George Garrett Papers
This collection houses a variety of material documenting George Garrett's scholarly and literary career. Although some of these items show Garrett's early work, the majority of the material is more recent.
Series I houses notes, drafts, complete manuscripts, and published works documenting Garrett's Southern Excursions: Views on Southern Letters In My Time. This book is composed of reviews, biographical pieces, and essays discussing both well known and more obscure Southern authors. Series II houses reports that Garrett wrote during his time as the Short Story Series Editor at the Louisiana State University Press. These documents detail Garrett's reasons for recommending certain works for publication.
Series III houses notes that Garrett used for speeches he gave throughout the United States. The topics range from discussions of authors and their works to Garrett's own work, including his Elizabethan Trilogy. Series IV houses reviews that Garrett wrote for the New York Times Book Review in addition to short fiction pieces and some material intended for Southern Excursions but published in other forms.
Series V houses complete and incomplete fiction pieces, articles about Garrett, materials showing the George Garrett festival hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and notes documenting Garrett's life.
Dates
- 1966-2003 (bulk 2001-2003)
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
3.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection houses a variety of material documenting George Garrett's scholarly and literary career. Although some of these items show Garrett's early work, the majority of the material is more recent. Of particular interest is the material documenting Garrett's Southern Excursions: Views on Southern Letters in My Time (2003).
Biographical/Historical Note
George Palmer Garrett was born to George Palmer and Rosalie (Toomer) Garrett on 1929 June 11 in Orlando, Florida. His early education took place at Sewannee Military Academy in Sewannee, Tennessee and at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Following high school, Garrett pursued his undergraduate degree at Princeton University and graduated in 1952. He married Susan Parrish Jackson on 1952 June 14 and enlisted in the United States Army Field Artillery soon after. After he was discharged in 1955, he returned to Princeton and earned his MA (1956) and later his PhD (1985).
Garrett began his teaching career at Wesleyan University after completing his MA. He went on to serve as a writer in residence and fellow in creative writing at Princeton University (1964-1965), as an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, as a Professor of English at Hollins College (1967-1971), as a Professor at the University of South Carolina (1971-1973), as a Professor at Princeton University (1974-1978), as a Professor at the University of Michigan (1979-1980, 1983-1984), as a Professor at Bennington College (1980), and as the Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia (1984-2001).
In addition to teaching, George Garrett was an accomplished novelist, poet, and short story writer. He also served as the contemporary poetry editor at the University of North Carolina Press and as the short story series editor at the Louisiana State University Press. The awards he has earned for his writing include the National Endowment for the Arts Grant (1967), Guggenheim Fellowship (1974), American Academy of Arts and Letters Literary Award (1985), New York Public Library Literary Lion Award (1988), and the T. S. Eliot Award (1989). George Garrett died on 2008 May 26 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Arrangement
This collection consists of three boxes divided into six series:
Missing Title
- Series I: Southern Excursions: Views on Southern Letters in my Life
- Series II: Book Reports for Louisiana State University Press
- Series III: Speech Notes
- Series IV: Short Reviews
- Series V: Other Papers
- Series VI: Oversized Materials
Acquisition Note
This collection was donated to the University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections on 2003 October 18.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository