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Guide to the Harriet Doerr Papers,
1976-1996
Special Collections M0668
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Table of contents
Title: Harriet Doerr Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1976-1996
Collection number: Special Collections M0668
Creator:
Doerr, Harriet.
Extent:
18.25 linear ft.
Repository:
Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Language:
English.
None.
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.
Gift of Harriet Doerr, 1993, 1994, and 1996.
[Identification of item] Harriet Doerr Papers, M0668, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford,
Calif.
Harriet Doerr was born in Pasadena, California, in 1910. She has lived much of her life in Mexico and now resides in her hometown.
Educated at Smith College and Stanford University in the late 1920s, she returned to Stanford in 1977 to earn a bachelor's
degree and do graduate work in fiction writing. With the help of a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford, she wrote her first
novel, Stones for Ibarra, which is set in Mexico. This book won numerous awards, among them the National Book Award for a
First Work of Fiction, and has also been adapted as a film for television. She has published short stories in periodicals
such as The New York Times and Atlantic. One such story, "Edie: A Life," appeared in the O. Henry Awards Prize Stories and
Best American Short Stories. Harriet Doerr has also published three more books, Consider This, Señora, another novel set in
Mexico, and Under an Aztec Sun and The Tiger in the Grass, two collections of short stories.
The Harriet Doerr Papers contain materials from many of her published works including Stones for Ibarra, Consider This, Señora,
Under an Aztec Sun, and The Tiger in the Grass. Comments and criticisms of the stories which make up the novels, as well as
manuscripts prior to publication, may also be found in the collection. Also included are many short stories which were not
included in her books or remain unpublished. Many of the stories were begun as writing exercises for creative writing classes
Doerr took from author and Stanford professor, John L'Heureux. His critiques and comments can be found throughout the collection.
Ephemera concerning interviews, talks, and book signings by Doerr are included from her personal collections. A segment is
devoted to the Hallmark TV film of Stones for Ibarra, including scripts, photographs, and reviews. Newspaper clippings and
magazine articles describing her success as an author make up another large part of the collection. Several boxes in the original
accession and the addition are comprised of correspondence to Doerr from individuals praising her writing and success, as
well as professional correspondence concerning books and stories published. Finally, it is interesting to note that Doerr
included several computer disks apparently containing drafts of stories, both in the original accession and the addition.
The three original accessions of the Harriet Doerr Papers (93-119, 94-025, 94-038) were not organized into definitive series.
However, logical organization is apparent and could possibly come under the following headings:
- Consider This, Señora
- Stones for Ibarra
- Miscellaneous Stories
- Albert Guerard Corrections
- Manuscripts and Translations
- Interviews and Talks
- Correspondence
- Hallmark TV Film of Stones for Ibarra
- Newsclippings and Magazine Articles
The addition to the existing Doerr Papers (accession 1996-068), which starts on page 8, is organized into the following series:
- I. The Tiger in the Grass (including stories, Mss, etc.)
- II. Consider This, Señora (including stories, corrections, and reviews)
- III. Stones for Ibarra (title pages, last chapter)
- IV. Miscellaneous Short Stories (including class comments and corrections)
- V. Readings, Signings, and Promotionals
- VI. Professional Correspondence
- VII. General Correspondence
- VIII. Computer Disks
Abrahams, Billy.
Adams, Alice, 1926-
Austin, Reid.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-
Gaines, Ernest J., 1933-
Guérard, Albert J. (Albert Joseph), 1914-
Kroll, Ernest.
L'Heureux, John.
Miller, Clive.
Munro, Grant.
American literature--20th century.
Oversized pamphlet for Yolla Bolly (unrelated to Doerr) removed to M0518