The Noel Polk/Andrew Lytle Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS.0339

Staff Only

Scope and Contents Note

In 1985, Special Collections at the Jean and Alexander Heard Library acquired a collection of working papers from Noel Polk on his bibliography of Andrew Nelson Lytle. The Noel Polk/Andrew Lytle Collection was a generous donation made by Mr. Polk himself.

This collection contains the working papers of Noel Polk, a literary scholar whose areas of specializations include: American literature, Southern writers, and Bibliographies. The materials housed in this collection relate to Polk’s published work from the Mississippi Quarterly titled: “Andrew Nelson Lytle: A Bibliography of His Writings.”

The basis for Noel Polk’s bibliography of Andrew Lytle stemmed from the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. The Society was created in 1967 to develop research tools to aid in the study of American Southern writers. The Society commissioned the Mississippi Quarterly, the Journal of Southern Cultures, to create a Bibliography Committee that would compile an ongoing bibliography of all books and articles about and by southern writers. Polk’s work is included in the Fall 1970 issue of the Mississippi Quarterly.

The Noel Polk/Andrew Lytle Collection consists of three boxes, one of which is oversize. The materials within this collection have been arranged in the following series: Correspondence, Research Materials, and Writings.

Series and Subseries Descriptions

Series I. Correspondence, 1925-1971 (0.5 boxes)

The Correspondence Series is made up of both incoming and outgoing letters. In order to maintain original order the incoming letters have been kept as they were, with the initial outgoing letter paper-clipped together. The correspondence has thus been arranged chronologically by the date of the initial outgoing letter. An interesting note, included within this series is a letter from the U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond that bears his signature. Most correspondence concerns Noel Polk obtaining information for his bibliography of Andrew Lytle’s works.

Series II. Research Material, [1968-1971] (1 box)

This series contains various materials used by Mr. Polk for his research when writing the bibliography. Included within the material are notes, correspondence, copies of Lytle’s writings, reviews of Lytle’s writings, and a notebook of notes for the bibliography. Arrangement?

Series III. Writings, Undated (0.5 box and 1 oversize box)

The Writings Series consists of typescripts, galley proofs, and a checklist of Polk’s “Andrew Nelson Lytle: A Bibliography of His Writings.” Some documents are marked while some have been left unmarked. This series contains oversize material.

Dates

Inclusive: 1925-1971; Bulk: 1968-1970

Language of Materials

English

Biographical/Historical Note

1943	Born in Picayune, Mississippi on February 23^rd.
1965	Received Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi College
1966	Received Masters of Arts from Mississippi College
1967	Married on January 27^th to Patricia Parrott, they later divorced in 1990.
1970	Obtained Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina – Columbia. Published “Andrew Nelson Lytle: A Bibliography of His Writings” in Mississippi Quarterly.
1970-1974	Assistant professor of English at the University of Texas at Arlington.
1974-1976	Visiting associate research professor and bibliographer in Southern Studies Program at the University of South Carolina at Columbia.
1976-1977	Independent researcher.
1977-1979	Assistant professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
1979-1981	Received grant from National Endowment for the Humanities.
1979-1983	Associate professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
1981-1982	Professeur Associe. at the University of Strasbourg.
1983--	Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
1986-1989	Received grant from National Endowment for the Humanities.
1991	Received grant from National Endowment for the Humanities.
1994-1995	Received grant from National Endowment for the Humanities.
2005	Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Lodz, Poland.