Primarily correspondence between Roma Blackburn and literary personages, including former students of her husband, William Maxwell Blackburn, professor at Duke University. Also includes poem by Rose Styron, clippings about the poet Elizabeth Bishop, and a program from Bishop's memorial service. One volume, Heart and Home: A Memoir, was written by Mrs. Blackburn. Correspondence includes: letters and postcards from Elizabeth Bishop discussing travels, intellectual life, and literary interests; letters from William Styron discussing fund-raising in memory of Professor William Blackburn for the Duke University Capital Campaign for the Arts and Sciences; letters from Alice Methfessel, close friend of Elizabeth Bishop; and letters from Professor Blackburn's former students Sean Devereaux, Guy Davenport, and Josephine Humphreys Hutcheson. (1964-1984) (46 items) (.2 linear feet)

This addition (218 items, 1942-1985) includes letters to Blackburn from Reynolds Price and Wallace Fowlie and others regarding invitations, travel plans, news, and condolences; material related to the William Blackburn Fund; correspondence from Blackburn's summers in Magog; a story by Max Steele; 23 manuscript pages of Blackburn's autobiography; copies of tributes to William Blackburn from William Styron and Max Steele as well as statistics on the number of students he taught; and photographs (61 black-and-white prints, 4 color prints, 1 color slide, and 2 black-and-white negatives) of Tennessee Williams, Fred Chappell, William Styron, Sean Devereaux, Wallace Fowlie, and William Blackburn as well as other family members. An unidentified audio tape is included. (.6 linear feet) (acc#01-0036)

Addition (2012-0038) (0.4 lin. ft., 300 items) includes personal correspondence to Roma Blackburn from family members and others, clippings and photographs of William Blackburn, and a recording of William Styron reading from Lie Down in Darkness. Also included are writings and notes by William Blackburn mostly relating to his W.B. Yeats research.

The Society of 9019, organized in February 1890 under the leadership of John Spencer Bassett, was an honorary scholarship fraternity. The society began at Trinity College and continued on at Duke University. Acceptance into the 9019 was based, in part, on an academic average of 90 or above. It was also conditioned upon a scholastic average of 2.25 quality points, making it similar to the male only Phi Beta Kappa society. The 9019 is credited with establishing the South Atlantic Quarterly, supporting scholarly activities among North Carolina high schools, and establishing student-faculty forums on a variety of timely subjects. The group disbanded in the early 1940s. The 9019 records contain ritual and member lists, program and contest advertisements, ceremonial robes, founding documents, letters, photographs, memorabilia and other papers related to this honor society. The dates of the materials range from 1892-1944.

The 9019 records contain ritual and member lists, program and contest advertisements, ceremonial robes, founding documents, letters, photographs, memorabilia and other papers related to this honor society. Major subjects include: intellectual life; student societies; initiations and rites and ceremonies; oratory competitions, and the South Atlantic Quarterly. The dates of the materials range from 1892-1944.