Meridel Le Sueur papers

The Meridel Le Sueur papers span the dates 1929-1942. The .3 linear feet of material in the collection consists of typescripts of Le Sueur’s poems and stories, sixty-three letters to her friend Doris Kirkpatrick (1902 –1984), letters written to Le Sueur by others, photos and other images, news clippings and a periodical.

The collection is arranged in four series. The first series, Works by Meridel Le Sueur, is divided into two sections: poems and stories; both sections are ordered alphabetically by the title of the work. The second series, Letters to Doris Kirkpatrick, is also divided into two groups: dated letters and undated letters. Because Le Sueur did not date her correspondence postmarked dates from accompanying envelopes have been used to establish the chronology of approximately half of the letters in this series. Series three, Letters Written to Meridel Le Sueur, is ordered alphabetically by the last name of the correspondent; and the fourth series contains photos and proof sheet images of WPA-era murals.

The poems in the collection are typescript manuscripts, except for one tear-sheet of a published poem with Le Sueur’s signature at the bottom of the page. Also present is the poem “Bond Salesman,” which may have been written by Edgar Lee Masters, whose name appears in an unknown hand at the end of the typescript. The stories are also typescript manuscripts, some of which have autograph corrections and notes in LeSueur’s hand. Two items are of particular interest: first a typescript copy of “The Horse,” which varies from the version published in Story magazine (1939). The second item is Le Sueur’s mimeograph textbook You Can Write. In this brief manual, Le Sueur gives her views on how and why to write, and step-by-step instruction on constructing a story. The collection also includes a single issue of The Anvil, “the pioneer magazine of stories for workers,” with the Le Sueur story “Sequel to Love.”

The letters to Doris Kirkpatrick, a close friend and fellow writer, include details of both Le Sueur’s daily and professional life during the height of her productivity as a writer. In the letters, Le Sueur writes with an open and intimate tone on subjects that include politics, literature, writing, having children, her family, and her financial struggles. Le Sueur’s interest in the working classes is reflected in the letters, and she describes the Midwestern towns and people she encounters with frank compassion. The letters also indicate that Le Sueur and Kirkpatrick exchanged rough drafts of works in progress. Le Sueur offered Kirkpatrick editorial advice and support, and Kirkpatrick appears to have provided similar assistance to Le Sueur.

The letters that Meridel Le Sueur received from other correspondents deal mostly with Le Sueur’s writing and editorial work at Midwest. Letters from Sherwood Anderson, John Dos Passos, Angelo Herndon, and Prudencio de Pereda are included in the collection. Two letters from the writer and The Anvil editor Jack Conroy, one addressed to Le Sueur, the other to Kirkpatrick, discuss publishing matters and the difficulty of managing a little magazine.

The final series includes two photographs of WPA wall murals and several proof sheets of similar images. There is also a 1964 photograph of civil rights activist Julian Bond dating from the period of his involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).