Minnesota Authors Manuscripts Collection
The Minnesota Authors Manuscripts Collection presently consists of materials by and about seven authors with roots in Minnesota. Each of the collections contain, in varying amounts: biographical information; news reports; published and unpublished manuscript materials; published works; photographs; multi-media materials, and other items.
Guide to the Papers of Jon Hassler
Hassler, educator and author, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1933. The papers contain manuscripts of both published and unpublished works and multi-media materials. Manuscripts include Staggerford; Simon's Night; The Love Hunter, and A Green Journey.
Guide to the Papers of Lavyrle Spencer
Spencer was born in Browerville, Minnesota in 1943. The papers contain manuscripts for Hummingbird; The Hellion; Twice Loved; The Fulfillment; The Endearment; Years; November of the Heart. and others.
Guide to the Papers of John Fischer
"John Fischer" is a pseudonym for the collaboration of writers Ruel Fischmann and Joanne Fluke (husband and wife.) Fluke was born in Minnesota and Fischmann taught at St. Cloud State University, leaving to pursue a career as a television writer. The collection contains manuscripts for the novels High Stakes and Station Break.
Guide to the Papers of Joanne Fluke
Fluke was born around 1943 in Swanville, Minnesota. The papers contain manuscripts for the novels The Other Child; Winter Child; Cold Judgment; Vengeance is Mine; The Stepchild; Video Kill; Final Appeal; Dead Giveaway; and Fatal Identity; as well as materials for a series of young adult novels written under her maiden name, Jo Gibson.
Guide to the Papers of Michael Hinkemeyer
Hinkemeyer is a native of St. Coud, Minnesota. Papers include titles written under his own name and two pseudonyms: "Vanessa Royall" and "Jan Lara." Manuscripts include those for The Dark Below; Fields of Eden; Flames of Desire; Lilac Night; A Time to Reap; Fourth Down Death; Soul Catchers, and others.
Guide to the Papers of William Nolen
Surgeon and author, Nolen was born in Massachusetts. He lived and practiced in Litchfield, Minnesota from 1960 until his death in 1986. The papers contain published and unpublished work including numerous articles and manuscripts for Making of a Surgeon; A Surgeon's World; Surgeon Under the Knife, and others.
Sinclair Lewis
The University Archives is fortunate to have a wealth of material relating to the world-famous author Sinclair Lewis, who was born in Sauk Center, Minnesota. These collections include:
Guide to the Lewis Family Papers
The Lewis Family Papers contain personal correspondence, photographs and clippings surrounding the life and times of Sinclair Lewis, his family, and those associated with them. The papers include autographed and other copies of Lewis' works; photocopies of his poems, short stories, criticisms and collected works about him.
Many of the items were purchased from or donated by Freeman Lewis, Virginia Lewis and Isabel Lewis Agrell: the children of Claude B. Lewis (brother of Sinclair) during the years 1973-1975.
The papers also include letters between Marcella Powers and Sinclair Lewis, purchased from Mary Branham in 1996.
Guide to the Papers of Ida Kay Compton
Compton was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A graduate student at Williams College, she worked in the college bookstore. In 1946, Compton met Sinclair Lewis and began a friendship that lasted until his death in 1951.
Compton died in 1985 and her papers were donated to SCSU in 1986 by her estate. Most of the collection consists of personal letters between Lewis and Compton (then Kay), and correspondence between Ida Kay and others, including Alec Manson; Claude B. and Helen Lewis; Mark Schorer, etc.
Guide to the Hubert Irey Gibson Collection of Sinclair Lewis
In October 2007, the family of Hubert Irey Gibson donated manuscripts from the Sinclair Lewis and Lloyd Lewis play/novel The Jayhawker to the University Archives. In 1933, Gibson served as Lewis' secretary in Chicago for the writing of The Jayhawker, saving drafts of the play as it evolved from an idea to a finished product.
Guide to the Joan McQuary Collection of Sinclair Lewis Letters
This collection contains 19 letters written by Sinclair Lewis to Joan McQuary between 1942 and 1945. In the fall of 1942, McQuary met Lewis as a student in his creative writing class at the University of Minnesota. When the class finished in December, Lewis moved to New York City. In these letters, Lewis discussed a wide variety of topics, giving a sense of his life while living in New York City. He discussed his search for a new apartment, missing his students and life in Minnesota, and his attitude towards writing after finishing his novel Gideon Planish.
