WRIGHT, SARAH E.
Sarah E. Wright papers > Writings > Novels by Wright

Collection Stored Off-Site

All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval.

Subseries 2.1
Novels by Wright, circa 1958-2002
Boxes 11-18 and OP 5-35

Scope and Content Note

The subseries consists of drafts and other material relating to Wright’s two novels from circa 1958 to 2002. Wright began writing her first novel, This Child’s Gonna Live, around 1958; the novel was published in 1969. The subseries contains complete and incomplete typescript drafts of This Child’s Gonna Live,. Each draft was assigned an arbitrary number; these numbers do not reflect the chronological order in which the drafts were created. Early versions of This Child’s Gonna Live, were titled Tippenneck. Working papers include typescript and manuscript draft pages, annotations, extensive editorial comments by Wright, and notes to herself. These materials are fragmentary and remain in the order in which they were received from the donor; while the working papers do not form cohesive drafts, they do reflect Wright's creative process.

The subseries also contains material relating to Wright’s second novel, Twelve Gates to the City, Hallelujah! This novel, a sequel to This Child’s Gonna Live, was never completed or published. Early drafts have the variant titles Where Is Somewhere Momma or Free Ass Ain’t No Class and Toward Sight. Materials include incomplete typescript drafts, notes, and working papers. Notes and draft fragments relating to Twelve Gates to the City, Hallelujah! may also be found in the working papers for This Child's Gonna Live.

Arrangement Note

Arranged by volume, then in alphabetical order.

This Child's Gonna Live
Box Folder Content
11 1 Acknowledgements, proof, no date
11 2 Book jacket, proof, no date
11 3 Campbell, Jennifer, afterword drafts [includes correspondence], circa 2002
OP5 - Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapters 1-4 [corrected], no date
11 4 Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapters 5 and 6 [corrected], no date
OP6 - Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapters 7-10 [corrected], no date
OP7 - Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapters 11-13 [corrected], no date
OP8 - Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapter 14 [corrected], no date
OP9 - Complete typescript draft [1], final, chapters 15 [corrected], no date
11 5 Complete typescript draft [2], chapters 1-4 [uncorrected] [includes prospectus], no date
11 6 Complete typescript draft [2], chapters 5-11 [uncorrected], no date
11 7 Complete typescript draft [3], chapters 1-7 [corrected], no date
11 8 Complete typescript draft [3], chapters 8-11 [corrected], no date
11 9 Complete typescript draft [4], chapters 1-3 [corrected], no date
OP10 - Complete typescript draft [4], chapters 4 and 5 [corrected], no date
11 10 Complete typescript draft [4], chapters 6 and 7 [corrected], no date
OP11 - Complete typescript draft [4], chapters 8-10 [corrected], no date
OP12 - Complete typescript draft [4], chapter 11 [corrected], no date
11 11 Complete typescript draft [5], chapters 1-6 [uncorrected], no date
12 1 Complete typescript draft [5], chapters 7-11 [uncorrected], no date
OP13 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapters 1 and 2 [corrected], no date
OP14 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapters 3 and 4 [corrected], no date
OP15 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapters 5 and 6 [corrected], no date
OP16 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapters 7 and 8 [corrected], no date
OP17 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapters 9 and 10 [corrected], no date
OP18 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapter 11 [corrected], no date
OP19 - Complete typescript draft [6], chapter 12 [corrected], no date
12 2 Complete typescript draft [7], chapters 1-9 [uncorrected], no date
12 3 Complete typescript draft [7], chapters 10-13 [uncorrected], no date
12 4 Complete typescript draft [8], chapters 1-8 [uncorrected], no date
12 5 Complete typescript draft [8], chapters 9-15 [uncorrected], no date
12 6 Complete typescript draft [9], chapters 1-6 [uncorrected], no date
12 7 Complete typescript draft [9], chapters 7-13 [uncorrected], no date
12 8 Complete typescript draft [9], chapters 14 and 15 [uncorrected], no date
13 1 Complete typescript draft [10], chapters 1-6 [corrected], October 23, 1979
13 2 Complete typescript draft [10], chapters 7-15 [corrected], October 23, 1979
13 3 Contract, no date
13 4 Dedication [includes correspondence], circa 1968
OP20 - Discards and rewrites, winter 1962-1963 [1 of 3]
13 5 Discards and rewrites, winter 1962-1963 [2 of 3]
OP21 - Discards and rewrites, winter 1962-1963 [3 of 3]
13 6 Early draft fragments and notes, no date [1 of 2]
13 7 Early draft fragments and notes, no date [2 of 2]
13 8 Editorial comments and responses, no date
13 9 Film screenplay and notes, no date
13 10 Galley proof [uncorrected], circa 1969
13 11 Incomplete typescript draft [1], chapter 1 [uncorrected], no date
13 12 Incomplete typescript draft [2], chapters 1 and 2 [corrected], no date
14 1 Incomplete typescript draft [3], chapters 1-3 [corrected], no date
14 2 Incomplete typescript draft [4], chapters 1-5 [uncorrected], no date
14 3 Incomplete typescript draft [5], chapters 1-6 [uncorrected], no date
14 4 Incomplete typescript draft [6], chapter 3 [corrected], no date
14 5 Incomplete typescript draft [7], chapters 3-5 [corrected], no date
14 6 Incomplete typescript draft [8], chapters 5?-8 [uncorrected], no date
14 7 Incomplete typescript draft [8], chapters 9-12 [uncorrected], no date
14 8 Incomplete typescript draft [9], chapters 6-11 [uncorrected], November 4, 1968
14 9 Incomplete typescript draft [9], chapters 12 and 13 [uncorrected], November 4, 1968
14 10 Incomplete typescript draft [10], chapter 7 [uncorrected], no date
14 11 Incomplete typescript draft [11], chapter 8 [uncorrected], no date
14 12 Incomplete typescript draft [12], chapter 9 [uncorrected], no date
14 13 Incomplete typescript draft [13], chapters 10-14? [corrected] [includes notes], no date
15 1 Incomplete typescript draft [14], chapters 14 and 15 [uncorrected], no date
15 2 Incomplete typescript draft [15], unidentified chapter [uncorrected], no date
15 3 Jacket flap copy, no date
15 4 Killens, John Oliver, afterword draft, no date
15 5 Notes and notebooks, no date [1 of 3]
15 6 Notes and notebooks, no date [2 of 3]
15 7 Notes and notebooks, no date [3 of 3]
15 8 Prospectuses, no date
OP22 - Prospectuses, no date
15 9 Research notes, no date [1 of 2]
15 10 Research notes, no date [2 of 2]
15 11 Tippenneck [variant title of This Childs Gonna Live], incomplete typescript draft [1], chapters 1-2 [corrected], no date
15 12 Tippenneck [variant title of This Childs Gonna Live], incomplete typescript draft [2], chapters 1-3 [uncorrected], no date
15 13 Tippenneck [variant title of This Childs Gonna Live], incomplete typescript draft [3], chapters 1-5 [uncorrected], April 23, 1959
16 1 Unidentified loose pages, no date
16 2 Working papers, unidentified chapter, no date
16 3 Working papers, chapter 7, no date
16 4 Working papers, chapters 14 and 15, no date
16 5 Working papers, chapter 15, no date
OP23 - Working papers, no date [1 of 36]
16 6 Working papers, no date [2 of 36]
16 7 Working papers, no date [3 of 36]
16 8 Working papers, no date [4 of 36]
16 9 Working papers, no date [5 of 36]
16 10 Working papers, no date [6 of 36]
OP24 - Working papers, no date [7 of 36]
17 1 Working papers, no date [8 of 36]
OP25 - Working papers, no date [9 of 36]
17 2 Working papers, no date [10 of 36]
OP26 - Working papers, no date [11 of 36]
17 3 Working papers, no date [12 of 36]
OP27 - Working papers, no date [13 of 36]
17 4 Working papers, no date [14 of 36]
17 5 Working papers, no date [15 of 36]
OP28 - Working papers, no date [16 of 36]
17 6 Working papers, no date [17 of 36]
17 7 Working papers, no date [18 of 36]
17 8 Working papers, no date [19 of 36]
17 9 Working papers, no date [20 of 36]
17 10 Working papers, no date [21 of 36]
17 11 Working papers, no date [22 of 36]
17 12 Working papers, no date [23 of 36]
17 13 Working papers, no date [24 of 36]
17 14 Working papers, no date [25 of 36]
17 15 Working papers, no date [26 of 36]
18 1 Working papers, no date [27 of 36]
18 2 Working papers, no date [28 of 36]
OP29 - Working papers, no date [29 of 36]
OP30 - Working papers, no date [30 of 36]
18 3 Working papers, no date [31 of 36]
OP31 - Working papers, no date [32 of 36]
18 4 Working papers, no date [33 of 36]
OP32 - Working papers, no date [34 of 36]
18 5 Working papers, no date [35 of 36]
OP33 - Working papers, no date [36 of 36]
Twelve Gates to the City, Hallelujah!
OP34 - Incomplete typescript draft [1], chapter 1 [corrected], no date
18 6 Incomplete typescript draft [2], chapter 1 [corrected], no date
18 7 Incomplete typescript draft [3], chapter 1 [uncorrected], no date
18 8 Incomplete typescript draft [4], chapter 1 [corrected], no date
18 9 Incomplete typescript draft [5], chapter 1 [uncorrected], no date
18 10 Notes, no date [1 of 2]
18 11 Notes, no date [2 of 2]
18 12 Prospectuses, no date
18 13 Unidentified loose pages, no date
18 14 Working papers, no date [1 of 3]
OP35 - Working papers, no date [2 of 3]
18 15 Working papers, no date [3 of 3]
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