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American Literature


Engraving of Walt Whitman, open-necked shirt, cocked hat

The broad and deep collections of American literature at the Lilly Library are one of its principal strengths. 

From early works such as Anne Bradstreet's 1650 The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America to 18th century prose and verse, from 19th and 20th century groundbreaking authors to science fiction and detective novels, the holdings span the evolution of American literature. 

Of particular note are collections of of James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman.

Holdings in twentieth-century American literature are extensive, including the principal archives of Upton Sinclair, Max Eastman, Sylvia Plath, and Galway Kinnell, as well as notable collections from Edith Wharton, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and John Dos Passos. 
 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

Plath's life and literary genius are documented in manuscript poems in multiple drafts, photographs, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, and more.

Learn more about Plath collections
Photograph of Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

As the principal archive of Kurt Vonnegut, our collections show Vonnegut's trajectory as a writer from a novice to a national treasure. 

Learn more about Vonnegut collections
Photograph of Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair

Sinclair collections are many and varied. They document Sinclair's literary achievements, as well as his deep engagement in political and social issues.

Learn more about Sinclair collections

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We have millions of resources. Many are not yet digitized.

If you are having trouble finding what you are looking for, contact us.

Need Help?

Helpful finding aids like our manuscripts index, card catalog, and special card files are not online. We can help you navigate these resources.

Learn more about finding aids that are not online

We can make PDFs, digital images, and other reproductions of Lilly Library materials to meet your needs. Fees help us pay for this service.

Learn more ordering PDFs and digital images

If you plan to use Lilly Library materials in a book, article, or other publication, we ask that you fill out our Permission to Publish form. We do not own reproduction rights to most of the material in the collection, so you may also need to secure permission from copyright holders.

Learn more asking for permission to publish

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The Lilly Library Bloomington

1200 E. Seventh Street
Bloomington, IN
47405-5500
Tel: 812-855-2452
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