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Paper finding aid with additional information is available in Special Collections & University Archives.
Verne Bright (1893 - ) was born in Brookfield, Missouri, and came to Oregon in 1911. He was educated at Pacific University, and became an author of poetry. He also worked as a newspaper reporter, and as an English teacher.
His poems have been published in magazines and newspapers, and in books of poetry, including Mountain Man (1948) which "tells the story of how the descendants of Daniel Boone come to Oregon."
[Source: http://www.ochcom.org/pdf/Oregon-Literary-Timeline.pdf]
The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, memorabilia, genealogy research, sketches, scrapbooks, and publications.
The collection is organized by accession/addendum. The initial donation, the 1969 addendum, and the 1972 addendum have been organized together. The 1974 addendum is organized separately.
The initial donation and the two subsequent addenda contain incoming correspondence (1911-1972), is organized alphabetically by last name or title and totals over 600 letters.
Correspondents include publishers, societies, and individuals including Jim Barker, Charles L. Emerson, Ethel Romig Fuller, Stewart Holbrook, Hugh Hume, Mr. and Mrs. Courtland Matthews, Oregon Historical Society, Laurence Pratt, Harold Vinal, Richard Wetjen, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood.
The 1974 addendum consists of correspondence, manuscripts, memorabilia, genealogy research, sketches, and publications.
Outgoing correspondence is organized chronologically, 1910; 1918; 1955-1957 and includes over 200 letters. The outgoing correspondence includes sixty-four letters from Bright, 1918-1919, when he was an infantryman in the A.E.F., written from Vancouver Barracks, Washington, Ft. McDowell, California, Ft. William McKinley, Philippines, and Vladivostok, Siberia. Most of them are to Mrs. C. E. Barker of Beaverton, Oregon. There is also a section of fan letters.
Incoming correspondence (1899-1975) is organized alphabetically by last name or title and includes over ninety letters. Correspondents include publishers, societies, and individuals including Jim Barker, Charles L. Emerson, Eleanor and Courtland Matthews, Oregon Historical Society, Pacific University, and Laurence Pratt.
Article-length manuscripts include drafts and corrections and two are about Jack Dempsey.
Poetry manuscripts often include drafts, different versions, and revisions, and are organized alphabetically by title.
The collection also contains tearsheets of articles and poetry clippings.
Genealogy material including notes, notebooks, charts, and clippings from research into various families including the Brights and early residents of Elizabethtown, New Jersey.
Other material includes notes and research on Oregon topics, photographs, sketches, memorabilia including publicity, advertisements, telegrams, book reviews, and programs, and poetry by other authors.
There are also three scrapbooks. Publications include Northwest based literary serials.