Kay Boyle papers relating to research on Irish women

Kay Boyle, born in 1902, is best known for her work and accomplishments as a poet, short story writer, novelist, journalist, teacher, and political activist. One of the prominent American expatriates during the 1920s and 1930s, much of Kay Boyle's work reflects the influences of that literary circle. The Kay Boyle papers relating to research on Irish women consist of 2.3 linear feet of material. The papers include notebooks, letters, books, periodicals, clippings, photographs, drafts, poems, calendars, a reel-to-reel tape, and pamphlets. Three-quarters of the papers relate to research completed by Kay Boyle for a book on Irish women. Kay Boyle was very interested in the struggles which women faced throughout history in their attempts to achieve civil and economic rights. That interest, in addition to curiosity about the Boyle family ancestry in Ireland and concern for a peaceful settlement of troubles in Northern Ireland, brought her to Ireland in 1976 to begin research for a book about the women of Ireland.