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, July 17, 1916July 17, 1916Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Steele Seymour, March 13, 1917March 13, 1917
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, March 13, 1917March 13, 1917Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, June 6, 1917June 6, 1917Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, June 18, 1917June 18, 1917Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Edward Woodberry, June 28, 1917June 28, 1917Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Edward Woodberry, August 4, 1917August 4, 1917Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, August 26, 1917August 26, 1917Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, September 5, 1917September 5, 1917Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, September 5, 1917September 5, 1917Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Edward Woodberry, December 11, 1917December 11, 1917Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, February 1, 1918February 1, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, February 4, 1918February 4, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, March 22, 1918March 22, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, March 24, 1918March 24, 1918Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, April 23, 1918April 23, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, June 16, 1918June 16, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, July 6, 1918July 6, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, July 21, 1918July 21, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, November 3, 1918November 3, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to David Starr Jordan, November 10, 1918November 10, 1918Jordan, David Starr, 1851-1931
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, December 18, 1918December 18, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, December 19, 1918December 19, 1918Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, February 8, 1919February 8, 1919Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, February 18, 1919February 18, 1919Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, February 26, 1919February 26, 1919Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, March 16, 1919March 16, 1919Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, April 2, 1919April 2, 1919Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, April 14, 1919April 14, 1919Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, June 21, 1919June 21, 1919Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, November 9, 1919November 9, 1919Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, November 23, 1919November 23, 1919Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Woodberry, November 26, 1919November 26, 1919Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to William Braithwaite, January 1, 1920January 1, 1920Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, January 17, 1920January 17, 1920Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Upton Sinclair, February 3, 1920February 3, 1920Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, April 10, 1920April 10, 1920Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Edward Woodberry, June 4, 1920June 4, 1920Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Seymour, July 17, 1920July 17, 1920Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, August 3, 1920August 3, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, August 11, 1920August 11, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, August 13, 1920August 13, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to George Sterling, August 18, 1920August 18, 1920Sterling, George, 1869-1926
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, September 28, 1920September 28, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to William Braithwaite, October 2, 1920October 2, 1920Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Order of Bookfellows, October 5, 1920October 5, 1920Seymour, George Steele
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to William Braithwaite, October 11, 1920October 11, 1920Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, October 11, 1920October 11, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to William Braithwaite, October 11, 1920October 11, 1920Braithwaite, William Stanley, 1878-1962
- Letter from John G. Neihardt to Frank Luther Mott, October 12, 1920October 12, 1920Mott, Frank Luther, 1886-1964