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Size | 14.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2100 items) |
Abstract | Thomas Grey Wicker (1926- ), a white journalist and author, worked for the Winston-Salem Journal; the Nashville Tennesseean; and served as staff writer, chief of the Washington bureau, and associate editor for the New York Times. He wrote numerous works of fiction and non-fiction, including several presidential biographies. The papers of Tom Wicker primarily relate to his work as a newspaper reporter, bureau chief, and editor, chiefly for the New York Times, and as a writer of fiction and non-fiction works. Included are drafts of his major works and research materials for some books, especially A Time to Die (1975), which is represented by items collected during and after Wicker's participation as an observer at the 1971 prison riot standoff at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, N.Y., and One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991). Also included are drafts of his unpublished memoir "Hall of Fame," articles on various topics, and some materials relating to freelance work he undertook in the 1990s. Professional correspondence mostly relates to the publication and distribution of Wicker's books; other professional papers include briefs and press releases accumulated during Wicker's tenure at the New York Times. Many writings and professional materials relate to Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, or John Erlichman, and to politics, government, and/or race relations in the United States and in North Carolina. Personal papers include a few writings and other papers relating to Wicker's early life in Hamlet, N.C.; letters from his time as a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1944-1948; letters to his parents while he served in the United States Navy during World War II and in the early 1950s; and other items relating to the Wicker family. |
Creator | Wicker, Tom. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English. |
Processed by; John Foster, 2001
Revisions by: Nicole Cvjetnicanin and Nancy Kaiser, April 2019
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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Thomas Grey Wicker was born in Hamlet, N.C., on 18 June 1926 to Delancey David Wicker and Esta Cameron Wicker. He joined the Navy's V-12 program in 1944 and attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., graduating with an A.B. in journalism in 1948.
After working for a number of smaller newspapers in North Carolina, Wicker was hired as a copy editor by the Winston-Salem Journal in 1950. He eventually became the first Washington editor for the Journal. Wicker was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, 1957-1958, and then served as associate editor of the Nashville Tennesseean in 1960. That same year, he was hired by the New York Times as a staff writer. From 1964 to 1968, he was the chief of the Washington bureau of the Times. He served as associate editor of the Times from 1968 until his retirement in December 1991.
In 1971, Wicker was called upon by prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility at Attica, N.Y., to act as an observer during their standoff with prison officials and was present through the conclusion of the incident. He later described the event in A Time to Die (1975).
Other non-fiction works include Kennedy Without Tears (1964), JFK and LBJ (1966), On Press (1978), One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991), and Tragic Failure: Racial Integration in America (1991). In addition, he worked on a number of scripts and treatments for television, most prominently acting as a consultant for the movie Attica, which was based on A Time to Die.
Among Wicker's works of fiction are three novels published under the pseudonym Paul Connolly: Get Out of Town (1951), Tears Are For Angels (1952), and So Fair, So Evil (1955). Novels published under his own name include The Kingpin (1953), The Devil Must (1957), The Judgement (1961), Facing the Lions (1973), Unto This Hour (1984), and Easter Lilly (1997).
Back to TopThe papers of Tom Wicker, a white writer, primarily relate to his work as a journalist, bureau chief, and editor, chiefly for the New York Times, and as a writer of fiction and non-fiction works. Included are drafts of his major works and research materials for some books, especially A Time to Die (1975), which is represented by items collected during and after Wicker's participation as an observer at the 1971 prison riot standoff at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, N.Y., and One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991). Also included are drafts of his unpublished memoir "Hall of Fame," articles on various topics, and some materials relating to freelance work he undertook in the 1990s.
Professional correspondence mostly relates to the publication and distribution of Wicker's books; other professional papers include briefs and press releases accumulated during Wicker's tenure at the New York Times.
Many writings and professional materials relate to Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, or John Erlichman, and to politics, government, and/or race relations in the United States and in North Carolina.
Personal papers include a few writings and other papers relating to Wicker's early life in Hamlet, N.C.; letters from his time as a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1944-1948; letters to his parents while he served in the United States Navy during World War II and in the early 1950s; letters relating to the death of his mother, Esta Cameron Wicker, in 1989; and letters to Wicker's father, Delancey David Wicker, from his employer, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.
Back to TopMaterials relating to Tom Wicker's non-fiction works. Included is draft material for Kennedy Without Tears, JFK and LBJ, A Time to Die, On Press, One of Us, and Tragic Failure. There are also notebooks containing handwritten draft material for One of Us and On Press, as well as research materials used in the preparation of A Time to Die and One of Us.
Among the A Time to Die materials are items relating to prisons and corrections policy in the United States; speeches and other press releases by Nelson Rockefeller and Russell Oswald; a transcript of an interview with observer Herman Schwartz; notes that appear to date from Wicker's involvement as an observer at the Attica prison riot in 1971; a note dating from the riot from the prisoners in Attica's C Block to those holding the D Yard; a note from the Attica prisoners to Bobby Seale; a letter written by Eldridge Cleaver to Tom Wicker on the subject of the riot; the report of the New York State Special Commission on Attica (the McKay Commission); a booklet of interviews with Attica inmates; documents from several meetings of the Attica Observers' Committee; a cassette featuring an interview with Roger Champen along with a typed transcript; a cassette containing part of Wicker's press conference after the retaking of Attica; and an audio copy of A Time To Die. There is also a script for the television adaptation of A Time to Die entitled Attica, for which Wicker acted as a consultant, and several reviews and other papers relating to A Time to Die.
Research materials for One of Us consist of notes and transcripts from interviews with, and some speeches by, figures involved with the Nixon administration. These include Richard M. Nixon, Elmer Bobst, Leonard Garment, William P. Rogers, Arnold Hutschnecker, Arthur Burns, Frank Sorg, and Bryce Harlow. There are tapes of an interview with John Ehrlichman, as well as a number of tapes documenting a conference on the Nixon administration held at Hofstra University in 1987.
Also included are a draft of Wicker's Tragic Failure and an article submitted by Wicker to The Nation, which is primarily composed of excerpts from the book.
Arrangement: chronological.
Published articles on political, social, and other topics written by Tom Wicker. These include clippings of articles on literary topics that Wicker wrote for the Winston-Salem Journal in the late 1950s, as well a large number of articles written for the New York Times during Wicker's tenure as head of the paper's Washington bureau and some opinion pieces written after he had become an associate editor for the Times. The articles from the New York Times discuss a range of topics relating to national electoral politics, primarily covering the presidential campaign of 1960 and various aspects of the subsequent John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations. The articles also feature extensive coverage of the 1960 Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller campaigns. In addition, there are occasional pieces written for other publications, such as the Earth Times, and interviews conducted by Wicker with Ramsey Clarke and Gore Vidal.
Folder 57 |
1955-1957 |
Folder 58 |
1960 |
Folder 59 |
1961 |
Folder 60-62
Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
1962 |
Folder 63-68
Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68 |
1963 |
Folder 69-73
Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73 |
1964 |
Folder 74 |
1965-1969 |
Folder 75 |
1970-1975 |
Folder 76 |
1990-1991 |
Folder 77-81
Folder 77Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81 |
1993-1995 |
Audiocassette C-05012/17 |
Gore Vidal interview: Part 1Audiocassette |
Audiocassette C-05012/18 |
Gore Vidal interview: Part 2Audiocassette |
Folder 82-84
Folder 82Folder 83Folder 84 |
1996 |
Folder 85-87
Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87 |
1997 |
Folder 88 |
1998 |
Folder 89 |
Article fragments, undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Draft material from novels, both published and unpublished, by Tom Wicker, including "Second Chance" (1958), The Judgment (1961), Facing the Lions (1973), Unto This Hour (1984), Easter Lilly (1997), and "Oyster Bay" (undated). There is also undated draft material for a novel under the working title of "McBee," which appears never to have been completed.
Folder 90 |
"Second Chance," 1958 |
Folder 91-92
Folder 91Folder 92 |
The Judgment: Early draft, 1961 |
Folder 93 |
The Judgment: Final draft, 1961 |
Folder 94-96
Folder 94Folder 95Folder 96 |
Facing the Lions: Early draft, 1973 |
Folder 97-98
Folder 97Folder 98 |
Facing the Lions: Final draft, 1973 |
Folder 99-100
Folder 99Folder 100 |
Unto This Hour: Composition books, 1979 |
Folder 101-102
Folder 101Folder 102 |
Unto This Hour: Composition books, 1981 |
Folder 103-109
Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105Folder 106Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109 |
Unto This Hour: Final draft, 1985 |
Folder 110-112
Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112 |
Donovan's Wife: Draft, 1992 |
Folder 113 |
Easter Lilly: Composition notes, 1995-1996 |
Folder 114-116
Folder 114Folder 115Folder 116 |
Easter Lilly: Draft, undated |
Folder 117-120
Folder 117Folder 118Folder 119Folder 120 |
"McBee": Draft material, undated |
Folder 121-122
Folder 121Folder 122 |
"Oyster Bay": Draft, undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Draft versions of short stories, scripts, and treatments.
Folder 123 |
"He'll Take a Mile," 1952 |
Folder 124 |
"The Ballad of Bonecrusher Ames," 1959 |
Folder 125 |
"Street Cars," 1976 |
Folder 126 |
"Bad News," 1985 |
Folder 127 |
Intruder in the Dust, 1992 |
Folder 128-129
Folder 128Folder 129 |
The Big Trouble: Research materials, 1993-1994 |
Folder 130 |
"Fullback," 1994 |
Folder 131 |
"Foursome," 1997 |
Folder 132 |
"At the Villers' Table," undated |
Folder 133 |
"The Big Sledge," undated |
Folder 134 |
"Borrowed Time," undated |
Folder 135 |
"Crimson Leaf," undated |
Folder 136 |
"Going Up," undated |
Folder 137 |
"Knight's Gambit," undated |
Folder 138 |
"The Long Green Table," undated |
Folder 139 |
"Manuel's Party," undated |
Folder 140 |
"The Polychrome Effect," undated |
Folder 141 |
"Secrets," undated |
Folder 142 |
"Something on a Christmas Tree," undated |
Folder 143 |
"Under the Triple Tree," undated |
Folder 144 |
Untitled chapters, undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence relating to various aspects of Tom Wicker's professional life. Included are a large number of letters acknowledging the receipt of complimentary copies of Wicker's books; correspondence of a perfunctory nature from Felix Rohatyn, Kurt Vonnegut, and Russell Baker; and letters from people associated with William Morrow Inc. and Viking Press, the principal publishers of Tom Wicker's literary work.
Folder 145 |
1960-1970 |
Folder 146-147
Folder 146Folder 147 |
1971 |
Folder 148 |
1972 |
Folder 149-151
Folder 149Folder 150Folder 151 |
1973 |
Folder 152 |
1974 |
Folder 153-156
Folder 153Folder 154Folder 155Folder 156 |
1975 |
Folder 157 |
1976 |
Folder 158 |
1977 |
Folder 159 |
1978 |
Folder 160 |
1979-1980 |
Folder 161 |
1981-1982 |
Folder 162 |
1983 |
Folder 163 |
1984 |
Folder 164 |
1985 |
Folder 165 |
1986 |
Folder 166 |
1987-1988 |
Folder 167-168
Folder 167Folder 168 |
1989 |
Folder 169-170
Folder 169Folder 170 |
1990 |
Folder 171-173
Folder 171Folder 172Folder 173 |
1991 |
Folder 174-175
Folder 174Folder 175 |
1992 |
Folder 176-177
Folder 176Folder 177 |
1993 |
Folder 178-179
Folder 178Folder 179 |
1994 |
Folder 180 |
1995 |
Folder 181-183
Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183 |
1996 |
Folder 184-189
Folder 184Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189 |
1997 |
Folder 190 |
1998 |
Folder 191-192
Folder 191Folder 192 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Papers relating to Tom Wicker's professional activities. Included are press statements and briefings from when Wicker was chief of the Washington Bureau of the New York Times; notebooks that document his participation in the Protect Historic America Project; papers from his work with the Freedom Forum at Vanderbilt University; lecture notes and other materials from courses on journalism and on racial issues in the United States given during his tenure as professor at Davidson College in the fall of 1997; papers documenting the sentencing of Stanley Sanders; promotional posters for various books and films; and documents relating to publication of and compensation for several of Wicker's books.
A series of essays written by Henry Hall Wilson discusses the history of state politics in North Carolina since the 1950s, the practical aspects of relations between the executive and legislative branches of the United States government, his service in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and his tenure as president of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Six notebooks and other notes are undated, but appear to have been composed during Wicker's tenure at the Washington Bureau of the New York Times.
Folder 193-196
Folder 193Folder 194Folder 195Folder 196 |
Briefings and press releases, 1962-1964 |
Folder 197 |
DeWitt Wallace Center, 1992-1994 |
Folder 198 |
Freedom Forum, 1994 |
Folder 199-201
Folder 199Folder 200Folder 201 |
Protect Historic America, 1994 |
Folder 202 |
Stanley Sanders, 1996 |
Folder 203-206
Folder 203Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206 |
Davidson College, 1997 |
Folder 207 |
Publication materials, 1980-1998 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-5012/1 |
Book and film promotional posters, undated |
Folder 208-213
Folder 208Folder 209Folder 210Folder 211Folder 212Folder 213 |
Henry Hall Wilson essays, undated |
Folder 214-219
Folder 214Folder 215Folder 216Folder 217Folder 218Folder 219 |
Journalistic notebooks, undated |
Folder 220 |
Journalistic notes, undated |
Arrangement: by type, then chronological.
Correspondence and other papers relating to the personal and family life of Tom Wicker. There is correspondence between Wicker and his parents dating from World War II and into the 1950s, when Wicker was serving in the United States Navy. There are many letters of condolence sent to Tom Wicker from family members, friends, and colleagues after the death of his mother, Esta Cameron Wicker.
Also included are documents dating from Wicker's childhood; notebooks he kept while a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1957; a book of photographs of Hamlet, N.C.; community awards; a daily planner from 1975; papers from Wicker's work with the Vermont Symphony; unpublished poetry; photographs of Tom Wicker and family members; a series of letters to Wicker's father, Delancey David Wicker, from his employer, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad; and a number of press clippings documenting Wicker's life, particularly his connections to North Carolina.
Folder 221 |
Personal correspondence, 1935-1943 |
Folder 222 |
Personal correspondence, 1944-1945 |
Folder 223 |
Personal correspondence, 1946-1952 |
Folder 224 |
Personal correspondence, 1971, 1976 |
Folder 225-226
Folder 225Folder 226 |
Personal correspondence, 1983 |
Folder 227 |
Personal correspondence, 1984, 1998 |
Folder 228 |
Personal correspondence, undated |
Folder 229-230
Folder 229Folder 230 |
Childhood, military, and other papers, 1932-1992 and undated |
Folder 231 |
Delancey David Wicker letters, 1917-1945 |
Folder 232 |
Clippings, 1953-1983 |
Folder 233-234
Folder 233Folder 234 |
Nieman Fellowship notebooks, 1957 |
Folder 235 |
Daily planner, 1975 |
Folder 236 |
Community awards, 1978-1990 |
Folder 237 |
Hamlet, N.C., photo book, 1989 |
Folder 238 |
Vermont Symphony, 1992-1993 |
Folder 239 |
Poetry, undated |
Image Folder PF-5012/1 |
Family and personal photographs, 1944-1998 and undated |
Aquisition Information: Accession 102247
The addition consists of manuscript drafts of Tom Wicker's published works, unpublished novellas, unpublished screenplay drafts, and early drafts of his unfinished memoir "Hall of Fame." Also included are professional and personal correspondence, editorial notes by Pamela Hill Wicker, some notes from his career with The New York Times, and book proposals for "7 Presidents I Have Known" and "Populism."
Box 22 |
WritingsManuscript drafts of published works, two unpublished novellas, unpublished screenplay drafts, and early drafts of Wicker's unfinished memoir "Hall of Fame." Also includes professional and personal correspondence. |
Box 23 |
"Hall of Fame"Draft with notes and corrections by his widow Pamela Hill Wicker. |
Box 24 |
WritingsIncludes earlier drafts of "Hall of Fame," and correspondence between his widow and friend about the drafts after Wicker's death. Also contains two screenplay manuscripts. |
Box 25 |
WritingsContains drafts of published works, some drafts of screenplays, and some notes from his career with The New York Times. |
Box 26 |
"Hall of Fame"Drafts. |
Box 27 |
WritingsIncludes "7 Presidents I Have Known" and "Populism" book proposals |
Digital Folder DF-05012/1 |
"Hall of Fame," 2011Drafts of chapters. |
Digital Folder DF-05012/2 |
"Hall of Fame," 2012Pamela Hill Wicker's edited chapters 7 and 8. |
Audiocassettes (C-05012/1-30)
Extra Oversize Paper Folder (XOPF-5012/1)
Image Folder (PF-5012/1)
Born Digital (DF-05012/1-2)
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