Bradford, Melvin

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 8 May 1934 - 3 March 1993

Biography

Melvin E. Bradford was born and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and got his B.A. and M.A. in English at the University of Oklahoma. He discovered I’ll Take My Stand as an undergraduate and felt that he had encountered kindred spirits in the Agrarians. Inspired by the essays, Bradford went on a quest to get his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University, where he studied under Donald Davidson. After he graduated, he taught English at the United States Naval Academy, at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and at the University of Dallas, where he stayed from 1967 until his death. In addition to his literary work, Bradford became active in conservative politics, campaigning for Ronald Reagan and others, but drew a great deal of criticism for his often rigidly paleoconservative viewpoints. He was the author of several essays and books, including Remembering Who We Are: Observations of a Southern Conservative (1985) and From Eden to Babylon : The Social and Political Essays of Andrew Nelson Lytle (1990). He died in Midland, Texas, in 1993.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

"A Durable Fire: Donald Davidson and the Profession of Letters" by Melvin E. Bradford.

Item — Box 33: [Barcode: 30081048909158], Folder: 17

Scope and Contents From the Collection: The Donald Davidson Papers (1906 - 1968) include correspondence and writings by Davidson as well as reviews, research materials, publications materials, publicity for books, legal and financial documents, family records, newspaper clippings and photographs, segregation materials, and manuscripts of writings by others. The bulk of the materials come from the 1920's through the 1960's. Davidson received his B. A. and M. A. degrees from Vanderbilt University and remained at the...

Dates: 1906 - 1968

Found in: Vanderbilt University Special Collections / MSS.0002, Donald Davidson Papers / Personal and Biographical Material / Biographical Sketches and Writings about Davidson

"Donald Davidson: 1893 - 1968" by M. E. Bradford in The Southern Review, Autumn 1968 "Donald Davidson and the Calculus of Memory" by M. E. Bradford in Chronicles a Magazine of American Culture, May 1994

Item — Box 33: [Barcode: 30081048909158], Folder: 16

Dates: 1906 - 1968

Found in: Vanderbilt University Special Collections / MSS.0002, Donald Davidson Papers / Personal and Biographical Material / Biographical Sketches and Writings about Davidson

Melvin E. Bradford

Series

Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains materials on the Fugitive Poets and the Nashville Agrarians. Most of the materials have to do with the years in the 1920s when the Fugitive poet group was formed and the resulting poems, manuscripts, and correspondence. In addition there are a few items, mostly articles, that concern the Agrarian group. The Collection contains many items of unique interest including poems that were read at the Fugitive meetings and correspondence that records the national and...

Dates: 1922 - 1979

Found in: Vanderbilt University Special Collections / MSS.0160, Fugitive and Agrarian Collection / Addition

Collections