Title: Stanley Elkin Papers (MSS039), 1943-2013
Predominant Dates:1943-2013
ID: MSS/MSS/039
Primary Creator: Elkin, Stanley (1930-1995)
Extent: 142.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 07/09/2013
Languages: English
The Elkin Papers consist primarily of Elkin's own manuscripts, including his plays, filmscripts, essays, and stories, with the bulk of the material being manuscripts and editorial matter toward his novels. Elkin's manuscripts include all stages of his drafts, from autograph notes written on university exam books to diskettes containing word proccessor files. Also included in the Papers are an extensive general and professional correspondence, manuscripts by other authors, teaching materials, and his own college literary papers.
Group 3 consists primarily of materials after Stanley Elkin's death including correspondence to Joan Elkin involving his literary estate and condolence cards; royalty statements; contracts concerning reprints of Eklin's books by the Dalkey Archive Press, Avon, Open Road Media, and others; print materials featuring Elkin's work; and clippings. Also includes some personal memorabilia including Elkin's high school diploma and Bar Mitzvah invitation.
Stanley Lawrence Elkin (May 11, 1930 – May 31, 1995) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Elkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Chicago. He did both his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1952 and a Ph.D. in 1961 for his dissertation on William Faulkner. He was a member of the English faculty at Washington University in St. Louis from 1960 until his death, and battled multiple sclerosis for most of his adult life.
During his career, Elkin published ten novels, two volumes of novellas, two books of short stories, a collection of essays, and one (unproduced) screenplay. His extravagant, satirical fiction revolves around American consumerism, popular culture, and male-female relationships, which is portrayed in innumerable darkly comic variations. Characters and especially prose style take full precedence over plot. His language is extravagant and exuberant, baroque and flowery, taking fantastic flight from his characters' endless patter.
Always bordering on the outlandish, Elkin's work did not receive the popular reception that was given to many of his peers. It was, however, greeted enthusiastically by critics and reviewers and brought him numerous literary awards, including a National Book Critics Circle Award for George Mills (1983) and for Mrs. Ted Bliss (1995).
Access Restrictions: Open
Use Restrictions:
Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.
Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
Acquisition Method:
Accession number 790. Stanley Elkin, November 11, 1966
Accession number 809. Gift of Stanley Elkin, February 3, 1967
Accession number 811. Stanley Elkin, February 14, 1967
Accession number 858. Stanley Elkin, September 12, 1967
Accession number 923. Stanley Elkin, May 27, 1968
Accession number 1092. Stanley Elkin, October 2, 1969
Accession number 1111. Stanley Elkin, November 14, 1969
Accession number 1137. Gift of Stanley Elkin, January 27, 1970
Accession number 1256. Gift of Stanley Elkin, February 12, 1971
Accession number 1401. Gift of Stanley Elkin, September 20, 1973
Accession number 1614. Purchase, April 11, 1984
Accession number 1625. Purchase from Serendipity, September 7, 1984
Accession number 2152. Albert Lebowitz, December 27, 1999
Accession number 22928. Unknown
Accession number 22929. Unknown
Accession number 23066. Gift of Joan Elkin, unknown
Accession number 23926. Gift of Joan Elkin, April 28, 2008
Accession number 23948. Gift of Charles H. Gold, July 31, 2007
Accession number 2013.021, Gift of Joan Elkin, July 9, 2013
Accession number 2014.007, Gift of Joan Elkin, March 28, 2014
Accession number 2014.021. Gift of Joan Elkin, October 27, 2014
Preferred Citation: Name of the Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections
Processing Information: Processed July and August 2013
