John Egerton Papers - Estate Papers
Scope and Contents
There are seven boxes of correspondence, ranging in date from 1963 to 2014. Some of the correspondence is personal, but most of it concerns his work as a writer.
Other material pertains to Egerton’s speeches and presentations, as well as his work as Journalist-in Residence at Virginia Tech in 1978-1979 and at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997.
Over five boxes contain materials relating to the many and wide-ranging projects in which he was involved between 1973 and 2013. Among these varied projects were advocacy for prisoners, proposals for film and video productions for some of his writing, establishment of a Southern Food and Drink Museum, his involvement in local politics, and work in improving Nashville, especially feeding the poor of the city.
Over two boxes contain his writing ideas for future articles and books. He collected magazine and newspapers articles for inspiration, as well as writing his personal observations about the local and national scene.
In the next eleven boxes are some of his completed writings, both published and unpublished, dating from 1960 to 2013. These include his Master’s thesis from 1960 as well as material pertaining to Generations, Speak Now Against the Day, and Nashville. Also included is his published novel, Ali Dubiyah and the Forty Thieves, as well as his unpublished novel, Paradise Island. There are also many of his magazine and newspaper articles, primarily on topics of education, politics, Tennessee history, and southern food. His work as an editor is included in this section also.
There are four boxes of the writings of others. Egerton served as a mentor to many, including poets, novelists, and writers of non-fiction. Their works and some of his comments are included.
The last part of the collection consists of Subject Files. They primarily concern race relations, civil rights, school desegregation, TVA, music, and the Metro Nashville Archives.
Personal items are contained in the last box. These include resumes he wrote through the years, honors awarded to him, publicity photos, and posthumous tributes. The program for his Memorial Service at the Nashville Public Library held on Sunday, December 8, 2013 is included.
Dates
- 1960 - 2014
Language of Materials
Conditions Governing Access
Biographical / Historical
In that same year, he became Director of Information Services and Publications at the University of South Florida. From 1965-1969, he was a magazine staff writer for the Southern Education Reporting Service in Nashville, Tennessee, and from 1969-1971, staff writer for the Race Relations Information Center, also in Nashville.
After 1971 and until his death, Egerton was a free-lance writer, based in Nashville. Throughout the years, he wrote over five hundred articles on a variety of subjects for over fifty publications and approximately fifty booklets and research reports on specialized topics. He was the author of ten non-fiction books and one novel.
He was married to Ann Bleidt and the couple had two sons, Brooks and March. John Egerton died in Nashville, Tennessee on November 21, 2013.
Extent
14.7 Linear Feet (35 boxes)
Physical Location
- Title
- Finding Aid for the John Egerton Papers - Estate Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Beverly Lee
- Date
- 2017 August
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections Repository
Jean and Alexander Heard Library
419 21st Avenue South
Nashville TN 37203 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu