Jeanne Bryner, Author, Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

Content with student grades located in box 8 must be closed for 75 years after the date of record creation. If interested in viewing restricted student records, please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc in advance. The reference department will need to assess these materials and protect sensitive content prior to granting access to researchers.

Content including social security numbers located in box 8 will be restricted for 75 years after the date of record creation, but researchers may complete the Agreement for the Use of Sensitive Materials to request access to these materials prior to the expiration of the restriction. Please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department in advance to request access.

Researchers may access digital and audiovisual materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Researchers may access digital and audiovisual materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Content with student grades located in box 8 must be closed for 75 years after the date of record creation. If interested in viewing restricted student records, please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc in advance. The reference department will need to assess these materials and protect sensitive content prior to granting access to researchers.

Content including social security numbers located in box 8 will be restricted for 75 years after the date of record creation, but researchers may complete the Agreement for the Use of Sensitive Materials to request access to these materials prior to the expiration of the restriction. Please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department in advance to request access.

Terms of access:

Jeanne Bryner retains the copyright to her work featured in this collection. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
There are no release forms accompanying the oral history interviews, so the West Virginia and Regional History Center is unable to grant permission for the use of those items outside of research purposes.

There are no release forms accompanying the oral history interviews, so the West Virginia and Regional History Center is unable to grant permission for the use of those items outside of research purposes.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Jeanne Bryner, Author, Papers, A&M 4655, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
9.28 Linear Feet 9 ft. 3.3 in. (3 document cases, 5 in. each; 6 record cartons, 15 in. each; 2 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 3 oversize folders, 0.1 in. each) and 2.67 Gigabytes 10 digital files (6 .pdf files; 1 .mp3 file; 3 .mp4 files)
Creator:
Bryner, Jeanne, 1951- and Bryner, Jeanne, 1951-
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Jeanne Bryner, Author, Papers, A&M 4655, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection includes the papers of Jeanne Bryner, an Appalachian poet. It features drafts and manuscripts of her written work, materials developed as part of her and others' adaptations of her poetry, journals that she kept from roughly 1990-2020, and newspaper stories and other acclaim for her work. There are also materials relating to Bryner's education in creative writing at Kent State University and her work as an educator to undergraduate students at Kent State and in amateur writing workshops. Lastly, the collection also includes Bryner's personal and professional correspondence and some prints of artwork and family photographs. The most common types of materials are notebooks, event programs, letters, and booklets, but there is a small quantity of digital and audiovisual material related to Bryner's published work and adaptations of her poetry.

Poetry and Related Material includes Bryner's writing notebooks, drafts and final copies of books, supporting research for her books, programs from stage adaptations and poetry readings, recordings of stage adaptations of Blind Horses and Lift, Breathe, Carry, awards ceremony programs, and more. There is extensive supporting research for her book Tenderly Lift Me: Nurses Honored, Celebrated, and Remembered, including recorded oral histories with nurses in both digital and audiovisual formats. Some of the other books featured prominently in the series are Eclipse, Blind Horse, and Smoke: Poems.

Education and Teaching includes documentation of Bryner's time at Kent State University while earning her Bachelor of Art degree in English (graduated in 1996), syllabi and other materials from undergraduate courses she taught as a temporary faculty member at Kent State in the Spring of 2004, and materials from amateur writing workshops she led throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, like poetry workshops for medical support groups, senior citizens, and school children. The most common materials are scrapbooks wherein Bryner has compiled Kent State materials, event programs, and poetry booklets written by workshop participants.

Correspondence includes both personal and professional communication received by Bryner. There are items like greeting cards, business letters, and handwritten notes. A small amount of correspondence closely related to items in other series is located in series 1 and 2. This series also includes a few personal items of Bryner's, like printed Appalachian artwork ("West Virginia Coal Mine in Winter" by Paul Sample and "Harry Benner, Coal Miner" by Rockwell Kent) and a biographical sketch and photograph of a relative who served in the Civil War.

Biographical / historical:

E. Jeanne Bryner is an poet and registered nurse from Newton Falls, Ohio. She graduated from the Trumbull Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and worked as an emergency room nurse for about 20 years before earning her Bachelor of Arts in English from Kent State University in 1996. Throughout her career, she has published several poetry books and edited volumes, taught poetry in workshops and college courses, and seen her work adapted into stage productions and art exhibitions. Some of her notable published works include Smoke: Poems, Blind Horse, Tenderly Lift Me: Nurses Honored, Celebrated, and Remembered, Learning to Heal: Reflections on Nursing School in Poetry and Prose. Bryner's work has been particularly impactful to her fellow registered nurses and other healthcare workers, per news artlces and correspondence featured in the collection. As of 2025, Bryner has retired from nursing but continues to write and is based out of Ohio.

Acquisition information:
Gifts from Bryner, Jeanne of 2022 May 19 and 2022 October 10.
Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard