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Collection Number: 05487

Collection Title: Marie Gilbert Papers, 1944-2009

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 6.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 850 items)
Abstract Marie Rogers Gilbert was born in 1924 in Florence, S.C. In 1946, she married Richard A. Gilbert, a finance officer for the Air Force. In 1952, as an Air Force reservist, Richard A. Gilbert was called up for duty in the Korean War and served in an account-auditor in Seoul, Korea. The Gilberts had two children, R. Austin Gilbert Jr. and Laurence (Laurie) Gilbert. Marie Gilbert published several collections of poetry. Gilbert was active in the North Carolina Poetry Society, serving as president, 1990-1992. She received numerous awards for her work, including the Sam Ragan Fine Arts Awards in 1994 and the Ethel N. Fortner Writer and Community Award in 2003, and she served as writer-in-residence at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., from fall 2000 to spring 2001. Marie Gilbert died in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2007. The collection contains correspondence, writings, and other materials related to Marie Gilbert's family life and to her career as a poet. The bulk of the correspondence is between Gilbert and her husband Richard A. Gilbert while he was stationed overseas during the Korean War. There are also letters relating to other Gilbert family members. Also included are drafts of Gilbert's books, poems, and essays as well as reviews and promotional materials related to Gilbert's published works. Other items include teaching materials, information on workshops taught and attended by Gilbert and her academic residency at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., audiocassette recordings featuring Marie Gilbert, and research notes. There are also some records of the North Carolina Poetry Society, including meeting notes, newspaper clippings, program brochures, and promotional material for the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series. Some scattered materials relate to other poets, including Sam Ragan, Fred Chappell, and Ronald Bayes.
Creator Gilbert, Marie.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Use of audio materials may require production of listening copies.
This collection contains additional materials that are not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting these materials.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Marie Gilbert Papers #5487, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Lawrence Gilbert Sanford in October 2010 (Acc. 101391).
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.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Allison Moore, February, 2011

Encoded by: Allison Moore, February, 2011

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Marie Rogers Gilbert was born in 1924 in Florence, S.C. She graduated from Rollins College with a dual major in English and psychology in 1945. In 1946, Gilbert married Richard A. Gilbert, a finance officer for the Air Force. In 1952, as an Air Force Reservist, Richard A. Gilbert was called up for duty in the Korean War and served in an account-auditor in Seoul, Korea. Marie and Richard had two children, R. Austin Gilbert Jr. and Laurence (Laurie) Gilbert.

Marie Gilbert published several collections of poetry, including Myrtle Beach Back When (1989), The Song and the Seed (1983), Connexions (1994), Brookgreen Oaks (1999), and Freedom in the Twenty-First Century (2006). She was active in the North Carolina Poetry Society, serving as president, 1990-1992. Gilbert received numerous awards for her work, including the Sam Ragan Fine Arts Awards in 1994 and the Ethel N. Fortner Writer and Community Award in 2003. She served as writer-in-residence at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., from fall 2000 to spring 2001. Marie Gilbert died in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2007.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence, writings, and other materials related to Marie Gilbert's family life and to her career as a poet. The bulk of the correspondence is between Gilbert and her husband Richard A. Gilbert while he was stationed overseas during the Korean War. There are also letters relating to other Gilbert family members. Also included are drafts of Gilbert's books, poems, and essays as well as reviews and promotional materials related to Gilbert's published works. Other items include teaching materials, information on workshops taught and attended by Gilbert and her academic residency at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., audiocassette recordings featuring Marie Gilbert, and research notes. There are also some records of the North Carolina Poetry Society, including meeting notes, newspaper clippings, program brochures, and promotional material for the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series. Some scattered materials relate to other poets, including Sam Ragan, Fred Chappell, and Ronald Bayes.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence and Related Materials, 1944-1953.

About 200 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Primarily correspondence between Marie Gilbert and her husband Richard A. Gilbert while he was stationed overseas during the Korean War. Letters from Richard describe his dissatisfaction with the military, accounts of the people and living conditions in Japan and Korea, and his work as an account-auditor in the Air Force. Letters from Marie describe her daily life while living in Greenville, S.C., with their children, Austin and Laurence (Laurie). Letters from family and friends, especially from Richard A. Gilbert's mother and father, are also included. Additional items include newspaper clippings and cards.

Folder 1-5

Folder 1

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Marie Gilbert and Richard A. Gilbert correspondence, 1944-1951

Folder 6-24

Folder 6

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 9

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

Folder 18

Folder 19

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Folder 23

Folder 24

Marie Gilbert and Richard A. Gilbert correspondence, 1952-1953

Folder 25-28

Folder 25

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Other letters and related material, 1944-1953 and undated

Letters to Marie and Richard A. Gilbert from family and friends, especially from Richard A. Gilbert's father and mother, and from Sam Ragan and Fred Chappell.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Subject Files and Writings, 1966-2007 and undated.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by subject file name.

Drafts of Gilbert's books, poems, and essays. There are also reviews and promotion materials related to her published works. Included is some correspondence Other items include teaching materials, information on workshops taught and attended by Gilbert and her academic residency at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C., and research notes. Some scattered materials relate to other poets, including Sam Ragan, Fred Chappell, and Ronald Bayes.

Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.

Folder 29

A Ramble to the Sea: Draft, undated

Folder 30

Affair with the Sea: Draft, undated

Folder 31

American Grain Workshop, 2006

Folder 32

Art from Science, undated

Folder 33

Awards and certificates, 2000-2004

Folder 34

Barnes and Noble reading, October 1998

Folder 35

Ronald Bayes correspondence, 1989-2003

Folder 36

Blue Heron Poetry Reading, 1999

Folder 37-38

Folder 37

Folder 38

Brookgreen Oaks: Draft, undated

Folder 39

Brookgreen Oaks: Publicity, 1999-2000

Folder 40

Charles Fitts correspondence, 2007

Folder 41

Connexions: Comments and fan mail, 1990-2001

Folder 42

Connexions: Related materials, 1993-1994

Folder 43

Connexions: Publicity, 1994-1995

Folder 44

Contacts to remember, undated

Folder 45

Debordieu Workshop, 1996-2000

Folder 46

Debordieu Poetry Workshop, 1999

Folder 47

Debordieu Club, 2007

Folder 48

Down in There: Poems, undated

Folder 49

Four C's workshop, 2003

Folder 50

Freedom in the 21st Century: Correspondence with publishers, 1996-2006

Folder 51

Freedom in the 21st Century : Poems published, undated

Folder 52

Georgetown Rice Museum, 2003

Folder 53

Richard Gilbert newspaper clippings, 1982-1984

Folder 54

Greensboro Group Inc., 2000-2002

Folder 55

Greensboro reading, September 2006

Folder 56

Heffernan on Dickinson, 2001

Folder 57

The Inside of Faces: Draft, 1992-1993

Folder 58

Inspirational tidbits, 1995-2003 and undated

Folder 59

Journal, 1998-1999

Folder 60

Letters and miscellaneous papers, 1992-1997

Folder 61

Marching On: Draft, undated

Folder 62

Myrtle Beach Back When: Draft, circa 1988

Folder 63

Myrtle Beach Back When: Draft, circa 1988

Folder 64

Myrtle Beach Back When: Publicity, 2002-2003

Folder 65

Myrtle Beach workshop, 1992, 1996

Folder 66

North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, Weymouth Renovation, 2001-2002

Folder 67

Gilbert's file on the North Carolina Poetry Society, undated

Folder 68

North Carolina Writers' Network, 1998

Folder 69

On Reading Aloud What You Write, undated

Folder 70

Poems after 9/11, 2006 and undated

Folder 71

Poems and notes, 2002-2005 and undated

Folder 72

Poems: "Best Resources," undated

Folder 73

Poems in progress, undated

Folder 74

Poems published in anthologies, undated

Folder 75

Poetry correspondence and poems by friends, 1996-1999

Folder 76

Poetry event: Anthony Abbott, 1999-2001

Folder 77

Poetry link with art, music, and prose article, 2000-2001

Folder 78

Publicity, 1983-2000

Folder 79-80

Folder 79

Folder 80

Published poems, 1984-2006 and undated

Folder 81

Published poems from books, undated

Folder 82-83

Folder 82

Folder 83

Removed from A Ramble to the Sea and Brookgreen Oaks, undated

Folder 84

Rollins College, 1985, 2004

Folder 85

Ronald H. Bayes Creative Writing Fund, 1998-2002

Folder 86

Scotia Village program, 2007

Folder 87

The Song and the Seed: Background material, 1966-1984

Folder 88

The Song and the Seed: Related letters, undated

Folder 89

The Song and the Seed: Draft, undated

Folder 90

The Song and the Seed: Promotional materials, 1983-1984

Folder 91

The Song and the Seed: Reviews, 1983-1985

Folder 92

The Song and the Seed: Writings, undated

Folder 93-94

Folder 93

Folder 94

Saint Andrews Presbyterian College, 2000-2001

Folder 95

Saint Andrews Presbyterian College: Poetry reading, 2004

Folder 96

Saint Andrews Presbyterian College: Sam Ragan Award, 1994

Folder 97

Saint Andrews Presbyterian College and North Carolina Poetry Society, 2002 and undated

Folder 98

Saint Andrews Press Birthday and Fortner Award, 2003

Folder 99

Stories by Lauren Sanford, 1995-1996

Folder 100

Submissions, 2005-2007

Folder 101

Sundown Poetry Series, 1999

Folder 102

Sundown reading, 2004

Folder 103

Travel journal of Portugal and Spain, undated

Folder 105

Untitled drafts, undated

Folder 106

Words and Witness; 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry, 1999-2000

Folder 107

Workshop: How to Write a Poem, 2002-2003

Folder 108

Writing from strong feelings, 2003

Folder 104

Other papers and poems, 1998-2003

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. North Carolina Poetry Society Records, 1989-2009.

About 50 items.

Materials related to the North Carolina Poetry Society include meeting notes, newspaper clippings, program brochures, and promotional material for the Gilbert Chappell Distinguished Poet Series; copies of emails; letters; materials relating to the 2004 Winners Anthology; correspondence regarding the initial donation of materials from the North Carolina Poetry Society to the North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library; and other items.

Folder 109-122

Folder 109

Folder 110

Folder 111

Folder 112

Folder 113

Folder 114

Folder 115

Folder 116

Folder 117

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folder 120

Folder 121

Folder 122

North Carolina Poetry Society records, 1989-2009

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Audiocassettes,

5 items.

Audio recordings featuring Marie Gilbert.

Titles were copied from audiocassette labels.

Audiocassette C-5487/1

Marie Gilbert on Forever New, undated

Audiocassette C-5487/2

Oral Interpretation, 28 April 1987

Audiocassette C-5487/3

December 22 1985

Audiocassette C-5487/4

Book Club in Durham, May 1985

Audiocassette C-5487/5

Mount Olive College, November 1984

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