Vardis Fisher papers
Scope and Contents
The material in this record group includes correspondence from Vardis Fisher to University of Idaho Professor Francis Laney concerning the Idaho Writer's Project, between Vardis Fisher and University of Idaho Humanities Librarian George Kellogg, and letters from Harry Schwartz to Kellogg's successor, Milo Nelson, concerning Schwartz's article on Fisher. There are also articles by and about Vardis Fisher.
Dates
- Creation: 1927-1974
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
Born in Annis, Idaho, March 31, 1895, Vardis Fisher was the son of Joseph and Temperance (Thornton) Fisher. He received his early education from his mother until he was ready for grade 5 or 6 and began attending Poplar elementary school. He attended the high school in Rigby, Idaho where he graduated in 1915. He received his A.B. from the University of Utah in 1920, then attended the University of Chicago where he received his M.A. in 1922 and his Ph.D in 1925.
He married his first wife, a childhood sweetheart Leona McMurtrey, on September 10, 1917. They had two children before she died in 1924. In 1928 he married Margaret Trusler with whom he had one child; they were divorced in 1939. In 1940 he married Opal Laurel Holmes, and lived with her in Hagerman, Idaho, until his death on July 9, 1968.
Following his graduation from the University of Chicago he taught English at University of Utah for several years, then at New York University where he became friendly with Thomas Wolfe. In 1931 he moved back to his father's ranch in Idaho in order to continue writing, and when in 1935 he was named director of the WPA writer's project in Idaho he moved to Boise.
Following his marriage to Opal Holmes in 1940 he built a home near Hagerman, Idaho, where he wrote his monumental Testament of Man series. He wrote novels, historical works, essays, and newspaper columns and was considered Idaho's most prominent and prolific author.
Extent
1 cubic foot
Abstract
Correspondence of Vardis Fisher, chiefly with Francis Laney, concerning preparation of the manuscript for the Works Progress Administration's Idaho Encyclopedia, and with George Kellogg, primarily concerning Kellogg's bibliography of Fisher; also letters from Harry Schwartz to Milo Nelson concerning an article on Fisher, with draft and edited typescripts; transcripts of radio interviews of Fisher by Alan Swallow; and copies of articles by or about Fisher.
Arrangement
The material in this group has been arranged in two series: correspondence and other materials and articles about and by Vardis Fisher.
The first group includes correspondence from Vardis Fisher to University of Idaho geology professor Francis Laney concerning articles to be used in the Idaho Writer's books, original letters to George Kellogg, Humanities librarian who was working on a bibliography of Fisher, and carbons of Kellogg's letters to Fisher, and letters to Milo Nelson from Harry Schwartz concerning his article on Fisher. Also included are transcripts of two interviews with Fisher, several articles about him and printed articles by him, which also include a typescript of a portion of his book Suicide or Murder. The final items in this series are an article about and an invitation to the film "Jeremiah Johnson" based on Fisher's novel Mountain Man.
The second series consists of photocopies of articles about and by Fisher. Those about him are arranged alphabetically by author, those by him are alphabetical by title. With the exception of "Postscript on Maturity" there is no duplication between series.
Bibliography
- Title
- Vardis Fisher Papers 1927-1974
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
- Date
- ©1990
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository