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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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Collection Overview
| Size | 39.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 13000 items) |
| Abstract | Doris Betts (1932-2012) was a North Carolina author and Alumni Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, speeches, audio recordings, video recordings, photographs, and other materials. The bulk of Betts's correspondence is with editors, publishers, other college English professors, and literary organizations, although there are also some personal letters. Among these are personal letters from Doris Betts to Louise Abbot, friend and writer from Louisville, Ga., with reflections on the births of her three children, her writing career, books read, day-to-day life, and the illness and death of her husband. Manuscript materials by Betts are extensive, and typically include drafts; galleys; various publishing states, chiefly the printed literary journals and anthologies in which her writings appeared; reviews; and publicity. Betts is best known for her novels and short stories, but her archive also includes a significant collection of reviews and articles published in newspapers, newsletters, scholarly journals, popular magazines, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publications, and other periodicals. Besides Betts's writing, there are also reviews, literary criticism, and bibliographies of her work; interviews and other articles about her; materials relating to awards she received; and publicity for speaking engagements and other literary programs in which she participated. In some cases, the text and/or audio and/or video recordings of the speeches she gave at these events are included. Other audio and video recordings include radio programs featuring Betts, such as the Storylines Southeast series. Betts's participation in various programs and committees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is also documented. Other materials include photographs of Betts; letters from Anne Beatty to her parents about her Peace Corps experiences in Nepal; and family history materials and writings. The additions of 2012 and 2013 consist of speeches and programs, 2010-2012, and correspondence with Joseph Flora and other printed materials, 1973-1994. |
| Creator | Betts, Doris. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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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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Biographical Information
Doris June Waugh Betts was a North Carolina author and Alumni Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was born 4 June 1932 in Statesville, N.C., and graduated from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. Betts married Lowry Matthews Betts (1930-2007) in 1952 and with him had three children: Doris LewEllyn, David Lowry, and Erskine Moore.
Betts began her writing career as a newspaper reporter. She first gained notice as a fiction writer for her short stories and novels, including The Gentle Insurrection: And Other Stories (1954), Tall Houses in Winter (1957), and The Scarlet Thread (1964). In 1966, she joined the English Department faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the next 30 years, she taught English literature and creative writing and continued her steady production of novels, short stories, and articles, including "The Ugliest Pilgrim" (1969), which was turned into Violet, an award-winning movie and Broadway play; Beasts of the Southern Wild and Other Stories (1973); and Souls Raised from the Dead (1994). Among many honors, Betts received the G.P. Putnam Booklength Fiction Prize (1954); the Sir Walter Raleigh Best Fiction by a North Carolinian award (1957, 1965, and 1974); a Guggenheim fellowship (1958); the North Carolina Medal (1975); the American Academy of Arts and Letters Medal of Merit (1989); and the Southern Book Award (1995).
Doris Betts died 21 April 2012.
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Scope and Content
The Doris Betts Papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, printed material, speeches, audio recordings, video recordings, photographs, and other materials. Correspondence is generally professional in nature, though personal correspondence is scattered throughout the series. The bulk of Betts's correspondence is with editors, publishers, other college English professors, and literary organizations. The additions of 2008, 2009, and 2011 are primarily letters from Doris Betts to Louise Abbot, a friend and writer from Louisville, Ga. In these letters, Betts reflected on the births of her three children, her writing career, books read, her day-to-day life, and the illness and death of her husband Lowry Matthews Betts in 2007.
Manuscript materials by Betts are extensive, and typically include drafts, various publishing states (sometimes galleys, but chiefly the printed literary journals and anthologies in which her writings appeared), reviews, and publicity. Betts is best known for her novels, short stories, and anthologies, but her archive also includes a significant collection of reviews and articles published in newspapers, newsletters, scholarly journals, popular magazines, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publications, and other periodicals.
Besides Betts's writing, there are also reviews, literary criticism, and bibliographies of her work; interviews and other articles about her; materials relating to awards she received; and publicity for speaking engagements and other literary programs she participated in for a variety of scholarly and popular audiences. In some cases, the text and/or audio and/or video recordings of the speeches she gave at these events are included. Other audio and video recordings include radio programs featuring Betts, such as the Storylines Southeast series. Betts's contributions to the Department of English and Creative Writing, the Program in the Humanities and Human Values, the Morehead Scholars Selection Committee, the Association of Women Faculty, Second Sunday Readings, and the Carolina Publishing Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are also documented.
Other materials include formal and informal portraits of Betts, as well as snapshots with students, colleagues, and other writers; appointment books from the 1980s; writings by other authors; letters from Anne Beatty to her parents about her Peace Corps experiences in Nepal; and family history materials and writings.
The additions of 2012 and 2013 consist of speeches and programs, 2010-2012, and correspondence with Joseph Flora and other printed materials, 1973-1994.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1952-2011.
Correspondence is generally professional in nature, though personal correspondence is scattered throughout the series. The bulk of Doris Betts's correspondence is with publishers, other college English professors, and literary organizations.
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Series 2. Writings, 1950-2010.
Manuscript materials by Doris Betts are extensive, and typically include drafts, various publishing states (sometimes galleys, but chiefly the published issue of the literary journals and magazines, anthologies, newsletters, newspapers, and other periodicals in which her writings appeared), reviews, and publicity. Some short stories and articles were published in multiple venues; efforts have been made to bring them together.
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Subseries 2.1. Novels, 1957-1997.
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Subseries 2.2. Short Stories, 1952-2004.
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Subseries 2.3. Poetry, 1951-1974.
Chiefly the published issues of the literary journals, magazines, and anthologies in which Doris Betts's writings appeared.
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Subseries 2.4. Articles, Essays, and Book Chapters, 1950-2007.
Chiefly the published issues of the literary journals and magazines, anthologies, newsletters, newspapers, and other periodicals in which Doris Betts's writings appeared.
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Subseries 2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000.
| Folder 296 |
1950-1963 #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 296 |
| Folder 297 |
1965-1970 #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 297 |
| Folder 298 |
1980-1985 #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 298 |
| Folder 299 |
1990-2004, and undated #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 299Includes an essay on literacy commissioned by North Carolina Governor Jim Martin. |
| Folder 300 |
"Village Voices," 1994, 2000 #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 300Regular column and a guest column written by Doris Betts for the Chapel Hill News. |
| Folder 301 |
"Whose Child Is This," 1997, 2000 #04695, Subseries: "2.5. Newspaper Articles, 1950-2000." Folder 301Essay written for the inauguration of North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt. |
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Subseries 2.6. Reviews by Doris Betts, 1952-2003.
Drafts and published reviews of books, written by Doris Betts for a variety of newspapers and literary journals and magazines. Also included are unpublished "reader reports."
Folder 302-307
Folder 302Folder 303Folder 304Folder 305Folder 306Folder 307 |
Reviews by Betts, 1952-2003 #04695, Subseries: "2.6. Reviews by Doris Betts, 1952-2003." Folder 302-307Oversized reviews filed in OPF-4695/2. |
| Folder 308 |
Reader reports, 2000s #04695, Subseries: "2.6. Reviews by Doris Betts, 1952-2003." Folder 308 |
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Subseries 2.7. Speeches, 1956-2010.
Speeches chiefly given at graduations, literary conferences, and similar events for scholarly and popular audiences. Note that other Doris Bett talks and speeches are included with other materials in Series 3. Biographical Materials, 4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and 5. Other Projects and Activities.
Folder 309-316
Folder 309Folder 310Folder 311Folder 312Folder 313Folder 314Folder 315Folder 316 |
Speeches, 1956-2010 and undated #04695, Subseries: "2.7. Speeches, 1956-2010." Folder 309-316 |
| Audiocassette C-4695/4 |
Graduation speech, Mitchell College, 4 June 1981 #04695, Subseries: "2.7. Speeches, 1956-2010." C-4695/4Text filed with speeches. |
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Subseries 2.8. Other Writing and Editorial Projects, 1956-2006.
Includes correspondence course textbook, a proposed textbook on rhetoric written with Robert Bains, journal editing, introductions, forewards, and briefer essays contributed to anthologies and encyclopedia.
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Subseries 2.9. Literary Criticism of Doris Betts, 1970s-2000s.
Published and unpublished essays and longer works of literary criticism relating to Doris Betts's work.
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Series 3. Biographical Materials, 1954-2010.
Includes bibliography, awards, clippings, interviews with and articles about Doris Betts, photographs, appointment calendar books, and miscellaneous personal materials.
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Series 4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1968-2010.
Correspondence, photographs, video and audio recordings, printed and other materials relating to Doris Betts's contributions to the Department of English and Creative Writing Program, the Program in the Humanities and Human Values, the Morehead Scholars Selection Committee, the Association of Women Faculty, Second Sunday Readings, the Carolina Publishing Institute, and other groups at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Series 5. Other Projects and Activities, 1952-2010.
Materials relating to Doris Betts's participation in and contributions to readings and festivals, some of which were affiliated with the Presbyterian Church; radio and television programs, such as StoryLines Southeast; and conferences and symposia. Betts also was active in a number of writers' groups and organizations, including the North Carolina Writers' Conference, South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Historical Book Club of North Carolina Inc., North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, North Carolina Writers' Network, and the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.
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Series 6. Photographs, 1947-2000s.
Informal and formal portraits of Doris Betts, as well as snapshots with students, colleagues, and other writers. Also included are snapshots of Betts family members.
| Image Folder PF-4695/1-2 |
Betts, Doris: Portraits #04695, Series: "6. Photographs, 1947-2000s." PF-4695/1-2See also oversized image filed in OP-P-4695/1. |
| Image Folder PF-4695/3 |
Betts, Doris: Miscellaneous #04695, Series: "6. Photographs, 1947-2000s." PF-4695/3Includes groups, teaching in class, with students at graduation, on publishing day for Tall Houses in Winter and The Scarlet Thread. |
| Image Folder PF-4695/4 |
Family #04695, Series: "6. Photographs, 1947-2000s." PF-4695/4Mary Ellen Freeze Waugh, Elisha Betts, Spencer Betts, LewEllyn Betts, David Betts, Lowry Betts, William Elmore Waugh. |
| Image Folder PF-4695/5 |
Other people #04695, Series: "6. Photographs, 1947-2000s." PF-4695/5Pat Conroy, Jill McCorkle, William Styron, Jessie Rehder, and others. |
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Series 7. Other Materials, 1954-2012.
Address lists, royalties checks and reports, papers concerning literary interests of Betts, letters from Anne Beatty to her parents about her Peace Corps experiences in Nepal, family history materials and writings, and a recording of an unidentified preacher. Published materials include recordings of Michael McFee and John Hope Franklin for Soundings and three volumes: a literary take on porches; a study of Psalm 23; and a study of words for high school students.
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Series 8. Additions
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Subseries 8.1. Addition of August 2012: Speeches and Programs (Acc. 101855), 2010-2012.
Copies of two speeches given by Doris Betts in 2010: one for the Fearrington Woman's Club, and one at the Pittsboro Public Library. Papers also include copies of the program from a 2012 memorial event for Betts sponsored by Creative Writing at Carolina and the Department of English and Comparative Literature.
| Folder 620 |
Speeches and programs, 2010-2012 #04695, Subseries: "8.1. Addition of August 2012: Speeches and Programs (Acc. 101855), 2010-2012." Folder 620 |
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Subseries 8.2. Addition of May 2013: Joseph Flora Correspondence and Miscellaneous Materials
(Acc. 101854), 1973-1994 and undated.
Correspondence consists chiefly of letters, notes, and a few cards from Doris Betts to Joseph Flora, primarily discussing English department meetings, events, classes, curriculum, schedules, and teaching; creative writing; graduation ceremonies; new department members; University administration and leadership; money and expenses; health of family members; faculty policy; and Flora's appointment as chair of the English department. The addition also includes many copies of letters and documents received by Betts that she forwarded to Flora, often annotated with her comments, such as offers of visiting professor positions from other universities; correspondence with faculty from other universities about creative writing; search committee communications; and photocopies of newspaper articles. There is also the text of an interview given by Flora on Doris Betts, dated 1 December 1994. Other materials include newspaper clippings, event programs, copies of remarks and speeches, invitations, some biographical material, and a book review.
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Subseries 8.3. Addition of July 2014: Annotated Draft of The Most Unpleasant Book I Ever Read,
(Acc. 102062) undated.
| Folder 624 |
"The Most Unpleasant Book I Ever Read" #04695, Subseries: "8.3. Addition of July 2014: Annotated Draft of The Most Unpleasant Book I Ever Read, (Acc. 102062) undated." Folder 624Draft of a piece written by Doris Betts, with handwritten annotations. |
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Items Separated
Processed by: SHC Staff; Jennifer Joyner, August 2008; Anna Kephart, May 2012; Amanda Loeb, February and December 2014; Gergana Abernathy, October 2016
Encoded by: Jennifer Joyner, August 2008
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