Jesse Stuart Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains papers related to author and educator Jesse Stuart dating from 1937-1987, mostly consisting of correspondence to and from Stuart and inscribed items.
Part of this collection also contains correspondence between Jesse Stuart and the Mississippi-born, Massachusetts-based fellow educator and collector, James C. Mitchell. In the letters Stuart discusses book collecting, his travel plans and soeaking schedules, his works-in-progress and future publications, and the pride he has in his daughter Jane's work.
Also included are letters from the artist and illustrator Robert G. Henneberger, color photographs, a number of Stuart family Christmas cards, a broadside and theatre program both inscribed by Stuart, and the typescript of a poem on Dean Martin which has been signed and dated by Stuart.
Dates
- 1937 - 1987
- Majority of material found within 1966 - 1977
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
This collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Special Collections in the Jean and Alexander Heard Library. Collections should be requested 2-3 days prior to visiting in order to facilitate easier access. For questions or to request a collection, contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu.
Biographical / Historical
Jesse Hilton Stuart (August 8, 1906 – February 17, 1984) was an author, teacher, and school administrator known for his short stories, poetry, novels as well as non-fiction autobiographical works set in Appalachia.
Timeline
- August 8, 1907
- Born in Riverton, Kentucky, son of Mitchell and Martha Stuart
- October 1939
- Married Naomi Dean Norris
- 1929
- A.B. Degree from Lincoln Memorial University
- 1931-1932
- Attended Vanderbilt University and Peabody College. Worked as a farmer, newspaper editor, and steel mill laborer, and also taught school in Greenup County, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio.
- 1932-1934
- Superintendent of Greenup County schools
- 1934
- Jeannette Sewal Davis poetry prize
- 1937
- Guggenheim fellowship
- 1941
- Academy of Arts and Sciences award for Men of the Mountains
- 1954
- Made poet laureate of Kentucky
- 1955
- Berea College Centennial award for literature
- 1961
- Academy of American Poets award
- 1960-1961
- Visiting Professor of English and Education, The American University, Cairo, Egypt
- 1962-1963
- American specialist abroad for Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, State Department
- February 17, 1984
- Died, Ironton, Ohio
Extent
.21 Linear Feet (1 Half-Hollinger box)
Abstract
This collection contains papers related to author and educator Jesse Stuart dating from 1937-1987, mostly consisting of correspondence to and from Stuart and inscribed items. Part of this collection contains correspondence between Stuart and and fellow educator and collector, James C. Mitchell.
Physical Location
Special Collections & Archives
Immediate Source of Acquisition
An addition to this collection was purchased in 2019.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Jesse Stuart Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Zach Johnson
- Date
- revised May 2019
- 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
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu