Jane Merchant Collection
This collection is composed primarily of materials related to Jane Merchant's death on January 3, 1972, including an obituary, an announcement for her funeral, and the text for a eulogy by the Reverend Gordon A. Sterchi. It also contains two letters that Merchant wrote, one of which contains a number of details about her early life, and two photographs of Merchant, one of which show her with her mother and sister Elizabeth.
Dates
- 1957-1972
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
0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Abstract
This collection is composed primarily of materials related to Jane Merchant's death on January 3, 1972, including an obituary, an announcement for her funeral, and the text for a eulogy by the Reverend Gordon A. Sterchi. It also contains two letters that Merchant wrote, one of which contains a number of details about her early life, and two photographs of Merchant, one of which show her with her mother and sister Elizabeth.
Biographical/Historical Note
Jane Hess Merchant was born in 1919 in Inskip, Tennessee. She was confined to her bed at the age of twelve from the congenital bone disease Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which also caused her to go deaf at the age of twenty-three. From her bedroom, Merchant was able to write more than 3,000 poems, more than 2,000 letters, dozens of prose pieces, and to publish ten collections of her poetry. In addition to her published works, she also maintained continual correspondence with friends and fans throughout her life. Merchant died in 1972.
Arrangement
Collection consists of a single folder.
Acquisition Note
The Special Collections Library purchased this collection in October of 2004.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository