Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Mary Carolyn Davies papers , circa 1860-1956
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Davies, Mary Carolyn
- Title
- Mary Carolyn Davies papers
- Dates
- circa 1860-1956 (inclusive)18601956
1907-1934 (bulk)19071934 - Quantity
- 2.5 linear feet, (2 containers) : 1 RSB and 1 custom four flap enclosure
- Collection Number
- Ax 407
- Summary
- Mary Carolyn Davies was a prolific Oregon writer who wrote lyric poems, children's verse, a novel, short stories, and several one-act plays. The collection (1907-1956) contains manuscripts, correspondence with publishers, published volumes, a scrapbook, photographs, and the manuscripts and college notebooks of Grace Ella Davies Wells.
- Repository
-
University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
- Additional Reference Guides
-
See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Historical NoteReturn to Top
"Mary Carolyn Davies was a prolific Oregon writer best known for her lyric poems and children's verse. Davies also wrote a novel, short stories, and several one-act plays.
Born in 1888 in Sprague, Washington, a tiny town about forty miles southwest of Spokane, Davies moved to Portland at age twelve. She graduated from Washington High School in Portland in 1910 and spent a year teaching school on the Crooked River and in Rockaway. She entered the University of California at Berkeley in 1911.
At Berkeley, Davies was the first freshman to win the Emily Chamberlin Cook Prize for Poetry and the first woman to win the Bohemian Club prize, but she left the university after a year and moved to New York City's Greenwich Village.
Davies eventually moved back to Portland, where she was named president of the Women's Press Club of Oregon in 1920 and president of the Northwest Poetry Society in 1924. Her marriage to Leland Davis in 1918 ended in divorce.
During the 1920s, Davies published short stories and poems that appeared in magazines such as Collier's, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, McClure's, and Poetry and in prominent anthologies, including the Bookman Anthology of Verse and Modern American Poetry, edited by Untermeyer. She published little after that time, however, and largely disappeared from public life after she moved back to New York City during the 1930s."
[Source: http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/davies_mary_carolyn_ca_1890_/]
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection contains manuscripts, correspondence with publishers, published volumes, a scrapbook, photographs, and the manuscripts and college notebooks of Grace Ella Davies Wells.
Manuscripts include material for poetry and stories. There are also galley proofs for one title.
The manuscripts section also contains folders of biographical data, publishers correspondence (1920-1926), letters to Grace Ella Davies Wells, a high school notebook, newspaper reviews, photographs, and a scrapbook of published poems and stories.
Published volumes include books by Davies, books containing poetry by Davies, and books "associated" with Davies.
The collection also includes manuscripts and college notebooks of Grace Ella Davies Wells, and newspaper clippings and a published version of poetry by Linton Davies, as well as a large number of family photographs belonging to the Davies family.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Description |
|---|
| Guide to the Mary Carolyn Davies papers |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Authors, American--Oregon
- Women authors, American--20th century
- Women authors, American--Oregon
- Women poets, American--Oregon
