Frederick and Margaret McDowell Papers

Collection

Identifier: msC0753

Staff Only
Please navigate to collection organization to place requests.

Scope and Contents

Series one contains seventy-four letters with figures in the literary world, such as Angus Wilson, E.M. Forster, T. Coraghesson (T.C.) Boyle, Caroline Gordon, and Gail Godwin. It is arranged alphabetically by author with the letters arranged chronologically. Series two consists of published articles authored by McDowell and reviews of McDowell's own book, Ellen Glasgow and the Ironic Art of Fiction (1960). This series is arranged alphabetically by journal with the articles arranged chronologically.

Dates

Creation: 1965-1994
Creation: Majority of material found within 1970-1989

Creator

McDowell, Fred (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Biographical / Historical

Fred McDowell served for many years on the English faculty at the University of Iowa beginning in 1949. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D from Harvard. While at the Univertsity of Iowa, he maintained correspondence with some literary notables and published many book reviews and articles. From from 1964 until 1967 Mr. McDowell was the director of the Iowa Center for Modern Letters. His wife, Margaret, was an associate professor of Rhetoric and Women's Studies at the University of Iowa as well. The McDowell's had five children and Mr. McDowell was an avid gardener who cultivated a giant garden of daylillies each year at his Iowa City home, earning local and national fame for it. This collection is comprised of two series.