Accession Number: 35
James Still Collection, 1930 - 2001
3.2 linear ft.
Online Catalog Record (BANC)

Overview
History
Series Description
Series I - Correspondence
Series II - Biographical Materials and Photographs
Series III - Audio and Video Recordings
Series IV - Clippings
Series V - Manuscripts and Reviews
Series VI - Run for the Elbertas

Access and Use

Provenance: Initially Loyal Jones donated the core of the collection, including some photographs contributed by Cumberland College Library. Al Perrin of Berea and Michael Mullins of Hindman provided additional materials. Following Still's death his executors contributed some personal papers to the collection.

Preferred Citation: James Still Collection, Berea College Special Collections & Archives, Berea, Ky.

Series Description
8 Manuscript Boxes

The correspondence in this collection spans the years 1940-2000. It includes letters of James Still to Alfred Perrin, president of the Friends of the Berea College Library and a personal friend of James Still. The Perrin letters start in 1974 and frequently include copies of other letters to or from persons corresponding with Still. Other frequent correspondents in this collection include Elizabeth Watts, former instructor and director of Hindman Settlement School, and Loyal Jones, director of the Berea College's Appalachian Center. In general, the letters detail Still's travel, current readings, dealings with publishers, and events at Hindman.

Box 1

1. Correspondence 1940-1949
2. Correspondence 1950-59
3. Correspondence 1960-69
4. Correspondence 1970
5. Correspondence 1971
6. Correspondence 1972
7. Correspondence 1973
8. Correspondence 1974
9. Correspondence 1975
10. Correspondence 1976
11. Correspondence 1978
12. Correspondence 1979
13. Correspondence 1980
14. Correspondence 1981
15. Correspondence 1982
16. Correspondence 1983

Box 2

1. Correspondence 1984
2. Correspondence 1985
3. Correspondence 1986
4. Correspondence 1987 I
5. Correspondence 1987 II
6. Correspondence 1988
7. Correspondence 1989
8. Correspondence 1990
9. Correspondence 1991
10. Correspondence 1992
11. Correspondence 1993

1. Correspondence 1994
2. Correspondence 1995
3. Correspondence 1996
4. Correspondence 1998
5. Correspondence 1999
6. Correspondence 2000
7. Correspondence n.d.

This series includes Still's own accounts of his life and work, accounts by longtime friends, published interviews, honors and tributes, and invitations to or records of his guest appearances at writing workshops, poetry festivals, etc.

The photographs include 15 slides of a coal mine visit; 7 copies of early family photos; 13 8x10" prints from different eras of Still's life, which were donated by the Friends of the Berea College Library; 12 photos taken in Hindman by C. Cross; 3 photos from the 1970s; 5 prints; color prints of Teresa and her family [a student Still assisted through school]; several small color snapshots, some at Hindman, some at a Book Fair, some with the Perrins; and several images made on a copier.

Box 3, continued

9. "James Still, "Contemporary Authors Autobiographical Series, Vol 17. Gale Research, Inc., 1993, pp. 231-248, reprint, & 1994-95 personal schedule; "A Recollection"; "The Act of Writing."
10. Interviews, including those in the 1988 issue of Foxfire
11. Biographical materials: a family obituary, a list of books loaned and returned (1942), a tracing Still made of the hand of his friend and neighbor; articles about Still by Dean Cadle, Tom Frazier, and Jim Wayne Miller, and a 1941 biography from the Louisville Public Library.
12. Guest appearances
13. Honors and tributes
14. Photographs

1. James Still reading his short story, "The Nest" (n.p./n.d.) AC-OR 110-001
2. James Still reading his short stories, "Mrs. Razor" & "A Ride on the Short Dog" (n.p./n.d.) AC-OR 110-002
3. Audiocassettes: James Still reads from and comments on his poetry and fiction. Appalachian Development Association, Cincinnatti, OH 10-20-82. James Still reading his short stories, "Mrs. Razor" & "A Ride on the Short Dog," AC-CT 137-001. James Still reading his poems, stories: "I was Born Humble," "Leap Minnows," "Child In the Hills," "Spring on Troublesome Creek," "White Highways," "Grave Yard," "When the Dulcimers Are Gone," "The Sharp Tack," "Encounter on Kaig Branch," "I Shall Not Leave These Prisoning Hills." AC-CT 137-002
4. KET production: "Three Appalachian Writers: Harriette Arnow, James Still, Gurney Norman" Interviews by James Stokely [1983]. AC-VT-008-001
5. Audiocassette entitled "Heritage" by James Still and Randy Wilson ©1992 [June Appal JA0068] June Appal Recordings, 306 Madison Street, Whitesburg, KY 41858. James Still reading his poetry with musical selections by Randy Wilson. AC-CT-319-001
6. KET production: At the Forks of the Troublesome: Dub of program broadcast Feb. 15, 1993. Writers reading from and talking about their works at the 15th Annual Kentucky Writers Workshop at Hindman Settlement School [1992]. Included are James Still / Randy Wilson / Gurney Norman, et al.. AC-VT 118-001. Same as AC-VT-141-001.
7. Audiocassette interview by Noah Adams on NPR's "All Things Considered": James Still and Lee Smith, 11-10-95 at Hindman Settlement School AC-CT 369-001
8. Videotapes: [Event 1: 5-7-93: Bill Ramsay's Retirement;] Event 2, n.d.: Elizabeth Watts' Funeral. SC-VT 051-001, Elizabeth Watts' Funeral Memorial Service, 5-8-93. Includes brief remarks by James Still. SC-VT 051-002
9. KET documentaries: 1. James Still's River of Earth, marking Still's 90th birthday: Includes detailed overview of Still's various published works and commentary by several other Appalachian writers. 2. At the Forks of Troublesome: Excerpts from the 15th annual Appalachian Writers' Workshop at Hindman Settlement School [1992]: Jim Wayne Miller / Lee Smith / Randy Wilson / James Still, et al. SC-VT 141-001. Same as AC-018-001.
10. Audiotape: The Kentucky Author's Series: Harriette Simpson Arnow/Wendell Berry/ James Still, et al. Mountain Collection (See catalog entry in BANC)
11. Kentucky Voices: Bicentennial Celebration of Writing: James Still / Marsha Norman, et al. Mountain Collection (See catalog entry in BANC)

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