]> Finding Aid for the Paul Eliot Green Papers, 1917 - 1968 Processed by: Archives Staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jason Alston University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro 2009 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: ; Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS Finding Aid for the Paul Eliot Green Papers, 1917 - 1968 University of North Carolina at Greensboro Descriptive Summary Paul Eliot Green (1894-1981) was a Southern playwright, poet, and novelist. The Paul Eliot Green Papers date from 1917 to 1968 and contain diaries, manuscripts, publications, and correspondence. Paul Eliot Green Papers, 1917 - 1968 Mss022 Green, Paul Eliot, 1894-1981 1.668 Linear Feet, 5 Boxes University Archives and Manuscripts English Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

 Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Paul Eliot Green Papers, University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

 Acquisition Information

The bulk of the collection was given by Paul Green in May 1966. Additional gifts were made by Clara Booth Byrd and Dr. and Mrs. Charles M. Adams in 1967. Some items were removed and some transferred to the Paul Green Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill's Wilson Library in 1990.

Processing Information

Processed by Archives Staff,

Encoded by Jason Alston, July 2009;

Biographical Note

Paul Eliot Green (1894-1981) was a Southern playwright, poet, and novelist. Born in Lillington, North Carolina, Green lived in the state all of his life and tried to capture in his writings the culture and heritage of the American South, concentrating on the experiences of tenant farmers, mill workers, Native Americans and African Americans.

Green studied at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill under folk dramatist Frederick Koch of the Carolina Playmakers. After an interruption of his college career to serve with the armed forces during World War I, he returned to Chapel Hill and graduated in 1921. Green was married to Elizabeth Atkinson Lay in 1922.

From 1923 to 1944, and again from 1962 to 1963, Green served on the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill, first as professor of philosophy, then dramatic arts, and later of radio, television and motion pictures. He wrote and published numerous one-act and full-length plays, novels, short stories, essays and articles, motion-picture scripts and radio plays. He also edited The Reviewer, a periodical, from 1921 to 1925.

Green was recognized with several literary honors. In 1927, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for In Abraham’s Bosom, his play dealing with racism in the South, and in 1965 he was the recipient of the North Carolina Achievement Award.

In 1937, Green was asked to write a play as part of the 350th anniversary celebration of the landing of the first English colonists in the “New World.” He used this opportunity to tell the story of The Lost Colony in an emerging format, the symphonic drama. This type of play was commonly produced throughout the South during the warmer summer months, and was based on the principles of Greek drama.

Green was in favor of integration, and he expressed his social concerns through his plays and writings. From the 1920s onward, he devoted his time, energy, and financial resources to supporting basic civil rights for African Americans and Native Americans. He also spoke out for for the poor, uneducated, and imprisoned, and opposed the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. He was later quick to demonstrate his opposition to the American presence in Vietnam. Several of Green’s works were inspired by his interest in social issues, among them Cabin in the Cotton (1932), Hymn to the Rising Sun (1936), and Wilderness Road (1955).

Paul Green lived in Chapel Hill until his death in 1981.

 Collection Overview

The Paul Eliot Green Papers date from 1917 to 1968 and contain diaries, manuscripts, publications, and correspondence.

With the exception of 3 bound volumes, the copies of Green's typescript diaries are in loose-leaf format, arranged chronologically in folders, with approximately 1705 leaves. These diaries cover the years 1917 to 1966, beginning with his stint in the army during World War I. His comments on the war cover his training in South Carolina, his months in battle in Belgium and France, the casualties suffered by his regiment, and short rations; but also note the beauty of the countryside, architecture and museums of Europe.

Later diaries illustrate Green's development as a playwright, and provide details of his daily life, including family and friends, and the planning involved in staging his plays in Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC, Florida, and Texas. The diaries are rich in travel description, political commentary, personal anectodes, literary opinions, ideas for plays, and spontaneous poems.

Notable subjects of Green's anecdotes include Carl Sandburg, Allen Tate, Richard Wright, Jonathan Daniels, George Moore, Orson Welles, and Thomas Wolfe. Events of interest discussed in the diaries include: a visit to Green’s farm by Countess Tolstoi in 1937; the family’s 1946 visit to Hollywood, where Green wrote film scripts; reminiscences about Thomas Wolfe’s funeral after a visit to Asheville in 1951; Green’s efforts to help death row inmates in Raleigh in 1951; and Green's 1961 trip to Spain to research his play, Cross and Sword.

The letters in the collection date from 1918 to 1962, and were written by Paul Green and his wife Elizabeth Lay Green to her cousin, Clara Booth Byrd. These letters contain opinions about life and literature, copies of poems, and family and professional news. Green also offers advice on Miss Byrd’s writing.

Collection Arrangement

Materials in the collection are divided by type of material and arranged in chronological order.

Detailed Description of the Collection 1 Diary, July 16,1917-July 17, 1919 Diary, June 10, 1928-October 4, 1934 Diary, March 24, 1935-December 31, 1939 Diary, January 1, 1940-March 21, 1942 Diary, March 22, 1942-September 1, 1942 Diary, September 2, 1942-May 7, 1944 Diary, May 8, 1944-July 6, 1946 and November 10, 1946 Diary, October 12, 1947-October 13, 1947 2 Diary, November 20, 1947-August 22, 1949 Diary, January 1, 1951-August 13, 1951 Diary, September 27, 1951-January 1, 1952 Diary, April 28-30, 1952 and January 1-December 31, 1953 Diary, January 1, 1954-November 13, 1955 3 Diary, November 19, 1955-June 30, 1960 Diary, July 1, 1960-January 25, 1962 Diary, May 25, 1962-June 26, 1962 Diary, June 27, 1962-July 26, 1964 Diary, July 27, 1964-March 24, 1966 4 Manuscript, Cross and Sword Manuscript, The Field God Manuscript, The Highland Call Manuscript, Journey into Shame Manuscript, Let Us Outlaw the Gas Chamber Manuscript, Outdoor Drama in the South Manuscript, The Stephen Foster Story Manuscript, Texas (Rehearsal Script) Manuscript, The Thirsting Heart (Radio Play) Publications Biographical Information Correspondence, Letters, 1918-1962, 1979 Correspondence, Christmas Greetings 5 Sheet Music Related Material

See also the Paul Eliot Green papers at UNC-Chapel Hill. [Some letters are digitized at DocSouth.]

See more literary manuscript collections at UNCG.