sent to Norton Baskin upon the death of Marjorie. The condolence letters and cards are not included in the count of Rawlings letters, nor are they listed in the accompanying description.
Boxes 33-38: The "May accession," a group of letters, primarily between Rawlings and Norton Baskin from 1943-1953, that was acquired in 2001. It may be interfiled with other letters at a later date.
Box 39: Readers letters.
Although the letters are physically arranged chronologically, they are described in two main parts: 1) Letters by Marjorie Rawlings, and 2) Letters to Her and Other Letters. The description for each letter usually includes the name of the author, whether typed or handwritten (
A chronological listing as well as listings by accession is available in the Department of Special Collections.
Includes letters by and to Rawlings as well as third party letters relating to the Cross Creek Trial,
Includes manuscripts and proofs for titles first published in book format:
Typed manuscripts, drafts, and notes. Includes "Creek Sketches," handwritten and typed drafts and notes, from single pages to complete chapters. 7 boxes.
Drafts, a typed manuscript, and notes for
Typed manuscript, notes, and drafts for
The first nine items are essays or fragments of essays about Marjorie's early years at Cross Creek. Some of them are similar to parts of the book of that name and may be early drafts. Items 10-15 are more formal, including a transcript for a radio interview, material contributed for a school edition of
Chiefly on Florida or on the craft of writing--Drafts and Notes. Bound Volume.
The Short Writings include manuscript and printed copies of various published and unpublished writings of MKR. They are unbound and sometime overlap in contents with other categories specified above. A few of the items listed here, unnumbered, are filed in a bound volume in the Miscellaneous Rawlings Papers.
The miscellaneous papers include some manuscript material by Rawlings, but mostly include papers held by her, or relating to her. They usually originate from her lifetime and have a relationship that makes them a primary source. Secondary and posthumous documents about Rawlings are found in the "
Includes family and personal Documents, professional papers, awards and honors, presentation copies, papers of associates, and miscellaneous papers. Several items, marked "Oversize" are filed in the Manuscript Map and Oversize Drawer in the Processing Area. The documents in folders 30-31 were the gift of Mrs. Straty, Boulder Colorado, 1975. Whether the two Idella Parker letters actually have the same provenance as the others is uncertain.
The following were among the Charles Rawlings - MKR correspondence opened for use in April, 1998.
The following records, primarily relating to Norton Baskin, were given by him to his great-niece Judith P. Oliver in 1988. They, along with several hundred of letters, were acquired by the University of Florida in May, 1998. Some items relating to MKR are included.
The photographs are lettered "a" - "u." Items a-c are negatives, and items d-u are prints.
Two scrapbooks include information on the Kinnan family and MKR's works, including
The Addenda is typically material relating to Rawlings, but not originally part of her papers or created contemporaneously. They are records which were created and added posthumously. Some of the items, such as transcripts of interviews with people who knew her, may be primary sources. Included are records from organizations with an interest in her, such as the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society and the University of Florida Foundation, heir to part of her estate. Other documents include secondary writings about her, newspaper clippings, etc. The Department of Special Collections is not endeavoring to maintain a comprehensive collection of material about Rawlings. Business papers relating to the estate of Rawlings, primarily correspondence and statements from Scribner's and Brandt and Brandt, were acquired in 2002 (Boxes 7-8). This series also contains drawings and prints by Robert Carson and posters relating to Rawlings.
Includes primary material, biographical material, critical articles, clippings, ephemera, and movies, plays, etc., based on the life or works of MKR.
Oversize - filed in the Manuscript Map and Oversize Drawer in the Processing Area.
Material gathered by MKR for an intended biography of the 1942 Pulitzer Prize winning author, Glasgow. The documents include correspondence, Rawlings' own manuscript notes, clippings, printed material, and photographs. Many of the letters were copied from correspondence lent Rawlings by Glasgow's family and friends, but some is original, including some of MKR's own correspondence. The series is divided into two parts: general papers and correspondence.
Notes made during personal interviews with friends and relatives of Ellen Glasgow in Richmond, VA., February and March, 1953. The majority of these notes are typed on 4 x 5 cards.
All letters, telegrams and postcards are copies typed from the original if not otherwise stated. The copies of the letters have been provided to MKR in great part by Arthur G. Glasgow and friends of Ellen Glasgow.
Photographs are grouped and listed according to subject. Digital reproductions of the photos are available online via the