Stanley Elkin, 1930-1995. American author
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Finding-Aid for the Elkin Papers [00039]Collection Description
Papers, 1955-1983.
ca. 4340 items
Access: Open
The Stanley Elkin Papers consist of the literary and professional papers of this noted American author who was the Merle King Distinguished Professor of English at Washington University. Elkin was born in New York, but grew up in Chicago. He did both his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Illinois, receiving a Ph.D. in 1961, and was a member of Washington University's English faculty from 1960 until his death 1n 1995.
Elkin's fiction has been heralded for its imaginative poetic style. He was acclaimed as both an experimentalist, for his style, and a humorist, albeit a black one, for the comedic nature of his work. Always bordering on the outlandish, Elkin's work did not receive the popular reception given that of many of his peers. It was, however, greeted enthusiastically by critics and reviewers and brought him numerous literary awards, including a National Book Critics Circle Award for George Mills (1983). Elkin's reputation rose steadily with the publication of each of his books and many regard him as one of our finest post WW-II novelists.
The Elkin Papers consist primarily of Elkin's own manuscripts, including, his plays, filmscripts, essays, and stories, with the bulk of the material being manuscripts and editorial matter toward his novels. Elkin's manuscripts include all stages of his drafts, from autograph notes written on university exam books to word processor diskettes. Also included in the Papers are an extensive general and professional correspondence, manuscripts by other authors, teaching materials, and his own college literary papers.
Additional material related to Stanley Elkin's later life and work can be found in unprocessed portions of the collection, and are available for access by formal request only.
Bibliography
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vols 2, 28; Yearbook 1980. (Detroit: Gale Research, 1978). First Printings of American Authors, Vol. 1. (Detroit; Gale Research Co., 1977-1979).
Selected Names
Elkin, Stanley, 1930-1995. American author
Adams, Phoebe Lou, 1918- . American author
Bargen, Dorris G.. German author
Barth, John, 1930- . American author
Barthelme, Fredrick, 1943- . American author
Bayley, John, 1925- . British author
Bell, Marvin, 1937- . American author
Bellow, Saul, 1915- . American author
Boyle, Tom Coraghessan, 1949- . American author
Calisher, Hortense, 1911- . American author
Carver, Raymond, 1938-1988. American author
Charyn, Jerome, 1937- . American author
Cherry, Kelly, 1940- . American author
Coover, Robert, 1932- . American author
Curley, Daniel, 1918-1988. American author & editor
Davidson, Peter, 1928- . American author
Dillard, Annie, 1945- . American author
Elman, Richard, 1936- . American author
Enright, Dennis J., 1920-2002. American author
Finkel, Donald, 1929- . American author
Ford, Richard, 1944- . American author
Gaddis, William, 1922-1998. American author
Gardner, John Champlin, 1933-1982. American author
Gass, William, 1924- . American author
Gold, Herbert, 1924- .American author
Hadas, Pamela White, 1946- . American author
Halpern, Daniel, 1945- . American author
Harris, Mark, 1922- . American author
Hartman, Charles O., 1949- . American author
Herrin, Lamar, 1940- . American author
Hjortsberg, William, 1941- . American author
Hoffman, Daniel, 1923- . American author
Howe, Irving, 1920-1993. American author
Keneally, Thomas, 1935- . Australian author
Kermode, Frank, 1919- . British author
Kessler, Jascha, 1929- . American author
Lish, Gordon, 1934- . American author & editor
Macauley, Robie, 1919- . American author & editor
Matthews, Jack, 1907-1978. American author
McCafferey, Larry, 1925- . American author
McElroy, Joseph, 1930- . American author
Meredith, William, 1919- . American author
Nemerov, Howard, 1920-1991. American author
Neugeboren, Jay, 1938- . American author
Newman, Charles, 1938- . American author
Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938- .American author
Plimpton, George, 1927-2003. American author
Reed, Ishmael, 1938- . American author
Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978. American author
Segal, Lore, 1928- . American author
Sewell, Elizabeth, 1919-2001. American author
Starbuck, George, 1931- . American author
Thurston, Jarvis A., 1914- . American author
Updike, John, 1932- . American author
Van Duyn, Mona, 1921- . American author
Vendler, Helen, 1933- . American author
Vonnegut, Kurt, 1927- . American author
Wakoski, Diane, 1937- . American author
Wallace, Ronald, 1945- . American author
Wolff, Geoffrey, 1937- . American author
Wolff, Tobias, 1945- . American author
Wolitzer, Hilma, 1930- . American author
Yuricj, Lisa. American author