Anna Marie Smith papers, 1940-2002

This collection includes papers from several individuals, all interacting with Anna Marie Smith through letter writing and sharing the literature that they were producing while they were writing. The papers range in date from 1940 to 2002, the year prior to Anna Marie Smith's death. The letters between Smith and her correspondents shows how close her relationship was with several authors of children's literature, the West, and poetry. Of particular interest, Anna Marie Smith had in her possession a draft manuscript of Ann Nolan Clark's autobiography that has never been published. That is found in Box 1, Folders 6-8 in this collection. There is also a manuscript draft, likely James Ayars' never published manuscript, "Bertha's House, or Keep the Exits Clear." Smith's correspondence over more than forty years with Virginia Sorensen is also of interest as it provides detailed information about Sorensen's travels and activities over the course of five decades.