Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

[Box Number, Folder Number], MS-18, Martin Staples Shockley Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated by John Shockley.

Processing Information

Processed by Elizabeth Dickie.

Biographical / Historical

Born in Stuart, VA, Martin Staples Shockley received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, MA from Duke University and his doctorate in English from the University of North Carolina. He taught for six years at the University of Oklahoma, where he organized a doctoral program in American Literature. He also taught at Carleton College in Northfield, MN and later was chairman of the English department at Evansville College in Indiana. He resigned that position when he felt a colleague's academic freedom was violated. In 1950, he joined the faculty at the University of North Texas in Denton.

He was an advocate and supporter of American literature, especially Texas and Southwestern writing. He served as president of the Poetry Society of Texas, the Texas Folklore Society, the Texas American Studies Association and the Texas Conference of College Teachers of English. From 1964-1972, Dr. Shockley was secretary-treasurer of the Texas Institute of Letters, and chairman of both the Texas and the Southwest Conferences of the American Association of University Professors. In 1963, he was Fulbright Professor of English Literature at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Known for his exhaustive research, wry wit, and polished style, he published two widely used textbooks, as well as a stream of poetry, fiction, essays, and scholarly articles. His last three books were Southwest Writers (1967), The Richmond Stage: 1784-1812 (1977), and Last Roundup (1994).

Scope and Contents

Series I, Obituaries, includes Dr. Shockley's obituaries from the Dallas Morning News and an unnamed paper.

Series II, Manuscript: The Richmond Stage, 1812-1825 , is the main part of the collection and holds the unpublished manuscript for The Richmond Stage: 1812-1825 . This volume continues his earlier work of the same name that covered 1784 to 1812. The manuscript is typewritten with corrections and additions.

Series III, Other Works, includes an eclectic mix of reviews, unpublished poetry, and correspondence concerning Shockley's work.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 3 series:

Series I: Obituaries Series II: Manuscript: The Richmond Stage, 1812-1825 Series III: Other Works

Separated Material

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• Manuscripts
• Obituaries
• Richmond (Va.)
• Richmond (Va.) -- History
• Shockley Family
• Shockley, Martin Staples, 1908-2003
• Theater -- History