PUBLIC "-//University of Virginia::Library::Special Collections Dept.//TEXT (US::ViU::00424::James Southall Wilson Letters)//EN" "ViU00424.sgm" A Guide to the James Southall Wilson LettersWilson, James Southall. 38-428Processed by Special Collections Dept. staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Elizabeth SlombaFunded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. University of Virginia Library © 1997 By the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. All rights reserved.

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 Machine-readable finding aid derived from WordPerfect. [Date of source: 1997. Description is in English. Feb 16, 2004 PUBLIC "-//University of Virginia::Library::Special Collections Dept.//TEXT (US::ViU::00424::James Southall Wilson Letters)//EN" "ViU00424.sgm" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Feb 27, 2004 converted to conform to eadVIVA.dtd by vivastrict.xsl A Guide to the James Southall Wilson Letters A Collection in the Special Collections Department 38-428 and 3422

Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library 1997 Special Collections Department Staff 1997 Elizabeth Slomba Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, #38-428 and 3422 Descriptive Summary University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
Alderman Library University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 USA
James Southall Wilson Letters 1931 38-428 and 3422 75 items English James Southall Wilson Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

 Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

 Preferred Citation

James Southall Wilson Letters, Accession 38-428, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

 Acquisition Information

This collection was given to the Library by James Southall Wilson of Charlottesville, Virginia on November 28, 1931 and February 26, 1950.

 Funding Note

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

 Scope and Content

This collection consists chiefly of 75 letters and telegrams, 1931, to Mr. James Southall Wilson, who invited several Southern authors to attend the Southern Writers Convention, sponsored by the Virginia Quarterly Review, at the University of Virginiaon October 23-24, 1931. The authors include the following: Conrad Aiken, Sherwood Anderson, Katharine Anthony, Emily Clark Balch, John Peale Bishop, James Boyd, Roark Bradford, Herschel Brickell, Struthers Burt, James Branch Cabell, Henry Seidel Canby, Willa Cather, Maristan Chapman, Irvin S. Cobb, Donald Davidson, William E. Dodd, William Faulkner, John Gould Fletcher, Ellen Glasgow, Isa Glenn, Paul Green, Sara Haardt, Archibald Henderson, DuBose Heyward, Gerald W. Johnson, Mary Johnston, H. L. Mencken, Margaret Prescott Montague, Julia Peterkin, Ulrich B. Phillips, Josephine Pinckney, Burton Rascoe, Lizette Woodworth Reese, Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice, Cale Young Rice, Elizabeth Maddox Roberts, Herbert Ravenel Sass, Helen Purefoy Poteat Stallings, T. S. Stribling, Allen Tate, Amelie Rives Troubetzkoy, Irita Van Doren, Thomas Wolfe, and Stark Young.

The letters are often concerned with the writing profession from the author's point of view. In a March 3, 1931 letter, Willa Catherwrites that she wants "to eliminate in so far as possible all intrusions from the outside" during her mother's illness, but would be prohibited from doing so should she allow the use of her name on any committee since "many unforeseen complications may ensue." John Gould Fletcherurges a more politically-based discussion for the conference, which would integrate the role of economics in the role of the Southern author's duties to his public (September 24, 1931). Allen Tatebelieves "we should have regionalism for literature," but that politics should involve only sectionalism (October 29, 1931). Thomas Wolfe, however, favors a more personal topic, that of the writer's inner struggle to create. In his letter of September 4, 1931 he speaks at length of his own efforts to write, likening them to "a hell of possibly useless labors."

Above all, Wilson stresses repeatedly that the conference is to be a pleasant experience, as he explains in a letter to Mary Johnston(n.d.). He insists that "the chief idea of the meeting is that it will be experimental and will have its main value in the opportunity for the members of the group to talk with one another." In an anecdote in which he compares himself to a country hound dog that is intimidated by formal society, William Faulknerexpresses appreciation for the informal gathering Wilson has proposed (September 24, 1931). Many letters compliment the successful outcome of the meeting, noting especially its relaxed atmosphere.