Arlin Turner papers, 1927-1980

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Summary

Creator:
Turner, Arlin
Abstract:
The papers span Turner's career as a scholar of American literature, from his undergraduate education at West Texas State University in 1927 to his death in 1980, when he was an instructor at Southwest Texas State University. Comprised primarily of personal and professional correspondence with scholars and publishers of American literature, including Gay Wilson Allen, John Q. Anderson, Louis Budd, Robert Cantwell, James B. Colvert, Eddie Gay Cone, Benjamin Franklin Fisher, Albert Mordell, Norman Holmes Pearson, William Stafford, and Edmund Wilson. There are also letters, printed matter, reports, and minutes that Turner collected as a member or officer of organizations, including the American Literature Section of the Modern Language Association, Committee for American Studies, and the Associated Research Council. The Turner Papers also document the development of high school, collegiate, and graduate level instruction in American literature through the organizational records and course materials, the latter of which include Turner's personal writings and research notes, subject files, clippings, lecture notes, and other printed materials on various authors or genres of American literature, including Southern literature, American humor, Nathaniel Hawthorne and George Washington Cable.
Extent:
15.6 Linear Feet
circa 9750 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.01312

Background

Scope and content:

The Arlin Turner Papers, 1927-1980, span Turner's entire career as a scholar of American literature, from his undergraduate education at West Texas State University in 1927 to his death in 1980, when he was an instructor at Southwest Texas State University. The Turner Papers are comprised primarily of personal and professional correspondence with scholars and publishers of American literature. The correspondence includes letters, printed matter, reports, and minutes that Turner collected as a member or officer of organizations to which many of these literary scholars belonged. These materials, in addition to the clippings, printed materials and other writings Turner collected, provide insight into the development of the profession of American literary scholarship in the 1920s and 1930s; demonstrate the major concerns, issues, conflicts, and interests of its practitioners over the following four decades; and record research advancements and contributions to scholarship on the literary figures of most interest to Turner. The Turner Papers also document the development of high school, collegiate, and graduate level instruction in American literature through the organizational records and course materials, the latter of which include Turner's personal writings and research notes, subject files he collected, clippings, lecture notes, and other printed materials on various authors or genres of American literature. Finally, this collection provides glimpses into Turner's personal career and scholarly thought through the writings which are included, both those he presented orally as speeches or lectures, or those he published as articles or books. The Turner Papers are organized into five series: Correspondence, Course Materials, Organizations, Printed Material, and Writings and Speeches.

A student of the first generation of American literature scholars in the 1920s, Turner played an important role in the network of scholarly exchange that was vital to the emergence of the discipline in the decades following. Turner kept in contact with numerous colleagues in colleges and universities across the United States and throughout the world, including many former graduate students who later became influential literary scholars and critics themselves. The Correspondence Series, 1930-1980, documents Turner's role in this network of scholarly exchange. The Individuals Subseries, 1930-1980, includes Turner's most voluminous correspondents: American literature specialists and authors Gay Wilson Allen, John Q. Anderson, Louis Budd, Robert Cantwell, James B. Colvert, Eddie Gay Cone, Benjamin Franklin Fisher, Albert Mordell, Norman Holmes Pearson, William Stafford, and Edmund Wilson. The Publications Subseries, 1934-1979, contains portions of Turner's communications with editors, publishers, and presses primarily regarding article reviews or manuscript evaluations of others' work. This subseries also contains some information concerning Turner's own articles, manuscripts, and various published works. Correspondence, brochures, press releases, reports, and contractual information concerning Turner's speaking engagements or attendance at professional meetings is collected in the Conferences, Speeches, and Lectures Subseries, 1961-1978 (bulk 1961-1964). Miscellaneous materials comprised primarily of letters arranged by subject are assembled in the Other Correspondence Subseries, 1948-1979 and undated This subseries also contains research notes, memos, and printed material. These papers document Turner's visiting professor appointments and awards, as well as his interest in topics such as the Duke University Library, the Huntington Library, George W. Cable primary sources, and international scholars of American Literature.

The Course Materials Series, undated, is comprised of information Turner collected to aid in composing classroom lectures, and other teaching materials. He maintained an extensive set of files on American authors, which can be found in the Lecture Notes, By Author Subseries, undated Most files contain a brief biography of the author and list of his major compositions, but may also include copies of their works, a typescript of Turner's lecture on the author, and related materials such as clippings or Turner's handwritten research notes. Turner also collected files on genres of literature, delineated both by region, such as Louisiana or British literature, or by style, such as Short Stories or Recent Fiction. These can be found in the Lecture Notes, By Subject Subseries, undated The Class Files Subseries, undated, contains Turner's teaching materials including syllabi, quizes, and exams. These files pertain to courses Turner taught (or in a few early instances, took) in subjects including American Literature before the Civil War, Post-Civil War Literature, Hawthorne and Melville, American Humor, and Southern Literature. Specific course numbers and titles have been provided wherever possible.

Arlin Turner was an active leader and participant in many of the organizations associated with his profession and interests, which are chronicled in the Organizations Series, 1929-1979 (bulk 1936-1979). These scholarly groups developed policies, conducted studies, and otherwise governed the profession. Thus, Turner's influential positions in most of these associations render his thorough collection of organizational records both valuable and useful. Folders in this series primarily contain correspondence, minutes, memoranda, reports, and printed matter such as newsletters, brochures, and clippings. Most notable is Turner's work with the Modern Language Association (MLA), whose American Literature Section members are primarily responsible for the spread of American Studies programs across the globe. Turner's records also document his work with the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA), the American Studies Association (ASA), and the Southeastern American Studies Association (SEASA). This series likewise chronicles Turner's leadership roles in the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Turner was also a member of the Committee for American Studies, the advisory group for the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils' (CBC) Committee for International Exchange of Persons (CIEP). The Organizations Series also includes files on the selection of Fulbright Scholars that he collected as a member of that committee. In addition, Turner served as chairman of this committee during the period in which the "Loewenberg controversy" consumed the CIEP's affairs. When Prof. Bert J. Loewenberg was denied a Fulbright Award in 1959 despite the committee's recommendation, its members threatened to resign in protest against allegations that Loewenberg's past political activity was to blame. Thus, significant amounts of correspondence from fellow committee members Ray Billington, John Hope Franklin, Harvey Wish, and Charles Barker regarding the controversy is found in this series.

Arlin Turner accumulated a significant number of clippings, newsletters, pamphlets, reprints, and publications related to American Literature. These are collected in the Printed Material Series, undated Included in this series are materials from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), memorabilia from Turner's time at the University of Hull in England, literary magazines, and miscellaneous clippings primarily regarding Southern writers (especially North Carolina authors), William Faulkner, and the New Critics (a.k.a. The Fugitives).

The Writings and Speeches Series, 1938-1980 and undated (bulk 1964-1977), contains copies of Turner's significant oral presentations and other written work, both published and unpublished, in addition to some writings of other authors he accumulated. Files from Turner's speaking engagements include both correspondence and typed copies of his presentations. This series also contains unidentified speech notes and writings, in addition to a bound typescript with handwritten edits of Turner's Nathaniel Hawthorne: A biography . Writings about Turner, including obituaries, tributes, his curriculum vita and the like, are also found in the Writings and Speeches Series.

Biographical / historical:
Arlin Turner
Date Event
1909
Born November 25 in Abilene, Tex.
1927
Received B.A. from West Texas State University
1930
Received M.A. from the University of Texas
1934
Received Ph.D. from the University of Texas
1934-1936
Instructor at the University of Texas
1936-1953
Professor of English at Louisiana State University
1941
Published Hawthorne as Editor
1942-1946
Served in U.S. Naval Reserve
1947-1948
Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
1951
Visiting Professor, University of Montreal. Visiting Professor, University of Colorado
1952
Awarded Fulbright appointment to University of Western Australia
1953-1979
Professor of English, Duke University
1956
Published George W. Cable: A Biography
1957
Visiting Professor, University of Texas
1958
Visiting Professor, University of Virginia
1958-1964
Chairman, Duke University Department of English
1959-1960
Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
1960
Published Mark Twain and George W. Cable: The Record of a Literary Friendship
1961
Visiting Professor, University of Illinois
1961
Published Nathaniel Hawthorne: An Introduction and Interpretation
1962
Visiting Professor, University of Iowa
1963
Visiting Professor, New York University
1964
Visiting Professor, University of Bombay
1966-1967
Awarded Fulbright appointment to University of Hull, Hull, England
1968
Visiting Professor, University of Pennsylvania
1969
Huntington Library Research Award
1973-1974
Awarded Senior Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities
1974
Awarded James B. Duke Professorship
1976
Received Doctor of Humane Letters from Berea College, Ky.
1978
Visiting Professor, State University of New York
1979
Appointed Therese Kayser Lindsey Professor of Literature, Southwest Texas State University
1980
Published Nathaniel Hawthorne, a biography.
1980
Died, April 24 in Austin, Tex.

Organizational Service Biography

The following lists selected offices and leadership roles held by Turner in professional organizations as documented in this collection. Turner was active in other professional groups that are not represented in his papers. The dates reflect the years of the highest positions he held and do not represent the total period of his membership or leadership. The organizations are listed alphabetically.

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)
Regional Associate,
Editor,
American Literature
Executive Committee,
American Studies Association (ASA)
Vice President,
Committee for International Exchange of Persons, (CIEP), Conference Board of Associated Research Councils (CBC)
Chairman, Committee for American Studies,
Secretary, American Literature Section,
Director,
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
South Atlantic Quarterly
President,
Chronology
Date Event
1956-1967
Fellowship Selection Committee,
1961-1963, 1965-1966 1956-1967
1954-1979
Managing Editor,
1954-1963 1969-1979
1955-1972
Advisory Council,
1955-1957, 1967-1972 1958-1959 1969-1970
1956-1968
Member, Committee for American Studies
1956-1960, 1962-1963, 1967-1968 1957-1960
1949-1967
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Chairman, American Literature Section,
1966-1967 1949-1967
1961-1966
Director, Commission on Literature,
1964-1966 1961-1964
1968-1976
Member, Advisory Panel on Media Programs, 1976
Chairman, Fellowship Selection Committee,
1968-1972
1956-1957
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA)
Chairman, American Literature Section,
1956-1957
1956-1979
Member, Editorial Board
1956-1979
1955-1972
Southeastern American Studies Association (SEASA)
Vice-President,
1955-1956, 1968-1970 1956-1957, 1970-1972

Henry Arlin Turner, a professor of English and Literature, is best known for his scholarship on Nathaniel Hawthorne and George Washington Cable. His interests also included Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Southern Literature, and American Humor writings. Turner authored, edited, or reviewed an extensive list of publications on these subjects, in addition to the monographs listed above.

Acquisition information:
The Arlin Turner Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as gifts in 1980, 1986, 1987, and 1996. Portions of this collection were transferred from Duke University Archives in 2002.
Processing information:

Processed by Cat Saleeby

Finding aid edited by Ruth E. Bryan

Completed August 2002

Encoded by Cat Saleeby

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Fulbright scholarships
American wit and humor
College teachers -- Correspondence
American literature -- North Carolina
American literature -- Study and teaching
American literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism
American literature -- Louisiana
Authors, American
American literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism
American literature -- Southern States
Names:
American Studies Association
American Council of Learned Societies
Modern Language Association of America. American Literature Section
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
Jay B. Hubbell Center for American Literary Historiography
George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.) -- Faculty
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Dept of English
Conference Board of the Associated Research Councils. Committee on International Exchange of Persons. Committee on American Studies
Duke University. Department of English -- Curricula
Duke University. Department of English -- Faculty
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Council of Teachers of English
South Atlantic Modern Language Association
Southeastern American Studies Association
Anderson, John Q.
Allen, Gay Wilson, 1903-1995
Cable, George Washington, 1844-1925
Budd, Louis J.
Billington, Ray Allen, 1903-1981
Barker, Charles A. (Charles Albro), 1904-
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864
Mordell, Albert, 1885-
Cone, Eddie Gay, 1938-
Cantwell, Robert, 1908-
Colvert, James Brumley
Fisher, Benjamin Franklin
Wish, Harvey, 1909-
Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972
Franklin, John Hope, 1915-2009
Pearson, Norman Holmes, 1909-1975
Stafford, William, 1914-
Turner, Arlin

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

However, collection contains sensitive information. Patrons must sign a waiver concerning privacy rights.

In addition, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. There may be a 48-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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[Identification of item], Arlin Turner Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.