Tevis mss., 1945-1985
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Tevis, Walter S.
- Abstract:
- The Tevis mss., 1945-1984, consist of the writings of American novelist and short story writer Walter Tevis, whose novels The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Hustler,The Color of Money, and The Queen's Gambit have been adapted for the screen.
- Extent:
- 8 Boxes
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Item], Tevis mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical Note:
-
Walter S. Tevis, 1928-1984, was an American novelist and short story writer whose novels The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Hustler,The Color of Money, and The Queen's Gambit have been adapted for the screen.
Tevis was born in San Francisco, but then moved with his family to rural Kentucky. As a child, he was placed in Stanford Children's Convalescent home for treatment of a rheumatic heart condition, where he was treated with phenobarbital, an experience he drew on in portraying Queen's Gambit protagonist Beth Harmon. After a brief stint in the Navy as a carpenter's mate on the USS Hamilton during World War II, Tevis attended the University of Kentucky, receiving his BA in English in 1949 and his MA in English in 1954. He attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop and received his MFA in creative writing in 1960. From 1965 to 1978, he taught literature and creative writing at Ohio University. He died of lung cancer in 1984. He is the author of 6 novels: The Hustler (1959), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963), Mockingbird (1980), The Steps of the Sun (1983), The Queen's Gambit (1983), and The Color of Money (1984).
- Scope and Content Note:
-
Consists primarily of the writings of author Walter S. Tevis, 1928-1984. Tevis wrote several novels, and contributed numerous short stories and articles to magazines. A number of his novels have been adapted for film, including: The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Hustler and The Color of Money. The collection contains early manuscripts, drafts, final manuscripts, galleys and screen adaptations for most of his other longer works, although only a photocopy of The Hustler. In addition, there are typescripts of a number of his articles, a play, some poetry, as well as many of his short stories, both published and unpublished. The correspondence is small in number and consists mostly of photocopies. However, there are three original letters from science and fantasy fiction writer Fritz Leiber, and one each from authors E.L. Doctorow and Herbert Gold.
The Writings are arranged as follows: Published novels, unpublished novels, articles, childhood writings, literary criticism, a play, poetry, published book of short stories, other published short stories, unpublished short stories, and fragments of works. Photocopies of articles about Tevis and his writings complete the collection.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase 1999.
- Arrangement/Organization:
-
Arranged into the following series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings.
- Physical location:
- ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility)
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- Terms of access:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Item], Tevis mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Campus:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- Contact:
- (812) 855-2452