Conditions Governing Use

The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the Head of Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Thomas H. Carter Correspondence, WLU Coll. 0004, Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA.

In some cases the citation format may vary. Please contact Special Collections staff to verify the appropriate format.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

A second installment was the gift of Dr. James Boatwright.

Biographical Note

Thomas Carter (1931-1963) was editor of Spearhead and Shenandoah .

While a student at Washington and Lee University (1950-1954), Carter helped establish Shenandoah . After graduation, he returned to his hometown of Martinsville, Virginia to teach at the high school as well as at the extension of the University of Virginia. While there, he started another publication, Spearhead, which ceased publication.

Scope and Contents

This collection includes primarily correspondence written to Carter, though there are some letters written by him. The majority of the correspondence concern Shenandoah and Spearhead publications. Correspondents include Washington and Lee faculty James Boatwright, Marshall Fishwick, Fitzgerald Flournoy, and James Leyburn. There are numerous letters from leading contemporary literary figures, such as Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, E. E. Cummings, T. S. Eliot, Ray Bradbury, and Flannery O'Connor, as well as typescripts from Shenandoah (vol. 3, no. 2, 1952 and vol. 4, nos.2-3, 1953). Authors of the letters vary from editors and publishers to personal friends and prospective contributors to the aforementioned publications. Manuscripts by George Fox and Joe Kennedy are also present as are letters of condolence sent to Mrs. Carter upon the death of her son in 1963.

Related Material

WLU Coll. 0104 Shenandoah Papers and Record Group 29

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Authors
• Boatwright, James, III
• Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin)
• Editors
• Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns)
• Faulkner, William
• Fox, George
• Kennedy, Joe
• Literature
• O'Connor, Flannery
• Pound, Ezra
• Shenandoah (Washington and Lee University)
• Spearhead (Washington and Lee University)