Frank Conroy Manuscripts - Special Collections - The University of Iowa Libraries

MsC 535

Manuscript Register

FRANK CONROY MANUSCRIPTS

Collection Dates: Undated
.5 linear ft.

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Posted to Internet: December 2001

Addenda: 2008

Acquisition Note: Frank Conroy put these materials on deposit in University of Iowa Libraries in December 2001.

Access and Restrictions: The holograph manuscripts are on deposit with the University Libraries, and Conroy retains ownership as well as all publication rights. He has, however, made them available for consultation by readers in the Special Collections reading room.

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials"

Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

Abbreviations: For an explanation of the abbreviation and dating conventions used in the finding aids, see Abbreviations.

Biographical Note

Frank Conroy was born in 1936. He graduated from Haverford College in 1958. He taught at Geroge Mason University, M.I.T., and Brandeis University before becoming director of the Writers' Workshop. In addition to the two works inventoried here, he has also published a collection of stories, Midair (1985) and his work has appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Harper's, Partisan Review, and elsewhere.

Scope and Contents

Frank Conroy, director of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, has placed on deposit the holograph manuscripts of two of his books, Stop-time (1967) and Body & Soul (1993). Some pages from the Stop-time manuscript have been digitized and can be viewed at http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/conroy.htm. Conroy has also pointed out the remarkable similarity between the two versions (draft 1 and draft 2) of the second chapter of Body & Soul that are present here: the first six pages of his first draft went missing and he was forced to rewrite them from memory. The pages were recovered much later and exhibit both overall similarity and interesting differences.

Also available in the collection is a photocopy typescript of a short story, "My Harlem."

Clippings, 4 items including obituary

Stop-time (New York: Viking Press, 1967)

Holograph draft of portions of this memoir, on various papers and in various inks, foldered as follows:

Holograph draft of portions of this novel, on various papers and in various inks, foldered following FC's labels as follows:

Two letters to author Jay Neugeboren. In the first letter (ca. 1970s) Conroy thanks Neugeboren for sending his book Sam's Legacy and comments, "You were a damn good writer to begin with, and its exciting to watch you get better and better." He also invited him to Nantucket. In the second letter (ca. 1980s) Conroy first comments on his own health and a recent hospital stay, and then comments on D.M. Thomas's The White Hotel. "Yes its odd how many people were fooled by the clever surface of White Hotel. I guess it shows how eager we all are for good stuff, stuff that seems fresh and daring. We all wanted it to be good, so much so that we didn't really see what it was. A scam!" He then adds a sarcastic comment on Thomas's handling of the publicity.