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Size | 18.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4,500 items) |
Abstract | Ruth Moose (1938- ), North Carolina writer; reference librarian at Pfeiffer College, 1988-1996; and, since 1996, teacher of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ruth Moose worked as a free-lance writer, including a stint at the Charlotte Observer, for which she was a regular columnist, and as poetry editor for the Uwharrie Review and The Arts Journal. In addition to numerous articles, poems, and stories that have appeared in magazines and newspapers, she has published four poetry and two short story collections. Moose is married to artist Talmadge Moose and has two sons. Materials include drafts and published versions of poems, short stories, book reviews, and essays; correspondence; clippings; professional activities files; and collected material. Writings comprise the bulk of the collection. Correspondents include Charles Edward Eaton, Jean Burden, Doris Betts, John Nichols, John Ciardi, Clyde Edgerton, Marianne Gingher, Fred Chappell, Donald Hall, Sam Ragan, Maxine Kumin, and Susan Ludvigson. Clippings are chiefly reviews of Moose's work and interviews with her. Professional activities files contain materials relating to her education, grant applications, workshops and conferences, readings, and book signings. Collected material includes copies and reviews of fellow writers' works. There are also miscellaneous materials relating to Talmadge Moose. |
Creator | Moose, Ruth. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English. |
Full processing of this collection has been deferred pending expected additions. Some additions are unprocessed, but usable; others are closed pending processing.
Back to TopThe 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.
Ruth Moose, a professional writer since 1969, was born on 24 August 1938 in North Carolina. Both Ruth and her future husband, Talmadge Moose, grew up in Stanly County, N.C. Ruth is the oldest of four children and the only girl. Her father, Ardie Morris, worked in a hardware store, and her mother, Vera Morris, was a homemaker.
Ruth Morris married artist Talmadge Moose after high school, and they raised two sons before she began work on a B.A. in English-Creative Writing Studies at Pfeiffer College (Pfeiffer University as of 1996) in Misenheimer, N.C., at age 45. She completed the B.A. degree in two and a half years. For 14 years, Moose was a poet-in-residence in North Carolina high schools and colleges. For several years, she also contributed a thrice-weekly column to the Charlotte News.
Moose began writing and selling short stories to the Charlotte Observer and Good Housekeeping as a free-lance author, eventually writing a monthly column for the Observer. In 1975, she helped form the "Wednesday Writer's Workshop" in Charlotte with Dannye Romine, a fellow writer and Charlotte Observer columnist. After earning a master's degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Ruth Moose held the position of reference librarian at Pfeiffer College, 1988-1996. There, she was also instrumental in organizing the Pfeiffer Friends of the Library. In 1996, Moose studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with poet Charles Edward Eaton and novelist Doris Betts. Since 1996, Moose has taught creative writing at UNC-CH.
Ruth Moose has published three books of poetry: Finding Things in the Dark (1982); Making the Bed (1995), for which she won the Oscar Arnold Young Award; and Smith Grove (1997). In addition, a 16-page section of her poems titled "To Survive" was published in Quintet, a 1981 collection of five poets' works produced by Bookmaker's Press in Kansas City, Mo. Two of Moose's short story collections have been published: The Wreath-Ribbon Quilt, first published in 1987 by St. Andrews Press, Laurinburg, N.C., and later in a second edition by August House, Little Rock, Ark., in 1989. In 1989, August House also published her second collection of short stories, Dreaming In Color. Her stories have been published in two other anthologies: Homecoming: The Southern Family in Short Fiction , produced by August House in 1990, and Twelve Christmas Stories by North Carolina Writers , which Moose also edited, published in Asheboro, N.C., by Down Home Press in 1997. One of Moose's poems and a recipe appear in the anthology There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays, published by Papier-Mache Press of California in 1997. Moose edited and has an article published in I Have Walked: Stories and Poems About Poverty, published in 1989 by the North Carolina Poverty Project.
Moose won three PEN Syndicated Awards for Short Fiction and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in poetry in 1976. In addition to two National Endowment for the Arts grants in 1986 and 1987, Moose was awarded a fellowship to attend the McDowell Artists Colony in Peterborough, N.H., in 1994. Moose also received a Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award and won a Blumenthal Writers & Readers Series Competition in 1996.
Moose has two sons, Lyle Moose and Barry Moose. She and her husband designed, built, and lived in a house they named "Witness Tree," from a Robert Frost poem and huge beech tree on the property. The house is located in part of the Uwharrie Range overlooking the Pee Dee River. She now lives in Pittsboro, N.C.
Back to TopSeries 1, Correspondence, chiefly concerns Moose's writing projects and friendships with various fellow writers, including poets Charles Edward Eaton; Jean Burden, who was also editor of Yankee magazine; Fred Chappell; Donald Hall; Sam Ragan; Maxine Kumin; and Susan Ludvigson. There is also correspondence with novelists Doris Betts, John Nichols, John Ciardi, Alan Gurganus, Clyde Edgerton, and Marianne Gingher. Most of these letters relate to the publication of Moose's two short story anthologies and other writing projects. Liz Parkhurst, vice-president of August House, is a frequent correspondent. Very little family or personal correspondence is included.
The bulk of the materials appears in Series 2, Writings, which includes drafts and published versions of Moose's works. Many of the drafts are of short stories that were later published in magazines or in one of Moose's two short story collections. Many drafts have annotations and some are filed with related correspondence, much of which concerns revisions suggested by readers or possible avenues of publication. Published works include poems, short stories, book reviews, how-to and seasonal pieces, essays, local color articles, household tips, recipes, and personal interviews.
Series 3, Clippings, contains reviews of Moose's work and interviews with her. There are also interviews with Moose and her husband, Talmadge Moose, as well as notices of her book signings, writing workshops, and teaching activities.
Series 4, Professional Activities, contains materials relating to her education, grant applications, workshops and conferences, readings, and book signings. Included are issues of The Arts Journal, for which Moose was poetry editor. Her work with several conferences and workshops is represented by flyers, programs, and some correspondence.
Series 5, Collected Material, includes reviews of the works of fellow writers, such as Ann Beattie, Eudora Welty, and Maxine Kumin, and published copies of their their works. There are also some miscellaneous materials relating to Talmadge Moose.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological, with undated materials arranged alphabetically by sender.
Correspondence chiefly concerns Moose's writing projects, particularly the publication of books of poetry and short story collections by St. Andrews Press in Laurinburg, N.C., and, later, August House in Little Rock, Ark. There is a large group of letters and reports on the progress of publications, on sales and advertising of the books, as well as contracts, invoices for typesetting, and royalty reports. Most of the correspondence with August House is with its vice-president, Liz Parkhurst, concerning publication of Dreaming in Color , and the second edition of The Wreath-Ribbon Quilt , first published by St. Andrews Press. Correspondence about book signing arrangements with several bookstore owners and managers is included.
Among the correspondents are several writers, including Jean Burden, poetry editor of Yankee magazine; novelist Doris Betts; and poet Charles Edward Eaton, with whom Moose studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There is also correspondence with novelists John Nichols, John Ciardi, Clyde Edgerton, and Marianne Gingher, and with poets Fred Chappell, Donald Hall, Sam Ragan, Maxine Kumin, Susan Ludvigson, and Michael McFee.
Also present are invitations, Christmas greetings, and personal notes.
Box 1 |
1971-1984 |
1985-1988 |
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1989-1991 |
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1992-1997 |
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Undated |
Arrangement: drafts arranged alphabetically; published materials arranged chronologically.
Drafts consist mainly of several versions each of short stories in typescript, carbon copy of typescript, and photocopy, some annotated with critical comments by various readers. Most of the stories were later published in one of Moose's two short story collections: Dreaming in Color, published by August House; and The Wreath-Ribbon Quilt, first published by St. Andrews Press, then in a second edition by August House. A few notes and letters discussing revisions of the works or publication possibilities are included. Also included are four photographs: one of the subject of an interview and three of Moose to accompany a how-to newspaper article. Materials associated with interview articles are filed with the drafts of the articles. These include clippings, letters of inquiry to prospective interviewees and publishers, and correspondence with the interviewees or publishers both before and after publication of the articles. There are also drafts of two plays.
Moose's published work consists of poems and short stories that appeared in literary reviews, magazines, newspapers, and books. There are also many newspaper and magazine articles, including book reviews, how-to articles, seasonal pieces, essays, local color articles, as well as household tips, recipes, and personal interviews.
There are also poems and short stories that were published in Good Housekeeping , Yankee, St. Anthony Messenger , the Tar Heel magazine, Lady (England), Woman's Own (England), Petticoat (England), Dameran's Varld (Sweden), the South Carolina Review, Appalachian Heritage , the Uwharrie Review, Cold Mountain, Vision, the New Renaissance , the Atlantic Monthly, Southern Poetry Review, St. Andrews, Crucible, Redbook, and Ladies' Home Journal.
Also included are articles and book reviews from Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping, the Christian Science Monitor , Grit, Mother Earth News , Better Camping, Carolina Sportsman, NC Wildlife, The State, Tarheel Wheels, Ladycom, Woman's World, the NRTA Journal, Foxfire, Carolina Country, Sandlapper, the Washington Post, and the New York Times .
Arrangement: chronological, with undated materials arranged alphabetically by author.
Clippings are chiefly newspaper and magazine reviews of Moose's work, particularly her published collections of poems and short stories. Included are articles about Moose's writing career; interviews with her and her husband, artist Talmadge Moose; and notices of her book signings, writing workshops, and teaching activities. Clippings come from periodicals and newspapers, such as the Salisbury Post, the Charlotte Observer, the High Point Enterprise, The State (Columbia, S.C.), Publisher's Weekly, The Arts Journal (Asheville, N.C.), The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.), the Daily Reflector (Greenville, N.C.), Tar Heel Libraries, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Booklist, the Charlotte Poetry Review, American Libraries and St. Andrews Review . Some clippings are photocopies.
Box 26 |
1972-1980 |
1981-1988 |
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1989 |
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1990 |
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1991-1992 |
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1993-1995 |
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1996 |
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Box 27 |
1997-1998 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological, with undated materials arranged alphabetically by sponsor.
Materials primarily represent Moose's editorial work for literary reviews, such as The Uwharrie Review and The Arts Journal , published in Asheville, N.C. Also present are a few published copies of work for which Moose acted as contest judge.
Flyers, programs, and course descriptions are present for a variety of creative writing workshops, conferences, and courses with which Moose was involved as director, coordinator, participant, reader, or teacher (e.g., the Artists/Writers Dialogue, which she co-directed with her husband in 1975; Changing Lifestyles and the Stanly County Woman, for which she was a coordinator in 1976; the Friends of the Durham Library Writers Series, in which she participated as a reader; and the North Carolina Women Writers Conference, in which she participated in 1992).
Correspondence and grade reports from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill library schools are present, as is material relating to her position as reference librarian at Pfeiffer College, beginning in 1988.
Applications, 1986 and 1987, for National Endowment for the Arts grants are included, as well as letters of application and recommendation for other grants and plans relating to travel by Moose and her husband to England.
Several August House catalogs, 1989-1992, advertising Moose's two short story collections, The Wreath-Ribbon Quilt and Dreaming in Color, are included. There are also flyers and announcements of readings or book signings.
Arrangement: chronological with undated materials arranged alphabetically by author.
Collected material includes issues of literary reviews, popular magazines, and newspapers, as well as clippings of reviews of the works of prominent authors. There are short stories by Shirley Cochrane and Doris Betts and poetry and articles by Jean Burden and reviews of the works of Eudora Welty, Maxine Kumin, and Anne Beattie. Publications include The Crucible, the South Carolina Review, Woman's Day, the Tar Heel magazine, the Atlanta Journal Constitution , the New York Times Book Review section, and the Christian Science Monitor.
Some items relating to Talmadge Moose are present, including an issue of The State containing a story illustrated by Talmadge, and a few miscellaneous drawings.
Unprocessed, but usable.
Box 30 |
"Portrait of the Artist as a Young Thief," the new renaissance, #32, spring 1999; review by Moose of David Wagoner's Traveling Light, The Pilot , 16 August 1999. (1 folder) |
Box 30-32
Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Correspondence (3 folders) |
Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Clippings about Moose and her activities, reviews of her work, etc.; professional activity materials, including fliers and newsletters (10 folders) |
Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Writings, including drafts and published works (14 folders) |
Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Photographs of Moose and others |
Image Folder PF-4918/1 |
Photographs of Moose and others |
Box 30-32
Box 30Box 31Box 32 |
Cassette tape: "Sausage Biscuits" and "Wheelchair," The Sound of Writing (C-4918/1) |
Box 32 |
Correspondence, articles, fliers (1 folder) |
CLOSED: Unprocessed, letters in envelopes.
Box 33-34
Box 33Box 34 |
Chiefly correspondence |
Items separated include photographs (PF-4918/1) and an audiocassette tape (C-4918/1).
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