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Release date: updated Sept. 5, 2007 Flannery O’Connor letters on Exhibit Sept. 22–Dec. 28
The exhibit, titled "'Dear Miss Hester': Letters from Flannery O'Connor to Betty Hester, 1955-1964," draws from the more than 250 letters written to Hester during that time period. Amplifying letters and manuscripts from the collection will be photographs, books and other memorabilia from MARBL's collections that help tell the story of O'Connor's life and art, as well as her friendship with Hester, says MARBL director Steve Enniss. "The main focus of the exhibit is Flannery O'Connor's correspondence with Hester, in whom she confided more than she did other correspondents," Enniss said. "We selected letters that illustrate the larger social, cultural, literary and historical context of O'Connor's life." Hester, who wrote unpublished stories, poems and philosophical essays, worked for Retail Credit Co. in Atlanta (now Equifax). She gave O'Connor's letters to Emory in 1987, with the understanding that they would remain sealed for 20 years. The collection was opened for research use for the first time in May 2007. The materials donated by Hester include not only letters she received from O'Connor two or three times a month, but O'Connor manuscripts and a short story by Hester that O'Connor critiqued, as well. The entire collection sheds light on O'Connor's faith, her unusual imagination, and her homebound life on her mother's rural Georgia farm. A two-day celebration to mark the exhibition's debut is planned on the Emory campus Sept. 25 and 26. "'The Prophet's Country': A Celebration of the Life and Work of Flannery O'Connor" includes the Bynum reading; a day of panel discussions of O'Connor's life and work; an exhibition of photographs of Andalusia, the farm where O'Connor lived with her mother; and a film screening of "Wise Blood," based on the O'Connor novel of the same name. For more information, visit “The Prophet's Country”: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Flannery O'Connor or call 404-727-7620. O'Connor Letters Featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting The collection of letters also was featured in a Georgia Public Broadcasting’s "State of the Arts"special, titled "A New Look at Author Flannery O'Connor." GPB produced the program due to renewed public interest in O'Connor, following the unsealing in May 2007 of Emory's collection of her letters to a fan, Atlantan Betty Hester. ### The Emory University Libraries in Atlanta and Oxford, Ga., are dedicated to fostering courageous inquiry among students and scholars at Emory University and around the world. The nine libraries' holdings include more than 3.1 million print and electronic volumes, 40,000-plus electronic journals, and internationally renowned special collections. Visit the libraries online. Emory University is one of the nation’s leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Emory is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system. Subscribe to News@Emory RSS feeds for automatic updates of the latest news at Emory |
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