Mary Moore Molony papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Mary Moore Molony papers
- Date
- 1928-1980, undated (inclusive)
- Extent
- 2.04 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- American poetry -- Women authors.
- Fayette County (Ky.) -- Newspapers
- Manuscripts, American -- Kentucky.
- Poetry -- Authorship -- Kentucky.
- Versailles (Ky.)
- Women authors.
- Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (Middlebury, Vermont)
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format in six series: Manuscripts, Letters, Print materials, Poems by others, Papers, and Photographs.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms097: [identification of item], Mary Moore Molony papers, 1928-1980, undated, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Mary Moore Molony was born in 1912 to Elizabeth Samuel and John Durham Nash in Versailles, Kentucky. She was a graduate of the University of Kentucky where she earned a BA in 1932 and an MA in 1934. In 1940 she married Charles Molony, former head of the Lexington bureau of the Associated Press. During the Second World War, Molony served as assistant to the chairman of the National Planning Association in Washington, D.C. During 1951-1952, she attended Harvard University with her husband who was there as a Nieman fellow. While at Harvard, she won a Bread Loaf fellowship for short stories written in a writing course at Harvard. She was awarded the fellowship by recommendation from novelist A.B. "Bud" Guthrie. Her attendance at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, hosted by Middlebury College, Vermont, developed into a long association and friendship with conference staff. Mary Moore Moloney served as conference secretary from 1952 to 1968. She was the editor of The American Scholar, a publication of the Phi Beta Kappa, from 1958 to 1972. Mary Moore Molony died at her second home in Sarasota, Florida during March of 1980.
- Scope and Content
- The Mary Moore Molony papers (dated 1928-1980; 2.08 cubic feet; 6 boxes) primarily comprise manuscripts, letters, poems written by friends and others, notebooks, photographs, and various print materials created or collected by Mary Moore Molony during the 1920s through to the 1980s. The manuscripts include both finished manuscripts that were mailed off to be considered for publication by magazines and literary agents as well as unfinished, untitled manuscripts. The letters are between Mary Moore Molony and her friends, family, other writers, and editors. Items of note include the typescript of John D. Nash's civil war era 21st Kentucky Infantry diary, and letters from A. B. "Bud" Guthrie giving criticism and feedback on Molony's writings as well as general talk about his life and career.
- Mary Moore Molony's papers reflect both her writing activities and her friendships with famous poets, writers, critics, editors, and literary agents including Robert Frost, John Ciardi, Theodore Morrison, Julia Child, Avis DeVoto, Bud Guthrie, and Barbara Rex. The letters to Molony yield important insights into the careers of several of her correspondents--particularly those of A.B. "Bud" Guthrie. In his letters Guthrie provides details of his contractual arrangements with both publishers and motion picture companies at a time when his career was at its apex. The Bread Loaf Conference materials also include valuable information on the operation of the annual conference. Several of the photographs that accompany the material are of great interest because they depict some of the most notable writers and poets of the twentieth century. Finally, Molony's writings and correspondence with her agent provide a picture of how difficult it is for a writer to get published.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Manuscripts, undated
Scope and Contents
The Manuscripts series (undated) comprises both finished and unfinished manuscripts written by Mary Moore Molony, including "Edward" and "Gentleman's Privilege".
"After dinner they went out on the porch...", undated
"After Jeane hung up the phone...", undated
"And what did Martha Jane do...", undated
"As soon as she rounded that old straggly...", undated
"A Yard With a Gate", undated
"A Very Particular Man", undated
"Belle called him from the back door...", undated
"By driving hard Julia Belle got to Washington...", undated
"Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a total and absolute surprise...", undated
"Edward", undated
"Ella called us in the middle of the night...", undated
"Every Advantage", undated
"Everything that evening started out just dandy...", undated
"Gentleman's Privilege", undated
"Give Mr. John Willy Hughes his dues now...", undated
"Gordon dropped his key on the reception desk...", undated
"He was sentenced to two years in the Ashland Penitentiary...", undated
"His letter came in the Saturday morning's mail...", undated
"Hughie came banging into the house...", undated
"I knew Aunt Bew had some kind of...", undated
"In the gray morning light the corridor's quiet was...", undated
"I remember Jim Harkness when...", undated
"I said I'd wash the dishes...", undated
"Jesse would not get out of bed...", undated
"Mountain Music", undated
"Murder on Tour", undated
"Neighbors", undated
"Nobody ever went to the Nuckols' house anymore...", undated
"Now weren't you glad I insisted on...", undated
"She had not wanted to go to the Platts...", undated
"She made no move to unlock the door...", undated
"The Burnams", undated
"The day my mother died...", undated
"The Gordons had lived in Washington...", undated
"The last time I saw Sammy was in Washington...", undated
"The Maxon Boys", undated
"Warren sat at the long table opposite the bar...", undated
"Well, it's about time...", undated
"Yesterday was a very hot day...", undated
Portions of untitled manuscripts, undated
Letters, 1928-1978, undated
Scope and Contents
The Letters series (1928-1978, undated) comprises letters and other mail sent to Mary Moore Molony. Molony had several correspondents of note, including A. B. "Bud" Guthrie, Barbara Rex, John Ciardi, and Avis DeVoto. The letters provide a peek into their lives, as well as the life of a writer trying to get published in the 50s-70s.
Brodky, Hal letters, 1954
Ciardi, John letters, 1955-1961
DeVoto, Avis letters, 1957-1966
Estes, Joseph W. letters, 1955-1956
Goodwin, Ricky letters, 1955-1957
Guthrie, Alfred B. letters, 1955-1962
Guthrie, Alfred B. letters (copies), undated
Morrison, Theodore letters, 1952-1956
Morrison, Theodore letters (copies), undated
Nash, Caroline and Alpha letters, 1931-1969
Rex, Barbara letters, 1952-1961
Schorer, Mark letters, 1952-1954
Seeley, Clinton letters, 1955-1956
Turner, Susan J. letters, 1957-1968
"A Letter to my Unknown Successor", 1955 August 17
Article rejections and letters from editor, 1952-1957
Assorted mail- letters, checks, cards, 1928-1978, undated
Blank personalized postcards and envelopes, undated
Bread Loaf letters, 1956-1966
Print materials, 1922-1972
Scope and Contents
The Print materials series (1922-1972) comprises travel brochures, magazines, newspaper clippings and articles, books about art, Bread Loaf Writers Conference bulletins, Molony's personal Bible, and a typescript of John D. Nash's civil war era diary.
Clara Bell Walsh New York Times article, 1957 March 10
British Isles: Great Houses and Gardens booklet, 1971
Encounter magazine, March 1971 issue, 1971
Guidebook to Diplomatic Reception Rooms, 1971
Harper's Magazine- The Writer's Life, October 1965 issue, 1965
Highly Important Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Drawings, 1965
History as a Literary Art- An Appeal to Young Historians, undated
Middlebury College Bread Loaf Writers' Conference bulletins, 1952-1957
Newspaper clippings, 1957-1958
Swans Art Treasures Tours brochures, 1971-1972
University of Kentucky Commencement booklet, 1922
Wolf Trap Farm Park mailing, 1966
Major John D. Nash's 21st Kentucky Infantry diary typescript, undated
Bible, undated
Poems by others, 1953-1962, undated
Scope and Contents
The Poems by others series (1953-1962) comprises poetry written by several of Molony's friends, including Paul Child and John Ciardi.
"A Toast for M. M. M." poem by Paul Child, 1962
"Euphoria Before Vision 65" poem, undated
"L is for Love..." poem by John Ciardi; autographed, undated
"On Being Given Time" poem by Mary Sarton, 1953
"The Holy Game", undated
"Tommy's Pond", poem by John Ciardi; autographed, undated
Poems by Elizabeth Marshall, undated
Poems by various authors, undated
Papers, 1952-1980, undated
Scope and Contents
The Papers series (1953-1980, undated) comprises several notebooks with writing notes, papers on the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and Molony's obituary.
Bread Loaf Writers Conference papers, 1952-1958, undated
Binder contents, 1967-1969
Notebook with unfinished manuscript, undated
Small notebook, undated
Notebook of writing notes, undated
Notebook with "Murder on Tour" notes, undated
Obituary, 1980, undated
Photographs, undated
Scope and Contents
The Photographs series comprises several photographs of the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in unknown years, with notable writers such as A. B. Guthrie and Robert Frost in attendance.
A. B. Guthrie, undated
A. B. Guthrie, undated
A. B. Guthrie and Mary Moore Molony, undated
A. B. Guthrie, Mary Moore Molony, and young woman, undated
Bread Loaf attendees, undated
Bread Loaf attendees in lawn chairs, undated
Bread Loaf attendees, undated
Bread Loaf Writers Conference attendees, undated
Mary Moore Molony, 2nd right, undated
Mary Moore Molony and man at Bread Loaf, undated
Men at Bread Loaf, undated
Robert Frost, undated
Robert Frost center, undated
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Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
