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E. P. Conkle papers, C0157, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Donated by Virginia McNeal Conkle in 1994.
Processed and finding aid completed by Carol DeAngelo, Barbara Hasse, Robert Vay, Kaycee L. Morgan and Estee L. Dudash. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in April 2009.
Ellsworth Prouty Conkle (1899-1994) was a prolific playwright and professor of playwriting. Born on July 10, 1899, Conkle grew up on a farm in the small town of Peru, Nebraska. His rural upbringing had an enduring influence on his writing as exemplified in his first published book, Crick Bottom Plays (1928), a collection of short plays which dramatize the wit and wisdom of folksy Nebraskans. After high school Conkle went to Peru State Teachers College and completed his undergraduate education in 1923 at the University of Nebraska. Conkle did graduate work at Yale University in 1926-1928 and earned his Ph.D in playwriting from the University of Iowa in 1936. From 1936-1939 Conkle worked as an assistant professor of speech at the University of Iowa. In 1939 he joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as an associate professor where he became a full professor in 1945 and taught until his retirement in 1973. Conkle's former students include Tennessee Williams, Pat Hingle, Tommy Tune, and Fess Parker.
In addition to teaching classes and developing the Department of Drama at the University of Texas, Conkle wrote numerous published and unpublished plays, several short stories, and dozens of poems. Much of his work captures the humor and wisdom of a bygone era in American folk-life, including the short play "Sparkin'" (1928) and the long plays "Johnny Appleseed" (1940) and "No Time for Heaven" (1972). Abraham Lincoln became another favorite subject of Conkle's, and the play "Prologue to Glory" (1938), a fictionalized account of Lincoln's formative years in New Salem, was chosen for production by the Federal Theatre Project and performed across the United States in 1938-1939. Capitalizing on its success, Conkle wrote a radio script based on the play, entitled Honest Abe, which was produced by CBS and aired in thirty-six parts between 1940 and 1941. Conkle died in 1994.
Included in the E. P. Conkle papers are plays, poetry, short stories, and book manuscripts written by E. P. Conkle, mostly during Conkle's professorship at the University of Texas at Austin (1939-1973). Most of the manuscripts in the collection are undated. Thus, specific dates on subsequently published materials typically refer to the date of publication, and date ranges on unpublished materials refer to letterheads indicating Conkle's employ at the University of Texas or the University of Iowa. The collection also contains playbills and director's notes from various productions of Prologue to Glory, the radio script to the CBS-produced series, Honest Abe (1940-1941), works and notes from former students, and correspondence between Conkle and his wife, Virginia McNeal Conkle.
Series 1: Correspondence and Biographical Material contains letters written to E. P. Conkle and various articles pertaining to Conkle's career as a playwright.
Series 2: Book Manuscripts contains typed and annotated manuscripts of E. P. Conkle's books Grandpa's Little White Rent House, A Hornbook for Playwrights, and Wake Up, Tom Aycup, or, the Tale of a Great Guy.
Series 3: Play Scripts contains typed and annotated play scripts written by Conkle, including "At the Depot," "Day's End," "Good Night, Dear Grandma," "With How Little Wisdom," and a three-volume weekly radio script entitled "Honest Abe." Also included is a play script by Patty Gideon Sloan entitled "Mementos."
Series 4: Poetry contains typed and annotated poems written by Conkle, including the collections Eleven Various Ballads, A Gift of Small Inconsequential Verses, and Thirteen Sonnets Which Speak of Time, and One More.
Series 5: Short Stories contains typed and annotated copies of Conkle's stories "Little Angel of the Backward Look," "Traveller, and General Lee," and "Miss Lute."
Series 6: Miscellaneous contains various items including essays and term papers Conkle wrote as a student.
The Special Collections Research Center also holds the
This collection is organized into six series by document type and genre with manuscripts arranged alphabetically by title and correspondence arranged chronologically.
This series contains letters written to E. P. Conkle and various articles pertaining to Conkle's career as a playwright.
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facsimile; address of the Works Progress Administration in heading
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facsimile; note in margin indicates "Los Angeles Production,"
This series contains typed and annotated manuscripts of books written by E. P. Conkle.
Austin, Texas; typed manuscript, 292 pages, includes cover with title
typed manuscript, 292 pages, no cover
University of Texas, Austin; typed manuscript with annotations, 135 pages
Austin, Texas; typed manuscript with revisions, 266 pages
This is the largest series of the collection, and it contains typed and annotated play scripts written by E. P. Conkle and includes one play script written by Patty Gideon Sloan entitled "Mementos."
University of Texas, Austin; includes the plays "Dusk, Dusk, Dusk," "Two Minds with but Two Single Thoughts," "Mr. Map and the Beautiful Hat," "Oak Leaves Burning," and an annotated play script tentatively titled "A Long Journey."
University of Texas, Austin; includes an 18 page annotated manuscript of "Day's End: A Few Words Spoken by Mr. Lincoln, the President," an 11 page typed play script of "Day's End" with no revisions, and an 18 page annotated manuscript for "Oak Leaves Burning."
University of Texas, Austin; includes typed play scripts for "The Fancy One," "Four Old Ladies and Pansy Potter," "Oak Leaves Burning," "Gatie, or Eight Women on a Toot," and "The Jewel in Papa's Crown," 62 pages.
University of Texas, Austin; includes two 133 page typed play scripts for "Good Night, Dear Grandma," one of which contains manuscript revisions marked "final."
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS); a radio script divided into 12 parts for weekly broadcasting, volume 1 of 3
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS); a radio script divided into 12 parts for weekly broadcasting, volume 2 of 3
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS); a radio script divided into 12 parts for weekly broadcasting, volume 3 of 3
University of Texas, Austin; two copies of the play script, 121 pages each
Texas; typed script of play in three acts by Patty Gideon Sloan; see Box 1, Folder 1 for correspondence with Sloan
two annotated scripts with revisions, one titled simply "Mr. President," approximately 120 pages each
Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas; facsimile of typescript
cast: Clyte Cedars and Arlie Askew; place: Clyte's place
123 pages
University of Iowa, Experimental Theatre Seminar; soft-bound copy, 91 pages
two typed manuscripts
University of Texas, Austin; two copies of the play script, one 65 pages and another with revisions at 69 pages
84 pages
University of Texas, Austin; two typed copies, one marked "Final / 1971"
two copies, one 66 pages and the other 67 pages; the former bears a stamp of the author's agent, Frieda Fishbein
University of Texas, Austin; two copies, 113 pages each
This collection contains typed and annotated poems written by E. P. Conkle.
several copies, including one 8 page typed copy with corrections
Austin, Texas; typed poems with revisions, including "Ballad of the Gay Cavalier," "The Ballad of Henry Plummer," "Ballad to a Wooden Leg," "The Ballad of the Youngster and His Dog," "Ballad of a Hallelujah Marriage," "Ballad of the Merry Miller-Man," "Ballad of the Prairies," "Ballad of Aunt Susan," "Ballad of Mad Beggars," "Ballad of the Happy Milkmaid," and "Ballad of the Cosset Lamb and the Crumpled Cow"
two typed 45 page manuscripts of poems including "Birds and Other Animals," "Weather and Scenery," "More and Less Personal," "Just People," and "Philosophy and Other Things"
University of Texas, Austin; these poetry collections are respectively 22 pages, 27 pages, and 41 pages long; folder includes a title page of "Verses for a Year"
University of Texas, Austin; typed manuscripts with revisions
small format type scripts
This collection contains typed and annotated short stories written by E. P. Conkle.
University of Texas, Austin; two copies of the manuscript, 14 pages each, the second alternately titled, "The Littlest Angel of the Backward Look, a Fantasy"
University of Texas, Austin; two copies of "Traveller, and General Lee," both 22 pages and one with annotations; one 43 page copy of "Miss Lute"
This collection contains various items including essays and term papers Conkle wrote as a student.
35 pages including bibliography; described on title page as "a term-paper written for the class in "Chaucer" for Mr. Frantz"; annotated
list of University of Texas graduate students and the titles of their theses and dissertations arranged by date
University of Texas, Austin; revised three-page essay on education written by Conkle
two pages listing titles of plays by Conkle and four lines of verse, untitled