Reynolds Price papers, 1880-2014 and undated

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Restrictions:
Access restricted. Access to, and duplication by any means of, most material requires written permission from Prince's literary executor until 2031. Prior consultation is required before permission...
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Summary

Creator:
Price, Reynolds, 1933-2011
Abstract:
Reynolds Price (1933-2011) was a novelist, short story writer, poet, dramatist, essayist, translator, and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University, where he taught creative writing and literature beginning in 1958. He was an alumnus of Duke and of Oxford University, which he attended on a Rhodes Scholarship, and his books were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The collection is comprised of correspondence, writings, serials, clippings, speeches, interviews, legal and financial papers, photographs, audiovisual materials, and digital materials reflecting Price's career and personal life.
Extent:
151 Linear Feet
1 Gigabyte
Language:
Material in English.
Collection ID:
RL.01050

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of correspondence; writings, speeches, and interviews; serials and clippings; financial, legal, and medical records; visual and audiovisual material; and electronic records that reflect Price's professional and personal life.

The correspondence covers Price's education at Duke University, especially his studies under William Blackburn; his period abroad as a Rhodes Scholar at Merton College, Oxford; and his literary work and interaction with other authors. Numerous American authors (many of them Southern) and several British literary figures are represented. Among the major correspondents are Eudora Welty, Stephen Spender, and Allan Gurganus.

There are many forms of Price's writings (drafts, proofs with revisions, and outlines), which document the development of his literary works, as well as advertising material and reviews. Titles include: A Long and Happy Life; A Generous Man; Things Themselves; Presence and Absence; The Surface of the Earth; Early Dark; A Palpable God; Source of Light; Vital Provisions; Mustian; Private Contentment; Kate Vaiden; The Laws of Ice; A Common Room; Clear Pictures; The Tongues of Angels; The Use of Fire; New Music: A Trilogy; The Foreseeable Future; Blue Calhoun; The Collected Stories; A Whole New Life; The Promise of Rest; The Three Gospels; The Collected Poems; Roxanna Slade; Letter to a Man in the Fire; Feasting the Heart; Noble Norfleet; A Serious Way of Wondering; The Good Priest's Son; Letter to a Godchild; Ardent Spirits; and, Midstream.

Other writings include untitled fragments and notes, reviews written by Price, his writings for others, and manuscripts sent to him by students and other authors, some of which he annotated.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology List
Date Event
1933 Feb. 1
Born in Macon, NC to William Solomon and Elizabeth (Rodwell) Price
1954-1955
Editor, The Archive; Advisory editor, Shenandoah at Duke University
1955
A.B. Summa cum laude, Duke University; Angier B. Duke Scholar
1958
D. Litt., St. Andrew's Presbyterian College
B. Litt. (Rhodes Scholar), Merton College, Oxford University
1958
Joined Duke University English Department on three-year appointment
1961-1968
Assistant Professor, Duke University
1962
A Long and Happy Life, first novel and book
1965
Writer-in-residence, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1967, 1969
Writer-in-residence, University of Kansas
1968-1972
Associate Professor, Duke University
1971
Writer-in-residence, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Glasgow Professor, Washington and Lee University
1972-1977
Professor, Duke University
1973-1977
Literature Advisory Panel, National Endowment for the Arts (Chair, 1976)
1977
Faculty, Salzburg Seminar
1977-2011
James B. Duke Professor of English, Duke University
1979
National Book Award nomination for translation, for A Palpable God
1984
Paralyzed from waist down after tumor on spinal cord
1986
National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, for Kate Vaiden
1994
Finalist for Pulitzer Prize in fiction, for The Collected Stories
1997
The Collected Poems
2011 Jan. 20
Died following a heart attack, Durham, NC
Acquisition information:
The Reynolds Price papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library as gifts between 1986-2017.
Processing information:

Processed by Michael Shumate, Melissa Delbridge, Dan Daily, Linda Daniel, and Pavla Vesela, October 2005; Leah M. Kerr, May 2019.

Encoded by Michael Shumate, Stephen Miller, February 2006.

Original nitrate negatives were digitized and deaccessioned in June 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 93-125, 94-022, 95-011, 95-075, 96-036, 96-121, 1996-0171, 97-066, 1998-0248, 1998-0047, 1998-0535, 1999-0007, 1999-0259, 2000-0146, 2001-0141, 2001-0228, 2002-0007, 2002-0040, 2003-0174, 2004-0091, 2007-0009, 2009-0105, 2011-0013, 2011-0080, 2013-0155, 2014-0158, 2016-0003, and 2017-0070.

Arrangement:

The Reynolds Price papers are arranged into six series: Correspondence, Writings, Personal, Events, Duke University, and Writings by others. Arrangement follows creator's chronological dates where available. Archivist added versions where dates were unavailalbe.

Physical facet:
1,300 text and image files; approximately 1 gigabytes.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access restricted. Access to, and duplication by any means of, most material requires written permission from Prince's literary executor until 2031. Prior consultation is required before permission can be granted. Contact Research Services for access.

Access restricted. Some materials in this collection include student records restricted until 2079. In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records. Contact Research Services for more information.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Reynolds Price papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1qq1d