James Still Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: BCA 0037 SAA 035

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

These are correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and newspaper clippings that document the life and work of Kentucky author, James Still.

Manuscript materials include a typed manuscript copy of Wolfpen Poems published by Berea College (1986). Also present are typescripts of sixteen short stories and approximately fifty poems by Still. Many of the typescripts are undated and contain varying amounts of correction and annotation. Also included in the collection are manuscripts of short stories (to 1973); the Appalachian Spring collection of Still’s poems (1974); and Another Times, a collection of short stories. A 1974 manuscript of Jack and the Wonder Beans is included in the collection as well as essays and a copy of Still’s master’s thesis.

Additional materials in the collection include seventeen photographs of Still, twelve of which were donated by Cumberland College staff. A number of the photographs depict Still at work in his cabin in 1977. The collection also contains newspaper clippings of reviews, articles on Still (1937-1986), and miscellaneous student papers on Still’s works.

Dates

created: 1930-2001

Creator

Still, James -- 1906-2001 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on use of this material other than federal copyright regulations.

Extent

8.00 ms_boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

James Still, a native of Alabama, was educated at Lincoln Memorial University (B.A., 1929), Vanderbilt University (M.A., 1930), and the University of Illinois (B.S., 1931). As a resident of rural Knott County, Kentucky, Still published stories and poems in the Atlantic Monthly, Yale Review, American Mercury, and the Saturday Evening Post among others. His works are generally considered to be both accurate and artful depictions of life in the southeastern Kentucky during the 1920s and 1930s. His best known work, the novel, River of Earth, was published in 1940 and was reprinted by the University Press of Kentucky in 1978.

Arrangement Note

Arrangement of the papers is in series: Series 1: Correspondence; Series 2: Biographical Materials; Series 3: Video/Audio Recordings of James Still; Series 4: Additional Materials; Series 5: Clippings; Series 6: Publications, Writings, and Manuscripts