Restrictions to Access

RESTRICTED: Use of correspondence between Doris Betts and Louise Hardeman Abbot requires prior written consent from Doris Betts and Louise Hardeman Abbot or their heirs. Cecil Dawkins letters are closed to research until 2014.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

• Betts, Doris.
• Creative writing.
• Dawkins, Cecil, 1927- .
• Evans, Elizabeth, 1935- .
• Fitzgerald, Sally.
• Jacobsen, Eric, 1923- .
• Jacobsen, Josephine.
• Kumin, Maxine, 1925- .
• Sarton, May, 1912- .
• Tyler, Anne.
• Women authors, American--20th century.
• Women authors, American--North Carolina--20th century.
• Women--United States--Social life and customs.

Elizabeth Evans was born in 1935 and grew up in Statesville, N.C. She received her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970 and subsequently taught literature at Georgia Institute of Technology. She authored books on various writers, including Eudora Welty (1981), May Sarton (1989), Anne Tyler (1993), and Doris Betts (1997).

The papers of Elizabeth Evans are letters and other materials relating to prominent women writers, including Doris Betts, Josephine Jacobsen, Maxine Kumin, Sally Fitzgerald, May Sarton, Anne Tyler, and Cecil Dawkins. There are also letters from Anne Tyler's mother, Phyllis Mahon Tyler. Letters from Doris Betts cover a wide variety of subjects. They include critical comment and advice on Evans's literary efforts, as well as discussion about day-to-day obligations of professional writers and news of mutual friends. Also included are drafts of articles about Betts, draft material from Evans's book about Betts, and correspondence with others about Betts; interviews Evans conducted with Betts; and correspondence of Betts with others, including Penelope Presley, a high school student to whom Betts wrote about creative writing. Letters from Josephine Jacobsen and her husband, Eric Jacobsen, relate mostly to personal matters. Letters from Anne Tyler discuss both personal matters and topics relating to Evans's book about Tyler's work. Letters from Phyllis Mahon Tyler also primarily relate to Evans's Tyler book. Letters from Maxine Kumin, Sally Fitzgerald, and Cecil Dawkins deal mostly with aspects of each author's career and professional development, but there is also information about their everyday activities. May Sarton letters relate primarily to Evans's book on Sarton's work. Also included are manuscripts, clippings, and photographs relating to Evans's correspondents.

Separated items include photographs (P-5025).