Tom Wicker Papers Inventory (#5012)

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by

John Foster

Date Completed

September 2001

Encoded by

John Foster

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title

Tom Wicker Papers (#5012)1917-1998

Creator

Wicker, Tom.

Extent

About 1600 items (10.0 linear feet)

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Language

English.

Administrative Information

Access

Use of audio tapes may require production of listening copies.

Usage Restrictions

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

Provenance

Received from Tom Wicker of Rochester, Vt., in February 2000 (Acc. 98555).

Online Catalog Terms

Attica Correctional Facility.

Authors, American--North Carolina--20th century.

Ehrlichman, John.

Family--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Hamlet (N.C.)--Social life and customs.

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973.

Journalism--Study and teaching (Higher)--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Journalists--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Journalists--United States--History--20th century.

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.

New York times

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913- .

North Carolina--Politics and government--1951- .

North Carolina--Race relations.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Prison riots--New York (State)--Attica.

Prisons--New York (State).

Sailors--United States--Correspondence.

United States. Navy--History--World War, 1939-1945.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989.

United States--Race relations.

University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Students--Social life and customs.

Wicker family.

Wicker, Tom.

Biographical Note

Thomas Grey Wicker was born in Hamlet, N.C., on 18 June 1926 to Delancey David Wicker and Esta Cameron Wicker. He joined the Navy's V-12 program in 1944 and attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., graduating with an A.B. in journalism in 1948.

After working for a number of smaller newspapers in North Carolina, Wicker was hired as a copy editor by the Winston-Salem Journal in 1950. He eventually became the first Washington editor for the Journal. Wicker was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, 1957-1958, and then served as associate editor of the Nashville Tennesseean in 1960. That same year, he was hired by the New York Times as a staff writer. From 1964 to 1968, he was the chief of the Washington bureau of the Times. He served as associate editor of the Times from 1968 until his retirement in December 1991.

In 1971, Wicker was called upon by prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility at Attica, N.Y., to act as an observer during their standoff with prison officials and was present through the conclusion of the incident. He later described the event in A Time to Die (1975).

Other non-fiction works include Kennedy Without Tears (1964), JFK and LBJ (1966), On Press (1978), One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991), and Tragic Failure: Racial Integration in America (1991). In addition, he worked on a number of scripts and treatments for television, most prominently acting as a consultant for the movie Attica, which was based on A Time to Die.

Among Wicker's works of fiction are three novels published under the pseudonym Paul Connolly: Get Out of Town (1951), Tears Are For Angels (1952), and So Fair, So Evil (1955). Novels published under his own name include The Kingpin (1953), The Devil Must (1957), The Judgement (1961), Facing the Lions (1973), Unto This Hour (1984), and Easter Lilly (1997).

Collection Overview

The papers of Tom Wicker primarily relate to his work as a journalist, bureau chief, and editor, chiefly for the New York Times, and as a writer of fiction and non-fiction works. Included are drafts of his major works and research materials for some books, especially A Time to Die (1975), which is represented by items collected during and after Wicker's participation as an observer at the 1971 prison riot standoff at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, N.Y., and One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991). Also included are drafts of articles on various topics and some materials relating to freelance work he undertook in the 1990s.

Professional correspondence mostly relates to the publication and distribution of Wicker's books; other professional papers include briefs and press releases accumulated during Wicker's tenure at the New York Times.

Many writings and professional materials relate to Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, or John Erlichman, and to politics, government, and/or race relations in the United States and in North Carolina.

Personal papers include a few writings and other papers relating to Wicker's early life in Hamlet, N.C.; letters from his time as a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1944-1948; letters to his parents while he served in the United States Navy during World War II and in the early 1950s; letters relating to the death of his mother, Esta Cameron Wicker, in 1989; and letters to Wicker's father, Delancey David Wicker, from his employer, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

Organization of Collection

1. Nonfiction Works
1.1. Books
1.2. Articles
2. Fiction
2.1. Novels
2.2. Stories, Scripts, Treatments
3. Professional Correspondence
4. Professional Papers
5. Personal Papers

Items Separated

Separated items include 23 photographs (P-5012), 30 audio cassettes (C-5012/1-30), and 5 posters (OP-5012/1-5.)

Series Descriptions