O'CONNOR, FLANNERY.
Flannery O'Connor papers [bulk 1925-1972] > Correspondence

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Scope and Content Note

The series consists of correspondence from and to Flannery O'Connor as well as a few letters between others relating to O'Connor either by subject or correspondent. Included are letters from Flannery to her mother, Regina from childhood through 1955. They detail her life visiting family in Boston, Massachusetts, and Savannah, Georgia, as well as her time spent at the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa). Also included in that correspondence are letters from Flannery's time in New York and with the Fitzgeralds. Additional correspondence contains letters between O'Connor and others which start during her time in graduate school in Iowa and continue through July 1964, shortly before her death. These letters cover a variety of topics including discussions of her writing, not only with fans, but also with Caroline Gordon who was significantly involved with Flannery's writing. There are also letters from her publisher, Robert Giroux of Harcourt, Brace, and Company, and her agent, Elizabeth McKee, whom Flannery first contacted in 1948. She also corresponded with a number of religious figures regarding her work and her personal beliefs. Among her long-term correspondents are Robie McCauley, Beverly Brunson, Ashley Brown, Caroline Gordon, Andrew Lyttle, Robert Lowell (who signed his letters, "CAL"), and Paul Engle, her teacher from the State University of Iowa. There are also a significant number of letters from fans and critics, as well as from such notable figures as Ralph McGill, Celestine Sibley, and Robert Penn Warren.

The correspondence begins in 1925, with a number of letters celebrating her birth, but the bulk of the letters starts in 1941 when she sends her first writings to MacMillan and Company for consideration. Also, at this time are letters between Flannery and John Sullivan, a Marine Sergeant stationed in Milledgeville. Letters from the 1940s illustrate Flannery's professional development, documenting her first published story, The Geranium, in 1946, as well as her relationship with Reinhart and Company (after winning the Rinehart-Iowa Fiction Award in 1947), fellowship proposals, and her preference for the name Flannery O'Connor. The 1950s correspondence follows Flannery's growing career. Correspondents include more fans and critics, especially religious leaders. Also included are notifications and congratulatory letters regarding awards she received such as entrance to the Mark Twain Society, the Kenyon Review fellowship, and the O. Henry award. There is also correspondence about teleplays based on her works. Throughout the 1950s-1960s, she received a number of speaking invitations. In 1960, O'Connor began working with the nuns at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Memoir of Mary Ann (1961), for which O'Connor wrote an introduction, and there are letters between O'Connor and Sister Evangelist regarding the writing and publishing of that story. In the 1960s, O'Connor began corresponding with De Vene Harrold "Dean" Hood and Robert Hood regarding Dean's and Flannery's lives with lupus. There are also a number of letters to Janet McKane from O'Connor, transcribed by McKane.

Arrangement Note

Arranged in chronological order.

Scope and Content Note The series consists of correspondence from and to Flannery O'Connor as well as a few letters between others relating to O'Connor either by subject or correspondent. Included are letters from Flannery to her mother, Regina from childhood through 1955. They detail her life visiting family in Boston, Massachusetts, and Savannah, Georgia, as well as her time spent at the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa). Also included in that correspondence are letters from Flannery's time in New York and with the Fitzgeralds. Additional correspondence contains letters between O'Connor and others which start during her time in graduate school in Iowa and continue through July 1964, shortly before her death. These letters cover a variety of topics including discussions of her writing, not only with fans, but also with Caroline Gordon who was significantly involved with Flannery's writing. There are also letters from her publisher, Robert Giroux of Harcourt, Brace, and Company, and her agent, Elizabeth McKee, whom Flannery first contacted in 1948. She also corresponded with a number of religious figures regarding her work and her personal beliefs. Among her long-term correspondents are Robie McCauley, Beverly Brunson, Ashley Brown, Caroline Gordon, Andrew Lyttle, Robert Lowell (who signed his letters, "CAL"), and Paul Engle, her teacher from the State University of Iowa. There are also a significant number of letters from fans and critics, as well as from such notable figures as Ralph McGill, Celestine Sibley, and Robert Penn Warren. The correspondence begins in 1925, with a number of letters celebrating her birth, but the bulk of the letters starts in 1941 when she sends her first writings to MacMillan and Company for consideration. Also, at this time are letters between Flannery and John Sullivan, a Marine Sergeant stationed in Milledgeville. Letters from the 1940s illustrate Flannery's professional development, documenting her first published story, The Geranium, in 1946, as well as her relationship with Reinhart and Company (after winning the Rinehart-Iowa Fiction Award in 1947), fellowship proposals, and her preference for the name Flannery O'Connor. The 1950s correspondence follows Flannery's growing career. Correspondents include more fans and critics, especially religious leaders. Also included are notifications and congratulatory letters regarding awards she received such as entrance to the Mark Twain Society, the Kenyon Review fellowship, and the O. Henry award. There is also correspondence about teleplays based on her works. Throughout the 1950s-1960s, she received a number of speaking invitations. In 1960, O'Connor began working with the nuns at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Memoir of Mary Ann (1961), for which O'Connor wrote an introduction, and there are letters between O'Connor and Sister Evangelist regarding the writing and publishing of that story. In the 1960s, O'Connor began corresponding with De Vene Harrold "Dean" Hood and Robert Hood regarding Dean's and Flannery's lives with lupus. There are also a number of letters to Janet McKane from O'Connor, transcribed by McKane.

Address books and lists
Box	Folder	Content
3	7	Address books and lists, 1974, undated
Flannery O'Connor to Regina Cline O'Connor
1	1	1934-1942
1	2	1943 May-September
1	3	1944
1	4	1945 September
1	5	1945 October
1	6	1945 November-December
1	7	1946 January-February
40	1	1946 March
40	2	1946 April
2	1	1946 May
2	2	1946 September
2	3	1946 October
2	4	1946 November
2	5	1946 December
2	6	1947 January
2	7	1947 February
2	8	1947 March
2	9	1947 April
3	1	1947 May-June
3	2	1947 September-October
3	3	1947 undated
3	4	1948 June
3	5	1948 July-August
3	6	1955, undated
General correspondence
4	1	1925-1939, undated
4	2	1940-1945
4	3	1946-1949
4	4	1950-1951
4	5	1952 January-May
4	6	1952 June-December
4	7	1952 undated
5	1	1953
5	2	1953 undated
5	3	1954
5	4	1954 undated
5	5	1955
5	6	1955 undated
5	7	1956
5	8	1956 undated
5	9	1957
5	10	1958-1959
5	11	1959 undated
5	12	1950s undated
5	13	Circa 1960-1964, "Dean" and Robert Hood
6	1	1960
6	2	1960 undated
6	3	1961
51	10	1961 March 12
6	4	1961 undated
39	9	1962 December 15 to Billy Koon
6	5	1962
6	6	1962 undated
6	7	1963 January-September
6	8	1963 October-December
6	9	1963 undated
7	1	1964 January-March [1]
7	9	1964 January-March [2]
7	2	1964 April-June
7	3	1964 July-August, December
7	4	1964 undated
7	5	1965
7	6	Undated [1 of 2]
7	7	Undated [2 of 2]
Other correspondence
7	8	Letters between others, 1941-1967, 2003
39	1	Greeting cards, undated