Letters & Correspondence
This archive contains the correspondence of John G. Neihardt (1881-1973). Among the outgoing correspondence originally collected by his biographer, Lucile Aly, we find letters that Neihardt wrote to the literary editors of various journals and presses, and the editors of newspapers he worked for (e.g. the Minneapolis Journal, Kansas City Journal Post, Joseph Pulitzer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), as well as to other writers, such as George Sterling, Upton Sinclair and Mari Sandoz. Through his letters to close confidantes and friends, including Nicholas and Ben Black Elk, we can trace the evolution of his various essays and short stories and his longer works, Black Elk Speaks and A Cycle of the West.
We can also observe the trajectory of Neihardt’s growing literary and intellectual reputation through his letters to public figures such as then-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and President Harry S. Truman and through the numerous honors and awards he received from state and regional organizations and national literary societies (as well as his “row” with Poetry Magazine and his near-misses with the Pulitzer). Many letters provide information and insights into his joyfully chaotic family life, including their many moves from Bancroft to Minneapolis, to Branson, St. Louis and beyond. Others offer details of Neihardt’s extensive and adventurous research-trips down the Missouri River and along the central portion of the Oregon Trail. His “outgoing” letters were sent as close to home as the Black Hills in South Dakota and as far away as New Delhi, India.
The incoming letters held at the Neihardt Center in Bancroft, NE are equally diverse, dating from the fall of 1900 to late 1973. They include correspondence with writers, critics and thinkers of national stature, such as Jessie B. Rittenhouse, H. L. Mencken, Louis Untermeyer, Sinclair, Pulitzer, Carl Sandberg, Carl Van Doren, and J. E. Boodin, as well as a number of writers with close Nebraska ties, such as Mildred Bennett, Nellie Yost, Marion Marsh Brown and Sandoz.
1355 documents
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, October 20, 1920October 20, 1920Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, October 21, 1920October 21, 1920Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, November 22, 1920November 22, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, November 30, 1920November 30, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to William Braithwaite, December 4, 1920December 4, 1920Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, December 14, 1920December 14, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, December 15, 1920December 15, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Steele Seymour, January 7, 1921January 7, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, January 23, 1921January 23, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, January 24, 1921January 24, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to The Centennial Committee, University of Virginia, February 1, 1921February 1, 1921
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, February 3, 1921February 3, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, February 24, 1921February 24, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, February 25, 1921February 25, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, March 2, 1921March 2, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, March 2, 1921March 2, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, March 27, 1921March 27, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, April 10, 1921April 10, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, April 18, 1921April 18, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, April 19, 1921April 19, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, April 19, 1921April 19, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, May 10, 1921May 10, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, May 10, 1921May 10, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, May 20, 1921May 20, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, May 27, 1921May 27, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, June 23, 1921June 23, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, June 27, 1921June 27, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, June 27, 1921June 27, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, July 1921July, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, July 3, 1921July 3, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, July 13, 1921July 13, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, August 1921August, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, August 4, 1921August 4, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, August 6, 1921August 6, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, August 9, 1921August 9, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, August 30, 1921August 30, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, September 1921September, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, September 5, 1921September 5, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, September 16, 1921September 16, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, October 7, 1921October 7, 1921Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, October 15, 1921October 15, 1921Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, November 1921November, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, November 2, 1921November 2, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, November 11, 1921November 11, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Henry Van Dyke, November 13, 1921November 13, 1921Van Dyke, Henry, 1852-1933
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, November 28, 1921November 28, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, December 14, 1921December 14, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, December 16, 1921December 16, 1921Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, January 4, 1922January 4, 1922Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Mrs. Brockway, January 13, 1922January 13, 1922Brockway, Mrs.