Andrew Nelson Lytle Papers
Scope and Contents
The Papers of Andrew Nelson Lytle (1902-1995), author, educator, editor, critic and Vanderbilt University alumnus (B.A. 1925), were acquired from Andrew Lytle in three segments. The first and largest of these segments arrived in 1968, and a smaller group of items appeared later in 1968. The third portion was not acquired until 1988.
The Andrew Nelson Lytle Papers, 1873-1988, include correspondence, manuscripts of writings, research materials, reviews, publicity, legal and financial documents, theatrical clippings and programs, photographs, journals and diaries, family records and manuscripts of writings by others. The collection documents, in varying extent, Lytle's trips abroad (1921, 1924), his life at school (Oxford exams, Vanderbilt, Yale Drama School), his careers as actor, farmer, author, teacher and editor, his activity in the Agrarian literary group, his strong family ties, his relationship with his beloved wife, and his friendships which include many fellow writers (especially Donald Davidson, Caroline Gordon, Frank Lawrence Owsley, Katherine Anne Porter, Allen Tate, and Robert Penn Warren), academic colleagues and devoted students. There is also a substantial amount of family correspondence and papers chronicling the Lytle, Nelson and related families of Tennessee.
For further description of each series, refer to the scope and content note attached to each series.
This collection will be of chief interest to those researching Andrew Lytle's life and writings, but it will be of importance to those interested in the Fugitive and Agrarian Groups, and (to lesser extent) the Sewanee Review.
For details of Lytle's life and works, the following are recommended: - Lucas, Mark. "Andrew Lytle," in Fifty Southern Writers After 1900. Joseph M. Flora and Robert Bain, eds. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. (Pages 290-300) - Lytle, Andrew Nelson. A Wake For The Living: A Family Chronicle. New York: Crown Publishers, 1975. - Polk, Noel. "Andrew Nelson Lytle: A Biography of His Writings," Mississippi Quarterly 23 (Fall, 1970): 435-491 - Wright, Stuart T. Andrew Nelson Lytle: A Bibliography, 1920-1982. Sewanee, TN: University of the South, 1982.
Most notes taken from:
The Lytle-Tate Papers: The Correspondence of Andrew Lytle and Allen Tate. Thomas Daniel Young and Elizabeth Sarcone, eds. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1987.
Dates
- Creation: 1804 - 1995
Copyright Information
Andrew Lytle's literary executor is his son-in-law, George Chamberlain of Sewanee.
Conditions Governing Access
The physical materials from this collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives. Materials should be requested two to three days in advance to facilitate easier access. Contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an appointment.
Biographical / Historical
Andrew Nelson Lytle was born on December 26, 1902, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to Robert Logan and Lillie Belle Lytle. In 1921, he began his studies at Exeter College, Oxford, but he moved home after three weeks for family reasons. He subsequently enrolled at Vanderbilt University to be near his family. At Vanderbilt, he studied under Donald Davidson and John Crowe Ransom and befriended Robert Penn Warren. Lytle graduated from Vanderbilt in 1925. In 1926, he studied under George Pierce Baker at the 47 Workshop at Yale, and he befriended fellow writer Allen Tate in 1927. Lytle wrote several plays, stories, essays, and biographical works over the course of his career, and he served as editor of the Sewanee Review from 1961 to 1973. He also taught at Southwestern College, the University of the South, the University of Iowa (where Flannery O’Connor was his student), the University of Florida, and Vanderbilt University (1974). In 1982, Lytle was nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died in Monteagle, Tennessee, on December 14, 1995.
Full Extent
23.61 Linear Feet (23 letter Hollingers, 23 legal Hollingers, 1 letter half-Hollinger, 2 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Andrew Lytle Papers, 1804-1995, consist of the correspondence, writings, research files, and personal materials of author, educator, editor, and critic Andrew Lytle, 1902-1995.
General
Additions to this collection were previously identified as MSS.0599 and MSS.0603. They have since been added to MSS.0267.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the The Andrew Nelson Lytle Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Catherine Ashley Via
- Date
- 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
About this Site
This site contains collection guides, or finding aids, to the archival collections held by Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives, the History of Medicine Collection, and the Scarritt Bennett Center. Finding aids describe the context, arrangement, and structure of archival materials, allowing users to identify and request materials relevant to their research.
Requesting Materials
Each finding aid contains a link to request materials from the collections. Collections can also be requested by emailing the repository directly through the library website. Each repository has its own location, hours, and contact information. Please consult the repository with questions about using the materials. Collections are non-circulating and must be used in the repository’s reading room. In many cases, the collections are stored off-site and require advance notice for retrieval.