Received as a gift from Charlotte Wright Piggot, Janice Wright Ruediger, Paul David Wright, and Gregory G. Wright, 1973.
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the David Lane Wright papers must be obtained from the
David Lane Wright was born on May 22, 1929, in Bennington, Idaho to Conover and Lenora Rich Wright. He was a descendent of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Apostle Charles C. Rich. He spent his childhood in Bennington, and from the time he was a young man he kept copious journals. He loved sports, especially baseball and football, and enjoyed exploring the terrain around Bennington and Montpelier, which figures prominently in his work. When he was seven, his brother Rich, to whom he had been very close, died from an acute appendicitis, and this event continued to influence David for the rest of his life and the character of his brother often appeared under different names in many of his writings. In fact, his most prominent piece, a play first produced in 1956 called
Wright started attending Utah State University, (then called Utah State Agricultural College) in 1946 at the age of seventeen on an athletic scholarship. He studied English under the tutelage of Professors A. N. Sorensen and Ira Hayward, both of whom encouraged him to write and publish. He also was a sports writer for the student paper. Throughout his life, his dream was to become a writer, but he also prepared to become an English teacher. For the first three years at college, he was on the track team and played football. His final year he quit football to spend more time writing.
After graduation, Wright held many jobs as a teacher throughout Idaho. On October 22, 1950 he married Nancy Johnson, one of his students from Rexburg. He changed positions several times and eventually ended up back his hometown working at the elementary school. He entered the Air Force and was called into active duty and continued write, winning several Air Force story contests and producing his work,
In 1963, Wright was able to pursue his master of fine arts degree at the University of Iowa while still in the Air Force. He completed it in 1964. While stationed in Alabama during this time, he became involved in the civil rights campaign. In 1965, Wright was sent to Saigon, Vietnam. There he performed mostly administrative and diplomatic duties, earning a Bronze Star and was promoted to the rank of Major. When he returned from Vietnam in December, 1966, he and Nancy divorced. Wright maintained custody of the children. In February of 1967, he suffered a heart attack. He recovered somewhat and was able to return to his home in Montgomery, Alabama where he lived for the next four months. On June 26, 1967, he suffered a second heart attack and passed away at the age of thirty-eight.
This collection contains the letters and writings of David Lane Wright. The scope and breadth are impressive due, no doubt, to Wright's compulsive saving, including letters he received as a child. The first six boxes are devoted to Wright's correspondence with friends, family, publishers, and the Air Force. Box 1 contains outgoing mail from 1942 to 1963. Boxes 2 through 5 contain incoming mail organized either chronologically or by addressee along the lines which Wright organized them himself. Box 6 contains the envelopes from these letters. Box 7 contains early writings and autobiographical writings. Boxes 8 through 11 contain some his writings. Box 8 contains college writings and recommendations to the University of Iowa. Box 9 contains mostly drafts and reviews of
Arranged by subject and chronologically
David Lane Wright Addendum
David Lane Wright Photograph Collection
Chronological Arrangement (see also Mss Coll 39, box 9, Fds 4-8; box 10; box 10a)
Listed Alphabetically (see also Mss Coll 39, box 1, Fds 1-2)
Arranged by Addressee (see also Mss Coll 39, box 1, Fd 1; box 7, Fds 7-13)
Fd 2
Fd 3
Chronological with Individual folders Alphabetic (see also Mss Coll 39, box 1 Fd 2-6; box 3 Fd 1-8)
Fd 2
Fd 3
Fd 4
Arranged Alphabetically by Addressee (see also Mss Coll 39, box 4, Fd 4 -5; box 7, Fd 1- 2)
(Photos with Mueller correspondence)
(For Journals, see also Mss Coll 39, box 23 - box 27; for M. F. A. work see also Mss Coll 39, box 21, Fd 1; for early writings see also Mss Coll 39, box 13, Fds 1-4)
8 leaves included day book notes
See also: "The Death of Rick", Fd 1
6 typescript pages, 1st carbon Probably written as part of an application for Paul Engle's creative writing workshop at University of Iowa
one notebook 38 holograph typescript leaves
33 typescript and holograph sheets
(see also Mss Coll 39, box 15, Fd 3; box 21)
in the files of David Wright 14 pieces, most dealing with USU-AAU playoffs in 1936
23 pieces
19 pieces
13 pieces
12 items, some duplicates
(For "Still the Mountain Wind," see also Mss Coll 39, box 17, Fds 4-7; for articles see Mss Coll 39, box 16, Fds 7-18)
Contains holographs
37 pages
Holograph corrections by Vosco Call 20 Pages
2 bound copies
Director's copy for Logan Premiere performance
24 pieces
Contents: possibilities of further productions of "Still the Mountain Wind"
Regarding further productions of "Still the Mountain Wind"
60 items
(For "River Saints," see also Mss Coll 39, box 16, Fd 6; for "Speak Ye Tenderly," see also Mss Coll 39, box 14, Fd 13)
(for short stories see also Mss Coll 39, boxes 13-15; for poetry see Mss Coll 39, box 16, Fds 1-6)