Literary Ephemera

You might assume literary collections solely consist of manuscripts, notes, and research related to a writer’s creative output, but these collections can also include more unexpected items that reveal fresh insights about an artist’s life and work. Among the items on display are poet Sterling Plumpp’s notebook, featuring poems he wrote while serving jury duty in the fall of 1976, a young Eudora Welty’s crayon Valentine for her brother, Edward, Willie Morris’ menu from President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inaugural dinner, Beth Henley’s bespoke binder for the film adaptation of her play, Crimes of the Heart, and a piece of Square Book’s original upstairs porch. The Larry Brown Collection features a wide range of items that belonged to the writer, including fishing lures, a promotional beer koozie, a pocketknife, a guitar pick and strings, and hundreds of custom business cards. Also of note is a piece of Joan Didion’s personal stationery, where she strikes through her professional/maiden name in favor of her married name – a gesture, repeated across other pieces of correspondence, that demonstrates Didion negotiating her role as both writer and wife.

Featured in this display:

• Flooring segment from the original upstairs porch at Square Books (Oxford, Miss.)
• Spiral "Memo Book" notebooks belonging to Sterling Plumpp
• Crayon valentine by (young) Eudora Welty for her brother, Edward
• Handwritten card from Joan Didion to "Sam" (Seymour Lawrence), 27 October 1976
• Production binder for the film adaptation of Crimes of the Heart belonging to Beth Henley, 1986
• Promotional beer koozie for film adaptation of Big Bad Love, 2001
• Fishing lures (3)
• Package of Peavey guitar strings
• Guitar pick
• Business card for "Larry Brown, Human Being"
• Pocketknife
• Menu from Dominique's Famous French Restaurant (Washington, D. C.) honoring the inauguration of Bill Clinton as President of the United States in January 1993